“Bigender is just a Tumblr thing”: microaggressions in the romantic relationships of gender non-conforming and agender transgender individuals

This study focuses on the microaggressions that gender non- conforming and agender identified transgender individuals receive from their romantic partners. While microaggressions have been studied in the romantic relationships of trans- gender individuals, gender non-conforming and agender indi- viduals’ experiences of microaggressions have not been the focus. Participants included 390 adults who identified as gen- der non-conforming (n 1⁄4 200) and agender (n 1⁄4 190) and who were either currently or formerly (within the past five years) in a romantic relationship. Results were analyzed via thematic analysis and resulted in three relationship salient themes: 1) identity parsing; 2) binary assumptions; and 3) transition- dependent. Discussion of the results focuses on the way micro- aggressions are shaped by normative assumptions of gender/ sex and sexuality. Clinical implications for sexual and relation- ship therapy are discussed.