Index# 03735
Transgender people – that is, people whose gender does not align with their sex assigned at birth -- are becoming increasingly visible and accepted. In addition, there is a growing number of people who identify as non-binary and therefore don’t subscribe to an identity of either male or female. This wider visibility has occurred alongside new medical interventions to assist transgender youth with successful gender transitions. These early interventions have dramatically improved health and social outcomes for binary-identified transgender youth, but less is known about how medical interventions are used to support non-binary youth. In this class we will explore the evolving social and medical landscape of transgender youth, with a focus on how medical transitions services for transgender youth has the potential to completely reshape the idea of gender.
About Professor Springer
KRISTEN W. SPRINGER is Associate Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006; MA, Yale University, 2000; MPH, Emory University, 1997; BS, University of California at Santa Cruz).
Her current scholarship focuses on the health effects of gendered norms and family dynamics among older adults. Specifically, most of her research centers on three related areas: 1) long-term health effects of childhood abuse; 2) marital income dynamics and men’s health; and 3) masculinity ideals, socioeconomic status, and health outcomes. She has also begun extending this agenda to theorize and model the biological and biosocial processes underlying these substantive areas. She has research published in journals including American Journal of Sociology, American Journal of Public Health, Gender & Society, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Journal of Marriage and Family, Social Science & Medicine, and Social Science Research. Professor Springer’s research has also been featured in national and international news sources including ABC News, LA Times, The New York Times, US News & World Report, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.