Transgender Experiences Beyond the BinaryA Phenomenological Study of Arizonans with Non-Binary Gender IdentitiesThis phenomenological study explores the question: What are the lived experiences of Arizonans who identify their gender identities as ‘non-binary’? (‘non-binary’ defined here as anyone who identifies their gender as something other than ‘always and exclusively male or always and exclusively female’). The study explores the lived realities of four non-binary identified transgender people living in Arizona. Each participant took a short survey and conducted a 45-minute in-person interview, conducted through phenomenological questioning to evoke deep descriptions of experience. After analyzing the results through feminist hermeneutic phenomenology, this study suggests that the experience of non-binary gender identity presents an essential pattern of cultivating self-realization. The essential themes of internal recognition, external presentation, and movement toward wellness fell into this pattern. The United States has conceptualized transgender identity in many ways, from pathologizing to politicizing, to medically affirming views. Although the literature on this topic is quite small, there is no doubt that non-binary transgender people exist in U.S. public life. Ultimately, if non-binary people are to find affirming paths toward self-realization, they must be heard from their own experiences in their own voices.autSkinner, AshtonthsSandlin, JenniferdgcNakagawa, KathryndgcSantos, CarlospblArizona State UniversityengPartial requirement for: M.A., Arizona State University, 2017Includes bibliographical references (pages 80-83)Field of study: Social and Cultural Pedagogyby Ashton Skinnerhttps://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.4623100Masters ThesisAcademic theses108 pages : illustrations115174902181630032421155961systemIn CopyrightAll Rights Reserved2017TextSocial ResearchLGBTQ studiesGender StudiesGender IdentityGender QueerLGBTNon BinaryNon-Binary GenderTransgenderGender identity--Arizona.Gender IdentityGender nonconformity--Arizona.Gender NonconformityGender-nonconforming people--Social aspects--Arizona.Gender-nonconforming people