Dharsheni S T S, Sivakami B
Division of English, School of Social Sciences and Languages, Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, India.
Front Sociol. 2025 May 2;10:1544906. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2025.1544906. eCollection 2025.
Gender Affirmation Surgery often referred to as 'Nirvana' in the transgender community in India is a major process that most trans women undergo. It is practiced in the traditional way as, the thayamma operation (midwife procedure) where the elderly transwoman cut off the penis and testicles without any anesthesia or medical supervision. However, the medical procedure of GAS in India is a recent advancement, which is accessible only to a few, the procedure that most trans women have undergone is penectomy (removal of the penis) and orchiectomy (removal of the testicles).
This study aims to explore the experiences of trans women who have undergone gender-affirmation surgery (GAS) during the period 2005-2023 in Chennai, India.
In academia, research papers discuss the medical aspects of gender affirmation surgery but the experiences of the individuals undergoing this surgery remain under-researched and under-documented, which was the main reason to apply a constructivist grounded theory approach. Seventeen trans women from various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Chennai, India participated in the in-depth interviews, which were conducted in two sessions, to gain insights into their lived experience of undergoing gender affirmation surgery.
This study, using initial coding, focused coding, and theoretical coding, reveals both the positive and negative aspects of the surgery experiences of trans women using the five focused codes: decision to undergo surgery, support systems, healthcare experiences, postoperative outcomes, and impact on identity and well-being.
The study highlights the resilient nature of trans women in India, who despite facing adversity, become advocates for better healthcare and social understanding. The findings emphasize the importance of inclusive policies and practices that address the unique needs of trans women.
在印度的跨性别群体中，性别肯定手术常被称为“涅槃”，这是大多数跨性别女性会经历的一个重要过程。它以传统方式进行，即所谓的“塔亚玛手术”（助产士手术），由年长的跨性别女性在没有任何麻醉或医疗监督的情况下切除阴茎和睾丸。然而，印度的性别肯定手术的医疗程序是一项较新的进展，只有少数人能够获得，大多数跨性别女性所经历的手术是阴茎切除术（切除阴茎）和睾丸切除术（切除睾丸）。
本研究旨在探讨2005年至2023年期间在印度金奈接受性别肯定手术（GAS）的跨性别女性的经历。
在学术界，研究论文讨论了性别肯定手术的医学方面，但接受这种手术的个体的经历仍未得到充分研究和记录，这是应用建构主义扎根理论方法的主要原因。来自印度金奈各非政府组织（NGO）的17名跨性别女性参与了深入访谈，访谈分两个阶段进行，以深入了解她们接受性别肯定手术的生活经历。
本研究使用初始编码、聚焦编码和理论编码，通过五个聚焦代码揭示了跨性别女性手术经历的积极和消极方面：接受手术的决定、支持系统、医疗保健经历、术后结果以及对身份和幸福感的影响。
该研究强调了印度跨性别女性的坚韧本质，她们尽管面临逆境，仍成为更好的医疗保健和社会理解的倡导者。研究结果强调了制定包容性政策和做法以满足跨性别女性独特需求的重要性。
