| Abstract [eng] |
Historically trans people face stigmatization and medicalization of their bodies. Psychopatologization of gender dysphoria becomes one of the main challenges for trans people causing transphobia and other unwelcomed practises in society. Due to the lack of visibility of trans people in media and lack of knowledge in society about trans issues trans people become almost invisible and not existing. In this way, trans people are seen only through medical and clinical discourses presupposing the need of medical intervention to their psychological state of mind. This academic research aimed to explore the experiences of trans people in Lithuania by giving trans people the opportunity to articulate their personal stories through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The telling of sexual stories is political and can be empowering to change social structures and power relations of the society. Theoretical assumptions of society, body control and social gender norms provided appropriate access to link personal experiences to power relations and governmental practises regulating trans lives. By conducting critical discourse analysis research focused on how those experiences of trans people are articulated. It enabled to understand the specificity of the problems faced by trans community in Lithuania. Furthermore, critical discourse analysis provided appropriate tools to contextualise and relate personal experiences to social reality. The analysis constitutes of the four main topics. Those are dissected into thematic sectors accordingly to articulated problems by trans people in Lithuania. Firstly, trans people are abundantly aware of the shortcomings of the medical system in Lithuania. In many cases trans people feel that they have better understandings of their medical needs but are confronted by power relations established by expert knowledge. The articulated experiences highlight the inability of the medical system to respond to the needs of trans people, the high financial burden trans people have to face. Secondly, trans people in Lithuania face various forms of transphobia. Trans people identify a lack of knowledge of trans issues in Lithuanian society which translates into intolerance towards trans people. A clear distinction is made between Vilnius and other parts of Lithuania with Vilnius being identified as a more tolerant place to live. The specificity of transphobia in the close environment is also highlighted. In many cases, trans people tend to justify family members and relatives, use vocabulary that mitigates transphobic situations. Thirdly, trans people feel great pressure to conform to social gender norms and be strictly perceived as a man or a woman. As a result, trans people are forced to come out in everyday situations. The experiences of trans people highlight that exposure to social gender norms at a young age limits the possibilities to better understand and experiment with their gender expression. Fourthly, the representation of trans people in Lithuanian media is almost non-existent often with negative connotations to it. The influence of social networks and the importance of closed groups on social networks is also highlighted allowing trans people to share necessary information. The sharing of not publicly available information on social networks unites the trans community in Lithuania and creates platforms for discussion among trans people. |
