Arab Americans and Transgender Identity

Typically in the predominant mainstream U.S. culture and media, a transgender individual is someone who identifies with a gender other than the one that was assigned to the individual at birth (which is usually based on visible external genitalia). Among Arab Americans, a similar definition of transgender may apply; however, there has not been research on this specific issue in the psychological literature. Some sociologists and anthropologists who study either the Arab world or Islamic society have begun to address transgender issues along with cross-dressing and the issue of undergoing sex- or gender-related medical procedures. It is important to note that the majority of such research has been conducted in the Middle East and does not necessarily reflect the personal experiences of Arab Americans in ...