Sexual Identity and Psychosocial Disabilities of Transgender Women in India: A Social Exclusion Perspective

From an interdisciplinary perspective, this paper conceptualizes a new psychosocial model ofsocial exclusion ofthe male-to-female trans-gender in India. The core assumption postulates in this model is that the sexual identity as a discredited and stigmainducingsocialidentityoftransgenderwomen, inducesselfperceivedandenacted stigmatization. Thus, the perceived and enacted stigma results in both perceived and actual experience o f discrimination in basic social institutions such as families, communities and in society. This was found to result in a range ofpsychosocial disabilities imposed by transgender themselves, by their ownfamilies, community and other social institutions. This would in turn lead to social isolation and exclusion of transgender women. Further, the paper discusses the theoretical, clinical andpractice implications ofthis proposed model in detail.