Identity, Belonging and Socio-Emotional Experiences of Transgender Persons in Odisha: A Qualitative Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrjss.2026.v06.n01.028Keywords:
Transgender Persons, Identity Recognition, Belonging, Socio-Emotional Experiences, Odisha, Qualitative Content AnalysisAbstract
This study explores identity, belonging and socio-emotional experiences through ten original participant accounts from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, Odisha. A qualitative content-analysis approach organises the case summaries around recognition, family relationships, everyday dignity, livelihood, institutional participation and coping. The accounts portray varied experiences: material family support could coexist with restrictions on gender expression; family separation could affect education and livelihood; and personal confidence could coexist with institutional misrecognition. Friendship, community solidarity, self-employment and continued community participation appear as forms of agency within constrained circumstances. Cross-case interpretation suggests that belonging and emotional security are negotiated through relationships, resources and institutional practices rather than explained solely as individual adjustment. These interpretations are bounded by the available case summaries and do not establish clinical diagnoses, prevalence or causality. The analysis contributes a contextual account of how support and exclusion may coexist, while identifying the importance of respectful educational environments, dignified livelihood pathways and meaningful participation. Full source extracts and documentation of recruitment, collection, consent and analysis remain necessary to complete the empirical reporting record.
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