Purpose of Study:
The purpose of the GISO Study is to theorize and understand transgender identity development not simply in a binary manner or even on a continuum, but rather it is to theorize transgender identity in relation to sexual orientation and how these two develop psychologically during youth and adulthood. It is my hope that this study will help further inform educators and psychologists about the specific issues facing transgender youths and adults in the area of sexuality as this changes and develops in relation to transitions in gender identity. As an educator and psychologist I also hope that this work could be used to inform community outreach, program development, and curricular enrichment for transgendered people.

Research Questions:
I plan to explore three research questions: 1) What is the psychology of transgender identity development?; 2) How does transgender identity, that is gender identity, intersect with sexual orientation, that is, sexuality? and; 3) In what way does this intersection construct identity during adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood?

Methods:
The study is qualitative in its methodology and has four interconnected parts:
1) I will use material contained in the Human Sexuality Collection at Cornell University as a basis for exploring historically the research questions as well as other current literature on the psychology of transgender development. I will also conduct research at the Labadie Collection, which houses the National Transgender Library and Archives---the largest transgender collection-- which is located at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.  Out of personal accounts and other primary documents which are available only at HSC  and NTLA I plan to fashion a conceptual context for developing a qualitative study to answer the research questions;
2)  I will design and carry out this study through interviews with transgender youths, young adults, and adults. The interviews will be conducted over the Internet via e-mail and chat, by telephone, and face to face;
3) Drawing on research literature and on the interviews, I plan to begin to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the psychological development of transgender identity with a focus on the intersections of gender and sexual orientation. This conceptual framework will seek to move beyond pathological explanations and into an understanding of transgender as part of the varied possibilities of normal human development;
4) The intent is for this to be a longitudinal study with yearly follow-up interviews.

Participants:
Participants in this study will be transgender youth, young adults, and adults who voluntarily agree to be interviewed. Participants will be recruited through postings on the Internet to transgender identified groups and through "snowballing", that is, as one person is interviewed he tells another person who agrees to be interviewed and she tells another and so on. A written consent form following standard ethical practice will be provided to and signed by both the participant and the researcher.

Interview Questions:
The interview questions will be divided into four sections:
1) Demographics: age, birth sex, religion, class, race, ethnicity, and education
2) Gender Identity: definitions and lived experiences, personal stories
3) Sexual Orientation: definitions and lived experience, personal stories
4) Gender Identity in relation to Sexual Orientation: lived experience, examples, and personal stories