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I love the work, but the work doesn't love me: a constructivist study on the stories and lived experiences of transgender staff of color who report discrimination in higher education

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dc.contributor.authorSérráno, Bri Carmen, author
dc.contributor.authorDockendorff, Kari, advisor
dc.contributor.authorMuñoz, Susana, committee member
dc.contributor.authorRivera, Carmen, committee member
dc.contributor.authorDemirjyn, Maricela, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2024-09-09T20:52:05Z
dc.date.available2026-08-16
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractTransgender people in the United States are experiencing an unprecedented amount of anti-trans laws and rhetoric (Yurcaba, 2024). Simultaneously, there is limited research on the experiences of transgender staff of color in higher education and their experiences of reporting discrimination (Pitcher, 2017; Siegel, 2019). Therefore, a study focusing on the lived experiences of trans staff of color who report discrimination is timely and necessary to inform how colonial institutions confront discrimination reporting and processes. The centering of marginalized people is essential to understanding the experiences trans staff of color have with the processes and practices of institutions receiving discrimination reports, which not only reflect their experiences but also the experiences of other transgender people in higher education. The study uses a constructivist qualitative (Merriam, 2014) research methodology and implements the decoloniality for a trans* of color critique (Salas-SantaCruz, 2021) framework to analyze findings. The findings reveal five themes of the lived experiences of transgender staff of color and coloniality: white cissexist capitalism and normative violence, white cissexist imperialism in higher education, psychological demotion and policing of transgender bodies, inconsistency and dismissiveness of reports of discrimination, and institutional negligence and reconciling emotions after reporting discrimination. Continued research on the experiences of transgender staff of color in higher education is needed, as critiques and understandings of non-discrimination policies and practices and addressing the incompetence of administrative leaders and supervisors in higher education, inadequately meeting the needs of transgender staff of color to meet their basic position duties. Higher education institutions, administrators, and policymakers need to take immediate action to humanize, empathize, and identify the next steps in ensuring transgender staff of color are not violently dehumanized in the workplace.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediumdoctoral dissertations
dc.identifierSerrano_colostate_0053A_18436.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/239231
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2020-
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.rights.accessEmbargo expires: 08/16/2026.
dc.subjectconstructivism
dc.subjecthigher education
dc.subjecttransgender studies
dc.subjectdiscrimination reporting
dc.subjectcolonial institutions
dc.subjectorganizational leadership
dc.titleI love the work, but the work doesn't love me: a constructivist study on the stories and lived experiences of transgender staff of color who report discrimination in higher education
dc.typeText
dcterms.embargo.expires2026-08-16
dcterms.embargo.terms2026-08-16
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineEducation
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

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