Article “I Didn’t Come Here to Make Trouble”: Resistance Strategies Utilized by Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth in the Midwestern U.S. Megan S. Paceley 1, *, Jacob Goffnett 2 , April L. Diaz 1 , Shanna K. Kattari 3,4 , Jennifer Navarro 1 and Emera Greenwood 1   Citation: Paceley, M.S.; Goffnett, J.; Diaz, A.L.; Kattari, S.K.; Navarro, J.; Greenwood, E. “I Didn’t Come Here to Make Trouble”: Resistance Strategies Utilized by Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth in the Midwestern U.S.. Youth 2021, 1, 29–46. https://doi.org/10.3390/ youth1010005 Academic Editor: Giulio D’Urso Received: 28 November 2021 Accepted: 17 December 2021 Published: 20 December 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1 School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, 1545 Lilac Lane, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA; adiaz25@ku.edu (A.L.D.); janavarro23@ku.edu (J.N.); emera@ku.edu (E.G.) 2 School of Social Work, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA; jmgoffne@uark.edu 3 School of Social Work, University of Michigan, 1080 S University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; skattari@umich.edu 4 Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, University of Michigan, 1080 S University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA * Correspondence: mpaceley@ku.edu; Tel.: +1-785-864-2284 Abstract: Research on transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth demonstrates the negative outcomes associated with trauma and oppression based on gender identity and expression. Related research illustrates how TGD youth are resilient in the face of oppression through individual (e.g., navigating difficult relationships, seeking mental health support) and community (e.g., access to community resources) factors. However, this research is limited by an understanding of resilience as overcoming challenges rather than exploring the possibly unique ways that TGD youth resist oppression as a form of resilience. This qualitative study utilized in-depth interviews with 19 TGD youth living in two Midwestern states, a region of the U.S. characterized by high levels of hostility and victimization toward TGD young people. Thematic analyses revealed the ways in which TGD youth engage in resistance strategies in the face of oppression. At an intrapersonal level, strategies included resisting oppressive narratives, affirming one’s own gender, maintaining authenticity, and finding hope. At an interpersonal level, strategies were standing up for self and others, educating others, and avoiding hostility. Finally, at a community-level, TGD youth were engaging in activism and organizing and enhancing visibility and representation. Findings are discussed and implications are identified. Keywords: transgender; gender diverse; adolescents; resilience; critical consciousness; resistance 1. Introduction Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth have genders that differ from their sex assigned at birth (e.g., male or female), including binary, nonbinary, agender, and gender fluid identities. Much of the scholarship on TGD youth has examined the prevalence and causes of health disparities and other poor outcomes, illustrating the very real consequences of stigma, discrimination, and victimization of TGD youth [1,2]. Although critical in establishing an understanding of the relationship between oppression and mental health, a deficit-oriented approach fails to account for the strengths of TGD youth and the ways in which they cultivate resilience [3] or resist oppression [4]. Resilience is “the quality of being able to survive and thrive in the face of adver- sity” [5] (p. 210) and may include both individual and contextual factors [6]. It has been conceptualized as both a positive outcome and a process for dealing with challenges [7]. While the concept of resilience is useful and important in shifting away from a predominant focus on risk, it has also been critiqued for “inadvertently put(ting) the burden on youth to build resilience and navigate discrimination, instead of focusing on how to change, Youth 2021, 1, 29–46. https://doi.org/10.3390/youth1010005 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/youth