Desire for Genital Surgery in Trans Masculine Individuals: The Role of Internalized Transphobia, Transnormativity and Trans Positive Identity

Annalisa Anzani, Marco Biella, Cristiano Scandurra and Antonio Prunas
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Annalisa Anzani: Department of Psychology, University of Milano–Bicocca, Edificio U6, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milan, Italy
Marco Biella: Psychologisches Institut, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
Cristiano Scandurra: Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy
Antonio Prunas: Department of Psychology, University of Milano–Bicocca, Edificio U6, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milan, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-13

Abstract: Some trans people experience gender dysphoria, which refers to psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s gender assigned at birth and one’s gender identity. People who are trans masculine or nonbinary assigned-female-at-birth may pursue multiple domains of gender affirmation, including surgical affirmation (e.g., masculine chest reconstruction, penile reconstruction, etc.). The present study aimed to investigate the possible factors involved in trans people’s desire to undergo gender-affirming genital surgery. Trans masculine and nonbinary participants ( N = 127; mean age = 26.90) were recruited through a web-based survey and completed self-report instruments (i.e., the Internalized Transphobia subscale of the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Measure, the Trans Positive Identity Measure, the Gender Congruence and Life Satisfaction Scale, an ad hoc scale on transnormativity, and a single-item on desire to undergo genital affirmation surgery). A path analysis showed that higher levels of internalized transphobia led to more significant genital discomfort via a dual parallel mediation of transnormativity and positive identity. Moreover, this genital discomfort fueling pattern was the most significant predictor of the desire to undergo genital surgery as the effect of internalized transphobia was fully mediated by increased genital discomfort. Findings are discussed in the light of the recent strand of research on gender dysphoria as a multifaceted construct, with social components.

Keywords: transnormativity; trans positive identity; internalized transphobia; gender-affirmation surgery; gender dysphoria; social dysphoria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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