Transgender friendship profiles: patterns across gender identity and LGBT affiliation

Abstract

Using comparative analysis, based on connectedness to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, this study explores the close friendship patterns of transgender and gender variant individuals across gender identity, sexual orientation, and LGBT affiliation. As not all of these individuals identify within the larger LGBT community, comparative analysis attended to differences in individual connection to the community. Participants completed a questionnaire reporting basic demographic information about themselves and their close friends. The present findings reveal that transgender men maintain more cisgender, more sexual minority, and more LGBT affiliated friendships. In contrast, transgender women are more likely to maintain friendships outside of the LGBT community, with fewer sexual minorities and more LGBT non-affiliated individuals. These findings suggest that transgender men and women negotiate unique friendship characteristics within and outside of the LGBT community. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of feminist intersectional theory.