Background: Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth face existential challenges in navigating their genders in a cisnormative world that often misrecognizes or denies them.
Aim: This qualitative study aimed to deepen the understanding of existential dimensions of the participants’ lived experiences related to gender, within a cisnormative context.
Methods: A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted on the lived experiences of nine Swedish binary transgender youths, aged 13-16.
Results: Two main themes were developed: 1) “Disorientation and existential challenges: navigating self-recognition in a non-inclusive world,” with subthemes Can I exist in the world’ and Can I exist in my body?; and 2) “Relational responsibility: emotional work to be recognized,”with subthemes Taking responsibility for my safety; Responsibility for others—facilitating recognition; and Reorientation and the power of recognition.
Discussion: Drawing on Ahmed’s Queer Phenomenology and Honneth’s Theory of Recognition, the study highlighted how limited awareness or denial of gender diversity shaped participants’ struggles to orient themselves in a cisnormative society. Living authentically required significant emotional labor in navigating relationships, reflecting an ongoing process of coping and a deep need for emotional, communal, and legal recognition.
Conclusion: By exploring the existential dimensions of participants’ lived experiences within cisnormativity, this study underscored the power of (mis-)recognition and the emotional laborTGD youth undertake to create livable spaces for authentic lives. A holistic understanding of their experiences can guide professionals, parents, and others in providing better support.
Taylor & Francis, 2026. Vol. 27, nr 2, s. 751-766