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Sociodemographic Characteristics of Trans Persons in Belgium: A Secondary Data Analysis of Medical, State, and Social Data

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Abstract

By performing secondary data analyses of existing medical, social, and state data, this study examined the sociodemographic profile of trans persons in Belgium and gains knowledge on those who are functionally invisible in traditional epidemiological studies or clinical samples. Based on medical interventions, post-operative transsexual persons were selected from a social survey data set, to compare their sociodemographic profile with available data on legal sex changes from the Belgian National Register and with published data on clinical samples of post-operative transsexual persons. Furthermore, based on self-chosen gender identity categories in the social survey data, transsexual participants were compared with the transgender participants (those people feeling neither female nor male, or both female and male, or otherwise). The sociodemographic data on the post-operative transsexual persons from the three datasets appeared to be very similar. Based on identity categories, the data on transsexual and transgender persons from the social survey showed differences in marital status and employment. Transsexual persons were significantly more often divorced than transgender persons. Both groups differed significantly in employment status. Information about transgender people (or the “in-between” group) is too often lacking from studies but can be obtained when identity instead of medical criteria are used in research.

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Acknowledgments

The Social Survey data were collected by the first author through the financial support of the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men (IEWM). The authors thank the IEWM for providing the official state data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Policy Research Centre on Equality Politics, University of Antwerp, Lange Nieuwstraat 55, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium

    Joz Motmans

  2. Citizenship, Equality and Diversity Research Group, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Joz Motmans

  3. Research Centre for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Koen Ponnet

  4. Media and ICT in Organisations and Society, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Koen Ponnet

  5. Department for Sexology and Gender Problems, University Hospital Ghent, Ghent, Belgium

    Griet De Cuypere

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  1. Joz Motmans
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  2. Koen Ponnet
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  3. Griet De Cuypere
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Correspondence to Joz Motmans.

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Motmans, J., Ponnet, K. & De Cuypere, G. Sociodemographic Characteristics of Trans Persons in Belgium: A Secondary Data Analysis of Medical, State, and Social Data. Arch Sex Behav 44, 1289–1299 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0411-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0411-2

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