Afiqah Siti Nur, Rashid Abdul, Iguchi Yufu
Unit for Research on Women and Gender, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
Department of Public Health RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus, Penang, Malaysia.
Dialogues Health. 2022 Aug 11;1:100033. doi: 10.1016/j.dialog.2022.100033. eCollection 2022 Dec.
Transgender topics are controversial in Malaysia and trans people are subject to stigma and persecution. In this study context, the transition is defined as a phase where a person changes from one gender to the gender that an individual chooses. Little is known about the transgender people's transition experiences in Malaysia. Studies have shown that transition helps boost transgender individuals in most aspects. This study seeks to understand the transition experiences of the Malay Muslim Trans women in Northern Malaysia. A qualitative study using a snowball sampling method was used to interview in-depth 13 trans women. The interviews focused on their gender transition experiences, support systems, family and friends' reactions, and coping strategies. The study found four primary themes: transition, reaction, support system, and coping method. Most of the respondents agreed that they felt conflicted about their gender at a young age and started transitioning when they were adolescents. Overall acceptance and reaction of family and society to their transition was low and not good. Most mentioned the importance of a good support system and that they received essential support from their peers in the transgender community. However, they acknowledged that family support was also crucial for them. All of the respondents specified that they did not regret their gender transition. Although this study gained insight, more is needed to understand in depth a very sensitive subject such as this.
跨性别话题在马来西亚颇具争议，跨性别者面临着污名化和迫害。在本研究背景下，转变被定义为一个人从一种性别转变为其选择的性别的阶段。对于马来西亚跨性别者的转变经历，人们知之甚少。研究表明，转变在大多数方面有助于提升跨性别者。本研究旨在了解马来西亚北部马来穆斯林跨性别女性的转变经历。采用雪球抽样法进行的一项定性研究对13名跨性别女性进行了深入访谈。访谈聚焦于她们的性别转变经历、支持系统、家人和朋友的反应以及应对策略。该研究发现了四个主要主题：转变、反应、支持系统和应对方式。大多数受访者表示，她们在年轻时对自己的性别感到矛盾，并在青少年时期开始转变。家人和社会对她们转变的总体接受度和反应较低且不佳。大多数人提到了良好支持系统的重要性，并且她们在跨性别群体中得到了同龄人给予的重要支持。然而，她们承认家庭支持对她们也至关重要。所有受访者都明确表示，她们对自己的性别转变并不后悔。尽管本研究获得了一些见解，但对于这样一个非常敏感的主题，仍需要更多研究来深入了解。
