Beyond Mum and Dad: Gendered Assumptions about Parenting and the Experiences of Trans and/or Non-Binary Parents in the UK

Within UK society, there are gendered assumptions about mums and dads and what they do. Existing research has explored the experiences of parents who diverge from such assumptions, but limited research has focused on trans and/or non-binary (TNB) parents specifically. Research on non-parent TNB populations suggests that individuals with different gender identities may have different experiences. This study therefore aimed to understand the way in which gendered assumptions about parenting shape the experiences of TNB parents, paying particular attention to the distinct experiences of parents with different gender identities (i.e. trans men, trans women and non-binary parents). Reflective thematic analysis was conducted on interview data from 13 TNB parents within the UK. Three themes were identified: ‘Motherhood: essential and exclusionary’; ‘Fathers as uninvolved parents: negotiating fatherhood’ and ‘Mum, Dad and nothing in between: parenting beyond the binary’. Parents with different gender identities were impacted differently by gendered assumptions, and generally, parents negotiated with and transcended restrictive norms. Findings highlight the analytical benefit of distinguishing between parenting identity (e.g. mum/dad/parent) and parenting practice (e.g. mothering/fathering/parenting). The findings expose the limitations of such terms as participants were found to go ‘beyond mum and dad’, in both their identities and practice.

本篇文章的研究问题聚焦于社会对性别和养育子女的假设如何影响跨性别父母，以及具有不同性别认同的父母如何体验这些假设。通过分析英国社会对母亲和父亲角色的传统性别化期望，研究探讨了跨性别父母在高度性别化的育儿环境中面临的独特挑战和差异化经历，尤其是在身份认同、育儿角色分工以及社会偏见等方面。研究旨在填补现有文献对跨性别父母群体及其多样性研究的空白，并提供对性别与父母身份交互关系的更深入理解。

本研究采用了反思性主题分析方法，以研究者的主观性和反思性为中心。研究数据通过社交媒体和滚雪球法招募的 13 名跨性别父母获得，采用半结构化访谈形式，访谈涵盖成为父母的经历、养育子女的挑战以及社会互动。所有访谈经过反复阅读、开放式编码和主题提炼，最终确定主题以反映参与者的独特经历。研究过程中高度重视参与者的匿名性，并通过伦理批准、跨性别社区意见征询以及研究者对语言的敏感性来保障伦理性。研究者在分析中注重局内人和局外人视角的平衡，结合语言培训和参与者反馈以降低误解的风险。

这项研究探讨了跨性别父母在性别假设背景下的经历，揭示了跨性别父母如何挑战传统的性别化育儿规范。研究发现，所有父母都面临社会对性别的假设，但不同性别认同的父母体验有所不同。跨性别父母通过创新的育儿方式超越了传统的母性和父性身份，强调性别平等的育儿环境，并在育儿称谓上进行灵活的协商。此外，研究指出法律和社会性别假设如何限制跨性别父母的权利，尤其是在围产期和养育过程中，建议法律和医疗系统应提供更多的包容性支持，以促进多元家庭结构的认同和理解。