Transgender Men Forming Two-Father Families with Their Cisgender Male Partners: Negotiating Gendered Expectations and Self-Perceptions Anna Malmquist

This article explores the experiences of transgender men who became parents through childbirth and started families with their cisgender male partners. The study explores the transgender men’s experiences of having and raising children in this family constellation, with a specific focus on how they experience gender in their parenting role. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three participants. The data was transcribed and analyzed with thematic analysis. Results of the analysis showed that the participants had experienced gender dysphoria before and during pregnancy, but also embraced their childbearing capacity. As transgender fathers, they found themselves expected to fulfill gendered expectations for women and mothers but sometimes appreciated access to women’s spaces. The participants had employed different strategies to protect their masculine selves, such as concealing their pregnancy and/or defending the right to be respected as transgender pregnant men. When passing as cisgender men, they experienced being praised for taking care of their children. They did not receive such praise when they were assumed to be women or known to be transgender men. The men struggled with inequality in their relationships, reflecting each partner’s assigned gender at birth. Still, they emphasized that same-gender relationships facilitated attempts to achieve equality.

本研究的研究问题聚焦于跨性别男性与顺性别男性伴侣共同抚养子女的经历，尤其是在双父家庭中的性别角色体验。尽管已有研究探讨了同性恋男性父亲和跨性别男性父亲的育儿经历，但尚无专门关注跨性别男性与顺性别男性共同构建家庭并成为父母的研究。研究旨在探讨跨性别男性在怀孕、分娩和育儿过程中所面临的独特性别体验，尤其是与他们的顺性别男性伴侣共同抚养孩子的过程中，如何处理性别认同、社会期望和家庭角色之间的张力。

本研究采用半结构化访谈法收集数据，通过对三名跨性别男性参与者的访谈数据进行分析，探讨他们与顺性别男性伴侣共同抚养子女的经历。这些访谈源自一项关于瑞典男性同性伴侣育儿的较大规模研究，参与者通过LGBTQ社交媒体群体招募。访谈数据通过Zoom平台录音并转录，访谈内容逐字记录，采用Braun和Clarke的六步归纳主题分析法进行分析。分析过程中，数据按主题进行编码并与其他访谈数据对比，最终提炼出与研究主题相关的候选主题。尽管研究样本较小，但数据内容丰富，提供了跨性别男性在双父家庭中的育儿经验的深刻见解。

本研究的发现表明，与异性别男性共同育儿的跨性别男性提供了理解父母文化中性别意义的独特视角。尽管两位父亲都认同男性身份，但他们的育儿经验和社会对其育儿角色的期望却有所不同。一位是出生时被分配为女性身份后认同为男性，另一位则从一开始就认同男性。怀孕和分娩经验对跨性别男性来说可能是一种极具困扰的经历，但他们仍能够接受并为自己能够怀孕并生育而感到自豪，认为这赋予了他们权力。尽管在怀孕过程中，跨性别男性面临来自社会对怀孕与女性化身份强烈联系的偏见，但他们的经历展现了如何在父母角色中不断与母性期望进行谈判。这些跨性别父亲在与伴侣共同育儿时面临的性别认同和育儿职责的不平等，进一步揭示了社会中对性别角色的强烈期望及其对跨性别父亲身份认同的挑战。