Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1382-1986

Defense Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Social Work

First Advisor

Maurice N. Gattis

Abstract

Housing is a prominent issue for transgender and gender expansive (TGE) people around the world. There is a dearth of research about TGE people experiencing homelessness (TGE PEH) in the U.S. South. This dissertation aims to amplify the voices of TGE Southerners around the social concerns of housing and homelessness – this work also disrupts gendered and racialized narratives about housing injustice, exposing the salience of intersectional discrimination and cisgenderism in housing outcomes for TGE people. Using narrative and visual methods, this dissertation re-presents stories and recommendations from in-depth interview data collected from a small qualitative sample of Southern TGE organizational leaders. This dissertation examines networks of intracommunity support among TGE Southerners, and synthesizes practice and policy recommendations from interview participants. Southern TGE leaders expressed narratives and themes about spirituality and faith-based housing services, race and counternarrative, as well as intersectional discrimination towards TGE Southerners. Implications for practice, policy, and future research are discussed, including the demand for safe, stable, and affordable housing for all people across the U.S. South, and the enforcement of federal fair housing law, especially for historically marginalized communities, such as TGE Southerners.

Rights

© Aaron M. Kemmerer

Is Part Of

VCU University Archives

Is Part Of

VCU Theses and Dissertations

Date of Submission

5-7-2024

Available for download on Thursday, May 07, 2026

Included in

Social Work Commons

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