Policy Press
3 Transgender and non-binary persons, mental health, and gender binarism in Serbia
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Abstract
There are for the time being no systematic studies exploring transgender mental health in the Serbian context, which has been over the last three decades characterised by profound and violent social transformations. In this chapter, we draw upon a combination of empirical methods, including a survey, clinical observations, and semi-structured interviews, to claim that despite significant improvements in the psychiatric and legal domains, the TGNB community is still marginalised with mental health services being one of the most affected areas. We discuss the reasons for the hegemony of the medical discourse over TGNB lives and argue in favour of a non-binary understanding of gender as a basis for trans affirming healthcare.
Abstract
There are for the time being no systematic studies exploring transgender mental health in the Serbian context, which has been over the last three decades characterised by profound and violent social transformations. In this chapter, we draw upon a combination of empirical methods, including a survey, clinical observations, and semi-structured interviews, to claim that despite significant improvements in the psychiatric and legal domains, the TGNB community is still marginalised with mental health services being one of the most affected areas. We discuss the reasons for the hegemony of the medical discourse over TGNB lives and argue in favour of a non-binary understanding of gender as a basis for trans affirming healthcare.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Notes on contributors v
- Acknowledgements viii
- Foreword: The Yellow Brick Road of trans queer survival in Yugoslavia and after ix
- Introduction: In post-Yugoslav trans worlds 1
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Lives
- Transgender lives in North Macedonia: citizenship, violence, and networks of support 23
- The resilience of trans existence through solidarity in Montenegro: (non)pathologising narratives of transgender lives 40
- Transgender and non-binary persons, mental health, and gender binarism in Serbia 59
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Activisms
- From survival to activism: tracing trans history in Kosovo from the 1970s onwards 97
- Tortuous paths towards trans futures: the trans movement in Slovenia 133
- (Post)socialist gender troubles: transphobia in Serbian leftist activism 155
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Culture
- Trans artivism in the post-Yugoslav space: resistance and inclusion strategies in action 179
- ‘The truth is what is in the body’: an interview with Aleks Zain 196
- Queering sevdah: gender-nonconformity in the traditional music of Bosnia and Herzegovina 208
- Index 227
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Notes on contributors v
- Acknowledgements viii
- Foreword: The Yellow Brick Road of trans queer survival in Yugoslavia and after ix
- Introduction: In post-Yugoslav trans worlds 1
-
Lives
- Transgender lives in North Macedonia: citizenship, violence, and networks of support 23
- The resilience of trans existence through solidarity in Montenegro: (non)pathologising narratives of transgender lives 40
- Transgender and non-binary persons, mental health, and gender binarism in Serbia 59
-
Activisms
- From survival to activism: tracing trans history in Kosovo from the 1970s onwards 97
- Tortuous paths towards trans futures: the trans movement in Slovenia 133
- (Post)socialist gender troubles: transphobia in Serbian leftist activism 155
-
Culture
- Trans artivism in the post-Yugoslav space: resistance and inclusion strategies in action 179
- ‘The truth is what is in the body’: an interview with Aleks Zain 196
- Queering sevdah: gender-nonconformity in the traditional music of Bosnia and Herzegovina 208
- Index 227
