(Ne)viditeľní: transrodové deti na základných a stredných školách
(In)Visible: Transgender Children at Elementary and Secondary Schools

Summary/Abstract: The process of gender identity development in children and youth affects their daily life. With their very existence, transgender children confront the common notions of the majority about “right” boys and girls. There is a persistent pressure in different areas of social life and at schools they visit on preserving the cisnormative way of life. The study is based on a year-long research of transgender children and youth at elementary and secondary schools in Slovakia, with the support of the civic association TransFúzia. The research material consists of in-depth interviews with ten children and young people and interviews with the representatives and teachers from three selected secondary schools. The research results suggest that the self-realization of children in a school environment is influenced by various limits and barriers. These, however, arise not only from the official systemic framework for teaching and the education process in Slovakia, but also from individual notions and approaches by school authorities. The personal stories of seeking their own“self” of transgender children and youth therefore develop in different contexts and under different conditions. They present not only the specific situation of the members of this special minority, but create the image of the daily life of children and youth in a school environment.

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