ABSTRACT
This chapter explores transgender girlhoods, drawing from an arts-based qualitative study of gender-diverse childhoods undertaken between 2015 and 2019. Using a trans joy framework, these analyses present two portraits of transgender girlhoods in the United States and suggest that part of transforming girlhood studies means resisting exclusionary feminisms and damage-centered research but instead emphasizing trans girl joy toward collective liberation. Discussion of the contemporary US social and political context and its impact on all women and girls is accompanied by intersectional analyses of trans girls’ experiences in those contexts. Recommendations for supporting a trans-inclusive Girlhood Studies conclude the chapter.
