Who is this project for?

The Whole Selves Project focuses on the experiences of trans/nonbinary young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 years.

We’re focusing on young adults because young adulthood is often an important life stage for exploring one’s identity (including gender identity) and developing one’s skills and expectations for healthy romantic relationships. It’s also a life stage when many people experience depression, anxiety, and problems related to alcohol use, which are some of the outcomes we hope to address through this research. With that said, we expect that much of what we learn will also be relevant to younger and older trans/nonbinary people, and some parts of the project include people outside of the 18-30 age range.

Being part of the project is based on whether someone personally identifies as transgender, nonbinary, or both, using their own definitions. However, people sometimes wonder how we define these terms. We define transgender (or trans) as having a gender identity that’s different from what your surrounding culture expects based on the sex you were assigned at birth. We define nonbinary as having a gender identity that isn’t exclusively boy/man or girl/woman, including more specific nonbinary gender identities like genderqueer, agender, or gender fluid.

Our definition of transgender very much includes nonbinary people, and nonbinary people have long been a central part of trans communities. However, we respect that not all nonbinary people personally identify as trans. We use the term “trans/nonbinary” to make clear that this project includes all nonbinary people, whether or not they currently identify as trans.

Is this project about t4t relationships?

This project is about relationships where at least one person is trans/nonbinary, including our relationships with cisgender partners. Our previous research suggests that around 40% of trans/nonbinary young adults are in t4t relationships (that is, relationships with other trans/nonbinary people). Our goal is to learn more about the joys and challenges of both t4t relationships and relationships with cis partners, including the differences and similarities between those types of relationships.

Who’s funding this research?

The project is funded by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (K99AAA030601; PI: Gabriel R. Murchison). Pilot data collection was funded by the Yale University Women Faculty Forum. The qualitative research underlying the project was part of the Body Image, Sexual Health, and Relationships Project (B*SHARP), funded by the Boston Children’s Hospital Aerosmith Endowment Fund for the Prevention and Treatment of HIV (PI: Allegra R. Gordon).

How can I share feedback on the project?

We always appreciate community members’ input, and we often make decisions based on community feedback. If you have comments, questions, or suggestions, please email us at wholeselves@yale.edu.

In the intervention development phase of the project, we’ll be collaborating with a group of trans/nonbinary community advisors who are young adults, community leaders, or both. If you’re interested in being part of this advisory group, please sign up for our email updates using the box below. We’ll send an announcement when we start putting the group together.

The frogs made my day. Who drew them?

Bohigent, a queer artist based in New England, did the illustrations and design work for this project. If you love the frogs as much as we do, you can find him on Instagram!