School-based gender discourses: regulation and agency in adolescents with trans life experiences
Main Article Content
Abstract
Schools function as spaces for the socialization and circulation of gender discourses that regulate the life experiences of trans adolescents. The objective of this study was to understand the ways in which gender discourses influence the regulation and agency of adolescents with trans life experiences in educational institutions. To this end, a literature search on the phenomenon under study was conducted in the Scopus, Scielo, Dialnet, Google Scholar, Redalyc, and LA Referencia databases for the period 2021–2026, yielding 32 articles, which were subjected to a critical review using a categorical analysis aimed at identifying patterns and trends in academic production. The study highlighted the various ways in which gender discourses regulate the identity of adolescents with trans life experiences, shape their subjectivity and emotional experiences, and foster the development of forms of agency aimed at transforming school realities. In conclusion, the findings reveal the interdependence between regulation, the shaping of subjectivity, and forms of agency among adolescents with trans life experiences, as well as the need to strengthen context-specific research.
Article Details
Conference Proceedings Volume
Section

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
References
Atherton, S. (2024). The privacy and visibility paradox: trans students' experiences of toilets and changing rooms in UK secondary schools. Gender and Education, 36(7), 747–762. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2024.2390952
Babativa, H., Rubiano, P. A., Velásquez, T., González, J., Vega, M. and Gaona, N. (2024). La entrevista semiestructurada: una herramienta pertinente en la percepción de valores sociales para la vida. Revista Lasallista de Investigación, 21(1), 92–107. https://doi.org/10.22507/rli.v21n1a5
Belda-Carreres, C. y Bellver-Pérez, A. (2023). Actitudes hacia la población con disforia de género en el contexto escolar. Revista de Psicología y Educación, 18(1), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.23923/rpye2023.01.234
Bower-Brown, S., Zadeh, S. and Jadva, V. (2023). Binary-trans, non-binary and gender-questioning adolescents' experiences in UK schools. Journal of LGBT Youth, 20(1), 74–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2021.1873215
Brant, C. A. R. (2024). Trans Youth Voices: Helpful and Harmful Practices. The Educational Forum, 88(3), 324–336. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131725.2024.2341863
Butler, J. (2002). Cuerpos que importan: Sobre los límites materiales y discursivos del “sexo” (A. Bixio, Trad.). Paidós. (Trabajo original publicado en 1993).
Butler, J. (2007). El género en disputa: El feminismo y la subversión de la identidad (M. A. Muñoz, Trad.). Paidós. (Trabajo original publicado en 1990).
Calligo, R. (2024). El binarismo de género en los institutos secundarios: un sistema que genera violencia. Athenea Digital, 24(1), e3330. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/athenea.3330
Chaphekar, A. V., Sevelius, J., Glidden, D. and Vance Jr., S. R. (2024). School Absenteeism Among Racially and Ethnically Minoritized Transgender High School Students and Their Peers: A Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 75(5), 785–791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.06.028
Fernández Fernández, D. (2021). Lo Trans en el Cole: Cuerpos, Discursos y Miradas. Algunas Reflexiones sobre Contexto Costarricense. Revista Electrónica Educare, 25(3), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.29.6025
Foucault, M. (2009). Vigilar y castigar: Nacimiento de la prisión (2.ª ed. rev., A. Garzón del Camino, Trad.). Siglo XXI Editores. (Obra original publicada en 1975)
Foucault, M. (2011). Historia de la sexualidad: Vol. 1. La voluntad de saber (U. Guiñazú, trad.; Ed. rev. y corr.). Siglo XXI Editores. (Obra original publicada en 1976).
Fontanari, A. M. V., Feijó, M., Villas-Boas, A. P., Wendt, G. W. and Costa, A. B. (2026). School Climate, Absenteeism and School Transfer Due to Transphobic Bullying in Transgender And Non-Binary Youth. Journal of Adolescence, 98, 591-601. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.70084
Fox, C., Grace, E., y Skourides, L. (2025). What does a trans positive approach in schools look like to LGBTQ + young people?. Journal of Youth Studies. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2025.2591257
Fuentes-Miguel, J., Pérez-Samaniego, V., López-Cañada, E., Pereira-García, S., and Devís-Devís, J. (2022). "From inclusion to queer-trans pedagogy in school and physical education: a narrative ethnography of trans generosity". Sport, Education and Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2022.2073437
Gallardo Nieto, E. M. y Espinosa Spínola, M. (2021). Sobre la imposición del sistema género y la transfobia: Historias de niñxs crativxs con el género y jóvenes trans. OBETS. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 16(1), 115–134. https://doi.org/10.14198/OBETS2021.16.1.08
García, T. R., Ribeiro, P. R. C. e Magalhães, J. C. (2025). Entre normativas e acolhimentos: o uso do nome social nas escolas de um município do Sul do Rio Grande do Sul e os deslocamentos do (cis)tema. Cadernos Cajuína, 10(2), e976. https://doi.org/10.52641/cadcajv10i2.976
Giroux, H. A. (1990). Teoría y resistencia en educación: Una pedagogía para la oposición. Siglo XXI Editores.
Ibarzabal, M. y Álvarez, G. (2024). Efectos de un programa de prevención transfóbica en adolescentes de tercer curso de secundaria. Implicaciones desde la orientación. Revista Española de Orientación y Psicopedagogía, 35(2), 61-80. https://doi.org/10.5944/reop.vol.35.num.2.2024.41950
Johnson, B. and Mughal, R. (2025). Towards a critical pedagogy of trans-inclusive education in UK secondary schools. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 29(11), 1937–1951. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2024.2326612
Kwok, D. K. and Kwok, K. (2022). Navigating transprejudice: Chinese transgender students' experiences of sexuality education in Hong Kong. Sex Education, 22(5), 552–566. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2021.1969908
Llancapán Fabúndez, C. y Reyes Veras, E. (2023). Percepciones frente a la incorporación de estudiantes transexuales de la comunidad educativa en un colegio particular subvencionado de la comuna de Puente Alto. Foro Educacional, (41), 79-109. https://doi.org/10.29344/07180772.41.3394
Maine, E., Hardy, T. and Wells, K. (2025). "It was Trans Hell:" Exploring the Schooling Experiences of Trans and Non-binary Youth in Alberta. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy/Revue canadienne en administration et politique de l'éducation, (206), 185–201. https://doi.org/10.7202/1118741ar
Martin-Castillo, D., García-Arenas, J. J., Sánchez-Muñoz, M., Jiménez-Barbero, J. A. and Pastor-Bravo, M. M. (2025). School-based victimization of transgender youth: A qualitative study. Anales del Sistema Sanitario de Navarra, 48(2), e1108. https://doi.org/10.23938/ASSN.1108
Martino, W., Kassen, J. and Omercajic, K. (2024). Trans and nonbinary students' accounts of schooling: on epistemic witnessing, trans livability and the failure of the school cistem. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 45(5-6), 689–714. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2024.2426300
McBride, R. S. and Neary, A. (2021). Trans and gender diverse youth resisting cisnormativity in school. Gender and Education, 33(8), 1090–1107. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2021.1884201
Moreno Rangel, N. E., Velasquez Mejía, L. S. y Castiblanco Alfonso, N. C. (2022). "Si usted es varón vaya juegue futbol, vaya revuélquese o vaya pelee": Narrativas de roles de género en adolescentes transgénero y cisgénero de la ciudad de Medellín. Revista Iberoamericana de Psicología, 15(2), 25–33. https://doi.org/10.33881/2027-1786.rip.15203
Parral, V. (2021). La pedagogía de la performance como paradigma del feminismo y de la diversidad sexual y de género en la ESO. Educación artística: revista de investigación, 12, 301–309. https://doi.org/10.7203/eari.12.19723
Pereira-García, S., Devís-Devís, J., Villescas Vivancos, F. y Taylor, Y. (2025). "It's Your Word Against Mine": A Case Study of Gender Negotiation in a Spanish School. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 42(2), 261–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-023-00954-9
Pérez Fernández, P. D., Fernández Rodríguez, M., García Vega, E. y Guerra Mora, P. (2021). Acoso escolar y autoconcepto en personas trans. Revista de Investigación Educativa, 39(1), 189–208. https://doi.org/10.6018/rie.420001
Phipps, C. and Blackall, C. J. (2021). ‘I wasn’t allowed to join the boys’: The ideology of cultural cisgenderism in a UK school. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 31(5), 1097–1114. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2021.2000012
Rueda García, D. E., Armas Freire, P. I., Ramos Armijos, D. F. y Ramos Ramos, A. F. (2025). Transformación y evolución histórica de la educación: Su función social en el desarrollo de la sociedad. PROHOMINUM. Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas, 7(3), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.47606/ACVEN/PH0355
Sánchez Sáinz, M., García Medina, R. y Penna Tosso, M. (2023). Alumnado trans: Una oportunidad para el desarrollo de pedagogías feministas en la escuela. Educar, 59(1), 115–129. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/educar.1569
Sánchez Sánchez, T. y Etopa Bitata, M. P. (2021). Las realidades trans* en la adolescencia: el acoso escolar en esta etapa. INFAD Revista de Psicología, 1(2), 155–162. ISSN: 0214-9877
Santos, M. C. G. e Fonseca, H. L. A. (2024). Desagendamento, gestão escolar e vidas trans: a construção da cultura organizacional da escola como meio de justiça social para estudantes transgêneros. Interritórios, 10(19), e262294. https://doi.org/10.51359/2525-7668.2024.262294
Wilkin, J., Whigham, S. and Wilmut, K. (2026). Exploring Transgender and Nonbinary People's Experiences of Cisnormative Physical Education at Secondary School. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 45, 702-711. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2025-0032
Ullman, J. (2022). Trans/gender-diverse students’ perceptions of positive school climate and teacher concern as factors in school belonging: Results from an Australian national study. Teachers College Record, 124(8), 145–167. https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681221121710
Wilkinson, S. D. and Penney, D. (2026). "It makes me feel dysphoric": transgender and non-binary students' perspectives of gendered grouping practices and curriculum provision in secondary school physical education in England. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 34(2), 387–408. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2025.2509269
Yáñez-Urbina, C., Sandoval-Lucero, N. y Figueroa-Céspedes, I. (2022). La indocilidad de Santiago: la experiencia escolar de un estudiante trans* en el sistema educativo chileno. La Ventana. Revista de estudios de género, 6(56), 233–267. https://doi.org/10.32870/lv.v6i56.7504