Exploring Gender Identity Development Among Transgender and Nonbinary College Students

Abstract

As of May 2025, a total of 876 anti-transgender bills have been introduced in 49 states across the United States. The growing prevalence of such anti-transgender legislation in the United States has significant implications for how individuals learn about and explore their gender identity. With the rise in anti-transgender legislation, the need for safe spaces to learn and explore identity increases. Colleges can be one way for students to access resources, therefore it is critical to understand how college students access these resources. The project's main goal is to examine how Mount Holyoke College transgender and nonbinary students' identities develop, and their sources of perceived support. Additionally, the project aimed to examine how social support and media influence gender identity development. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with students ranging from first years to seniors. Participants completed hour-long interviews discussing their timing and process of their gender identity development, the resources they have in place and then the impacts of Mount Holyoke Colleges resources. Interviews were coded following the interpretive phenological analysis (IPA) structure. The findings highlight the importance of the representation of transgender and nonbinary identities in the media and campus community, the impact of different social relationships on identity, participants' negotiation of their outness, and the effectiveness of the resources at Mount Holyoke.