Introduction

Psychology literature on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Prejudice (SOGIP) shows that rejection of gender diversity lies at the core of both these theoretically distinct categories of prejudice (Cramwinckel, 2018). (Mis)perceptions of gender nonconformity often underpin both sexual orientation and gender identity prejudice, which suggests that transphobia and gender binarism lie at the root of many 2SLGBTQIA+ issues. Therefore, challenging transphobia and gender binarism come to the forefront when supporting all 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

In university classrooms, forces of transphobia and gender binarism work hand-in-hand by stripping 2SLGBTQIA+ people of self-determination. Moreover, in the realm of psychology research, positivism takes precedence over qualitative, community-based participatory methods.

To combat transphobia and gender binarism in the classroom, this section of the handbook was derived from a co-collaboration between alumnus Stephanie Li, Dr. Debra Bercovici, and gender-diverse students (i.e., Two-Spirit, trans, intersex, and non-binary students) in our department. These community-based recommendations equip UTSC Psychology instructors and student-facing staff to better support 2SLGBTQIA+ students. This work was funded by the UTSC Pedagogies of Exclusive Excellence Fund.

Current Climate of Inclusion/Exclusion at UTSC Psychology

To inform instructors of how gender-diverse students perceive their treatment in courses, we present key findings from community-led focus groups and course audits (Li & Bercovici, 2024).

Gender-diverse UTSC Psychology students reported a “closeted” environment in the department compared to other departments, or compared to their vision of an inclusive learning space. This environment was reinforced by the erasure of gender diversity in classrooms, primarily by course instructors (professors and TAs). Erasure of gender diversity in classrooms came in two forms: concealment of identity and avoidance in course content.

1. Concealment of Identity

Students reported that being in an environment that is not inclusive of their gender-diverse identities has led them to conceal their authentic selves for protective measures:

“A gender-diverse inclusive learning environment means not having to go to class, or before posing a question in class, with a pre-set feeling that you may be judged for the way you present your gender and sexuality… This shouldn’t be a thought or worry at all [but it is].” – community focus group participant

Students report that a gender-diverse inclusive learning environment looks like a space where their identities are affirmed, which is not currently happening:

“A learning environment inclusive of gender-diversity means students feeling supported regardless of identity… But [in reality], I go into [psychology] classrooms hiding my [gender-diverse] identity because I don’t want to be judged or mistaken. It’s also easier to just go with [incorrect] pronouns because I have experienced passive aggressiveness from students who do not understand gender. It is the same with professors. [They] don’t ask about pronouns at all.” – community focus group participant

2. Avoidance in Course Content

Gender-diverse students report that in their psychology classes, there is little to no discussion of gender diversity at all, despite there being a need for it:

“It seems like [course instructors] don’t know how to talk about it, which shows there is a lack [of gender diversity] in research, education, curriculum, and so on. It’s just avoidance entirely. They don’t want to talk about [gender diversity], so they just pretend it doesn’t exist.” – community focus group participant

“In psychology, we talk about participants and demographics, so I feel like there should be room to talk about gender diversity. But we don’t, I guess because there’s not a lot of scientific literature that does, or because people don’t necessarily want to address it. So, we have very little conversations [about gender diversity], especially since a lot of the studies are very binary, talking about things only in terms of boys and girls.” – community focus group participant

Students recognize macro-level areas where gender diversity is rendered invisible (i.e., research, education, and so on), but also point out that instructors blatantly avoid challenging or addressing this.

Gender-Diverse Flourishing Recommendations

Generated in collaboration with gender-diverse students of the UTSC Psychology department, below are recommendations for improving gender-diverse flourishing in (1) classroom policies, (2) course content, and (3) interlocutors’ in/actions (Li & Bercovici, 2024).

1. Classroom Policies

Create a Culture of Inclusive Pronoun Usage

• Using people’s correct pronouns and supporting pronoun sharing is a big way to make gender-diverse students feel safer. It also enables students to dive into their learning more meaningfully:
  • “[On the off chance] a professor uses my pronouns correctly, I feel 10x safer and 1000x more confident… It makes me feel like what I say matters. I feel like I have this bubble of power because it’s not someone else determining who I am–it’s me, and you have to respect that.” – community focus group participant

• Students reported that just by seeing their instructors and TAs share their pronouns, they thought “this is a safe person I can go to.”
  • While sharing pronouns does not indicate being part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, they still demonstrate care for the community.

• This means creating a classroom culture where sharing pronouns is normal:
  • Share your pronouns in syllabi, email signatures, and introductions.
  • Invite students to share their pronouns when making introductions, writing name cards, etc (if they wish to do so).
  • This also means not assuming people’s pronouns or gender identity (or other facets of identity).

Employ and Encourage Gender-Neutral Language as Best Practice

• Recognizing the importance of language as a way of enacting gender-diverse inclusion in the classroom.

• Using gender-neutral terms is not only best practice within psychology according to the American Psychological Association (see “Bias-free language” resource, 2023), but also demonstrates a conscious effort to make space for gender-diverse and 2SLGBTIQA+ students.
  • Some examples of common things that are gendered in psychology courses that can be re-stated in gender-neutral terms:
    • Instead of using exclusionary language when referring to a group of people, such as “he or she”
      • → Use all-encompassing language: “they”
    • Instead of gendering attributes in a way that evokes stereotypes, such as “cautious men and timid women”
      • → Use the same adjectives across genders: “cautious people”
    • See under the “Gender” category of the “Bias-free language” resource (APA, 2023) for more examples.

2. Course Content

Incorporate Gender Diversity in Course Content

• Gender diversity is often erased, or, only discussed in pathological, deficit-based terms within our course content.
  • This often makes gender-diverse students feel othered and unable to exist as their authentic selves.

• To challenge this, take meaningful actions to discuss gender diversity in affirming and community-based ways in class.
  • This looks like presenting community-based research by and for 2SLGBTQIA+ people.
  • This also means checking how your textbooks, readings, and resources discuss 2SLGBTQIA+ people and issues.

• Students identified the following subfields as areas that should be discussing gender-diversity in more affirming ways, but currently aren’t:
  • Developmental psychology
    • Discusses gender development in binary ways and assumes rigid ideas of gender for all people.
    • Makes a spectacle out of intersex and gender-diverse people to push their “nature vs. nurture” narratives (i.e., the popular case example of David Reimer).
  • Clinical psychology
    • Pathologizes gender-diverse people through DSM definitions of gender “transgressions”, such as: “gender identity disorder,” “autogynephilia,” and “transvestic disorder.”
  • Social psychology
    • While social psychology takes the lead in gender-diverse inclusion, it skews toward shallow breadth, with whispers of transphobic language, instead of a deeper, community-led understanding.
  • Behavioural neuroscience
    • Discusses intersex and gender-diverse people in dehumanizing, medicalized ways (“sex abnormalities”, “ambiguous genitalia”, etc.).

Acknowledge Gender Binarism in Psychology (and Science)

• Some areas of psychology and neuroscience do not lend so easily to discussing gender diversity.
• In these cases, efforts can still be made to acknowledge and rectify this issue.
  • For example, instructors can teach community-led readings and resources, consisting of affirming narratives, to counter harmful “mandatory” materials that must be taught.
    • This could be from grey literature and social media too.

• It would be meaningful for instructors to provide a disclaimer to students when they cannot avoid problematic content.
  • This statement should come from the heart and 1. denounce the issue, 2. point to systemic forces causing this issue, and 3. offer support in other ways (whether that be through resources or office hours).

Provide Opportunities for Gender-Diverse People to Co-Teach

• Students report an appreciation for guest speakers with lived experiences to teach them nuanced topics–especially over rote reading of textbooks, for example.
• Instead of resting on harmful narratives (or non-existent ones) in course content, there could be an opportunity here for open classroom discussions that provide a space for the opinions and lived experiences of gender-diverse students.

3. Interlocutors’ in/actions

Complete EDI Training Focused on 2SLGBTQIA+ Topics

• Students reported that all instructors and staff should complete a gender-diverse (or more general 2SLGBTQIA+) inclusive EDI training.
• Within our institution, the Sexual & Gender Diversity Office offers workshops and trainings on sexual and gender diversity:
  • “Foundations of 2SLGBTQ+ Concepts and Identities”
  • “Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Building a Gender-Inclusive University”
  • “2SLGBTQ+ Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace”
  • “Continued Conversations about Gender and Trans-Inclusion”
• However, students called for a student-led workshop where faculty can directly hear the voices of 2SLGBTQIA+ students.

Hire 2SLGBTQIA+ Students and Create Opportunities for Related Projects

• Students identified a desire to be taught by gender-diverse and 2SLGBTQIA+ instructors and staff.

• This representation is highly important, as it signals to students that they too can achieve positions in academia, counseling, and so on.

• Therefore making efforts to hire and work with gender-diverse and 2SLGBTQIA+ students, such as in labs and research positions, is crucial for helping to engage with 2SLGBTQIA+ perspectives while combating transphobia and gender binarism.

Check Your Understanding

Resources

The following recommendations on supporting 2SLGBTIQA+ students come from scholarship and grey literature. This section is meant for those interested in further engagement with the topic.

• Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health – Invisible Intersections: Supporting 2SLGBTQ+ Students on Campus – Toolkit
  • A literature-informed, statistically-backed, Ontario-focused overview of 2SLGBTQ+ mental health experiences on university campuses.
  • Provides six recommendations on how to better support 2SLGBTQ+ students on campus.

References

American Psychological Association. (November, 2023). Bias-free language. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/bias-free-language.

Cramwinckel, F. M., Scheepers, D. T., & der Toorn, J. (2018). Interventions to Reduce Blatant and Subtle Sexual Orientation‐ and Gender Identity Prejudice (SOGIP): Current Knowledge and Future Directions. Social Issues and Policy Review, 12(1), 183–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/sipr.12044.

Li, S., & Bercovici, D. A. (2024). A collaborative imagining of a gender-inclusive psychology classroom [Unpublished Manuscript]. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada.

Contributions

Roles follow the CRediT Taxonomy. Names are listed in alphabetical order.

Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Methodology, and Writing – Original draft: Stephanie Li

Writing – Review & editing: Debra Bercovici, Amman Khurana

Supervision: Debra Bercovici

Funding Acquisition: Debra Bercovici, Kyle Danielson (PIE Funds)