NACAC - Spring 2020 - 17

SUPPORTING TRANS, GENDERNONCONFORMING, AND GENDER
EXPANSIVE STUDENTS

As educators situated on the bridge from high school to college, it is our job to
ensure that our students transition into the adulthood that is most supportive of
their joy and wellness.
That process often includes the college
search, and for transgender and gender
nonconforming (TGNC) young people,
the application experience can be very
activating. TGNC youth experience a
particular urgency as they apply to colleges.

That urgency lies in a desire to live free of
the limitations imposed by the gender binary
(the idea that there are only two genders)
and cisnormativity (the assumption that
everyone is cisgender, or identifies with the
sex assigned at birth).

PHOTO © ZACKARY DRUCKER/THE GENDER SPECTRUM COLLECTION.

By María Mónica Andia and Lenni Yesner

Therefore, when supporting our TGNC
students in postsecondary planning, we
have a choice-we can either uphold the
cis- and heternonormative ideals prevalent
in our society, or we can embrace gender
liberation and provide the nuanced care
and support TGNC youth require during this
critical transition.
As two counselors who have helped
students through the process, here's what
we've learned along the way.

SPRING 2020

17
NACAC - Spring 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NACAC - Spring 2020
