Reading distress as oppression and resilience as resistance: a structural ecological analysis of trans and nonbinary people's experiences in Italy

This dissertation explores the lived experiences of trans, nonbinary (TNB) people in Italy through an ecological and structural lens. Despite emerging and increasing international interest in ecological approaches to minority stress and resilience within a structural framework, the existing literature still lacks a systematic analysis of how structural oppressions, specifically targeting TNB people, such as gender norms, cisnormativity, and transnormativity, generate and shape distress and the need for resilience. To address this gap, the dissertation aims to: (1) examine the structural and institutional barriers that influence TNB lives in Italy, especially in areas like gender affirmation pathways, the education system, and the socio-political environment; in doing so, it provides a structural view of stressors within an ecological framework. (2) identify and highlight the resilience resources and resistance strategies used by TNB individuals within these oppressive settings; and (3) contribute to a growing understanding of resilience as a process that considers the role of structural oppressions and how they are embedded within individual experiences. To achieve these objectives, five empirical studies were conducted. The first two studies examine the institutional gender affirmation pathways, exploring both critiques led by TNB activists and individual experiences of distress. The third study investigates the school experiences of TNB activists through a social justice lens. The fourth study analyzes the impact of Italy’s recent political shift toward right-wing conservatism on LGBTQIA+ individuals’ perceptions of safety and rights. The final study employs a Critical Community-Based Participatory Action Research approach to explore how collective spaces foster resilience in overcoming gender norms through a community- and joy-centered journey. The findings underscore the importance of a structural approach that recognizes distress and resilience as experiences shaped and produced by the effects of norms, which generate oppression and highlight the necessity for resistance actions primarily through community experiences.