Individuals who are trans and/or non-binary (TNB) – especially those in the life stages of adolescence and parenthood – occupy a marginalised social position and are often the focus of political and public debate. Each of these life stages involves interactions between individuals and institutions: adolescents must attend school daily, and parents must engage with institutions both on the journey to parenthood (e.g. fertility, pregnancy and adoption services) and after becoming a parent (e.g. play groups, nursery and their child(ren)’s school). These experiences are therefore worthy of study from sociological and social psychological perspectives, but such research is limited. This thesis aims to address these gaps by qualitatively exploring the experiences and identities of TNB individuals during adolescence and parenthood. Underpinned by the theoretical framework of structural symbolic interactionism, it is composed of two studies; one that examines the experiences of gender-diverse adolescents (Study 1), and the other that focuses on the experiences of trans and/or non-binary parents (Study 2). The thesis aims to increase understanding of the experiences of adolescents and parents, to explore the way in which inequalities are manifested at individual, interactional and institutional levels for TNB individuals at these two life stages, and to develop recommendations for policy and practice.

Study 1 examines the school experiences and identity processes of gender-diverse adolescents (i.e. adolescents whose gender identity does not correspond with the sex category they were assigned at birth), examining the experiences of binary-trans, non-binary and gender-questioning adolescents separately. The data come from a large survey of LGBTQ + young people’s social experiences within the UK. A subsample of 74 adolescents’ (25 binary-trans, 25 non-binary, and 24 gender-questioning) open-ended responses were selected for reflexive thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate gender-diverse adolescents experience discrimination at school from a number of sources, and that a range of strategies, including disclosure negotiation, cognitive structuring and proactive protection, are used to navigate this environment. The findings shed light on the school experiences of gender-diverse adolescents, and suggest that the British school system is not fit for purpose with regards to the educational experiences of non-binary and gender-questioning adolescents.

Study 2 explores the experiences of trans and/or non-binary parents in the UK within different parenting spaces, both during and after the transition to parenthood, using an intersectional framework. This study is based upon interviews with 13 TNB parents, and interview data were analysed according to the principles of reflexive thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified, reflecting participants’ experiences within the ‘highly normative world’ of parenting, and the strategies of ‘being a pragmatic parent’ and ‘being a pioneering parent’ used to navigate this. The findings suggest that parenting spaces are not inclusive of TNB identities, and that this is particularly impactful when individuals are being judged on their suitability as parents (e.g. in encounters with fertility clinics and adoption services). The findings of this study increase understanding of the way in which navigation strategies are related to parents’ multiple identities, highlighting the usefulness of an intersectional approach for research on this topic. The findings also have a number of practical implications for increasing the inclusivity of parenting spaces.

Taken together, Study 1 and Study 2 make a unique contribution to scholarly understanding of the experiences and identities of TNB individuals within the UK. Theoretically, the thesis points to the usefulness of structural symbolic interactionism as a framework for exploring TNB experiences, and the findings illustrate that extant theoretical frameworks do not adequately attend to the experiences of TNB individuals. There are a number of theoretical, practical and empirical gains from this thesis. Theoretically, several extensions are suggested, for instance, to interactionist theorisations of gender and social psychological conceptualisations of resistance. Practically, implications relate to the need for schools and parenting spaces to assume gender diversity. Empirically, this thesis adds to our understanding of the creative ways in which TNB individuals navigate a normative social world.