Julia
Julia is a Caribbean American TGNC woman who came to the military chaplain for support
around her gender affirmation process and to help her manage distress and advocacy
having to do specifically with her religious community. Julia was in a very conservative
spiritual community that was deeply meaningful to her, yet rejecting of her relationship
with a man because community members viewed it as “homosexual” in nature, and they
had trouble understanding a TGNC experience. Members were rejecting of her gender
identity on the basis that it goes against “God’s mandated and immutable” binary of sex and
gender, and they rejected her relationship secondary to not accepting her identity as a
straight woman. This experience of rejection was painful for Julia and was a primary focus
of treatment in understanding her need to stay actively connected to this community and
how the connection continued to provide strength and empowerment in ways that were at
times difficult to comprehend clinically. A significant portion of Julia’s resilience was based
in her personal religious beliefs that she was being faithful to the particular religion that
was the only “true” religion. [Adapted from Singh, A., and LM Dickey, eds. (2017).
Affirmative Counseling and Psychological Practice With Transgender and
GenderNonconforming Clients. Washington, American Psychological Association: 221.]