Contested Citizenship: Renaming Processes among People of Transgender Experience

Abstract

Scholars have illustrated the significance of forenames in processes of social identity and personhood, yet little attention has focused on the relationship between names and gender identity among people of transgender experience. This article uses mixed methods to consider what's in a name among people of transgender experience whose gender identities are within and outside of the gender binary. Chi-square analyses demonstrate a robust association between gender identity and gendered characteristics of the current name. While there are nuanced differences according to gender identity, renaming is fundamental to recognition and an important cultural practice for all people of transgender experience. Names are also controllable state objects, which pose tensions between administrative governance and the individual, who has the right to legally amend them. Ultimately, transgender name stories reveal the ways that names become active sites of contested citizenship.