“It's Already Hard Enough Being a Student”: Developing Affirming College Environments for Trans Youth

The current article is a qualitative study of the daily lived experiences of resilience that trans youth have as they engage in self-advocacy within their college environments. Using a phenomenological research tradition and theories of liberation psychology and feminism, researchers interviewed 18 trans youth. There were four major themes in the participant data: (a) campus-wide trans-affirming
language, (b) campus training on trans student concerns, (c) trans-affirming campus health care access, and (d) developing a community of trans allies on campus. In addition to study limitations, future practice, research, and advocacy implications for developing trans-affirming educational environments for trans youth are provided.