Carlos: Hi, Stephenson. Thanks for taking the time to discuss your pioneering transgender research. It certainly provides an illuminating perspective that goes well beyond the media fixation on bathrooms, sports, and grooming. How did this fascinating research journey begin?
Stephenson: Those are still important topics, but my interest in post-mortem identities began before graduate school when I attended several memorials for trans people. I could not help but notice the arbitrary way in which the deceased’s gender identity was assigned. Usually these memorials reflected their family’s preferences rather than the way the deceased would have defined themselves. Then in graduate school I encountered the concept of end-of-life (EOL) communication. I concluded that end-of-life communication intersected with the use of public memorial expressions, such as gravestones, obituaries, and funerals.
Carlos: Could you elaborate?
Stephenson: End-of-life conversations could become moments when trans people clearly inform their families as to how they would like to be memorialized, while it would also give them a chance to talk about what their transgender identity means to them.
Carlos: What about legal issues?
Stephenson: Few laws protect a person’s identity after death. So it is important that the family is supportive of the deceased’s wishes. Unfortunately, in many cases communication between trans individuals and their families has broken down.
Carlos: How do transgender people deal with this dilemma?
Stephenson: I interviewed more than fifty trans and non-binary people of different ages and found a generation gap. Among the older folks, half said they would be comfortable having both their pre-transition and post-transition identities memorialized. These were typically people who had transitioned later in life after having already embarked on careers and having formed long-lasting relationships. They didn’t want the earlier parts of their lives to be erased. Those who transitioned earlier in life were more likely to want only their trans identity to be memorialized. Surprisingly, I found a few who simply didn’t care about how their gender identity would be memorialized.
Carlos: Why not?
Stephenson: Another generation gap. The older cohort seemed fatalistic. They knew they would be gone, so they didn’t care how their identities would be treated. The younger group tended to care less about long-standing traditions like obituaries and gravestones. Some said that if their families didn’t express respect for their identities, they were confident that their friends and peers would. Perhaps through alternative events and online activities.
Carlos: How could this dilemma be better addressed?
Stephenson: Let’s start with law. Our legal system should acknowledge the bonds associated with close friendships, found families, and non-legal queer partnerships. As long as the power to enact a transgender person’s identity rests solely with blood relatives, post-mortem trans identities will remain precarious.
Carlos: Are there other obstacles?
Stephenson: Yes. Too many people still doubt the authenticity of transgender identity. They often think that transgender people are simply mistaken or even delusional. This leads to serious ramifications.
Carlos: Like what?
Stephenson: It would be virtually unthinkable for someone to alter a cisgender person’s gender identity after death. But families receive little pushback when they alter a trans person’s identity. They do so without shame or regret, since people do not recognize trans or non-binary identities as being authentic.
Carlos: How might the changing nature of burials address this dilemma?
Stephenson: That’s an important development. We are seeing more end-of-life options like green burials, composting, and hydro cremation. Digital platforms now provide more convenient and affordable options for memorialization outside of traditional systems. Perhaps most importantly for trans and non-binary folks, many of these new methods reduce or remove the power of gatekeepers to police non-conforming identities.
Carlos: But that doesn’t resolve the issue of perceived authenticity.
Stephenson: Unfortunately not. The biggest challenge is to change public opinion. Transgender people share many of the experiences of other marginalized communities. However, they also face the added challenge of repeatedly and persistently having to defend the authenticity of their identity.
Carlos: But that hasn’t always been the case, has it?
Stephenson: Absolutely not. Since the dawn of civilization people have been living outside of the gender binary. In some communities they have been revered. Western colonialism suppressed the recognition of these gender options, but we are now seeing a re-emergence of diverse gender identities. It is the reclaiming of something we once had. Stories from the long history of gender diversity have proven to be a strength for this re-emergence.
Carlos: Where do you want to go from here, Stephenson?
Stephenson: I want to explore other related questions. For instance, how does post-mortem detransitioning affect surviving community members? What is said in gender-affirming end-of-life conversations, and how can these conversations become a more common practice?
Carlos: Any other research directions?
Stephenson: We need to examine the burial experiences of other historically marginalized groups: indigenous children on the grounds of Christian boarding schools; Black and Chinese burial grounds that have been plowed under for development; and queer partners who are forbidden from being buried side-by-side in certain cemeteries.
Carlos: Stephenson, you really do want to make a difference.
Stephenson: Yes, that’s my goal. To help restore the dignity and the human-ness of marginalized individuals, both before and after death.
Stephenson Brooks Whitestone is currently an adjunct lecturer at Santa Clara University.She received her Ph.D.in Communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2022.Her work has been published in scholarly journals, but she also hopes to increase awareness of discrimination-after-death in spaces where impacted individuals are more likely to see it.