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The United States experienced a record number of homicides against transgender victims in 2020, six of which occurred in Puerto Rico. Of the victims, five were trans women, and one was a trans man. Through case-study analysis, we explore how gender nonconformity is stigmatized within the context of Puerto Rico. Using storyline analysis of the language used by offenders, news media, and police, several themes emerged: (1) framing trans people as deceitful; (2) deadnaming, misgendering, and victim-blaming, and (3) community advocacy for the murder victims. Using the framework of hetero-cis-normativity, we explore how hetero-cis-normative biases may explain why negative attitudes toward trans individuals vary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the media's coverage of trans homicides has increased in the U.S. Studies show that the news media's framing has been largely negative but has improved in recent times. Yet, research has mostly analyzed the news media's framing of victims who were trans women, thus limiting our understanding of this issue across different trans groups. The present study employs a mixed method approach to comparatively analyze articles (N = 124) published in online news media outlets of 15 trans men and 15 trans women murdered between 2016 and 2022. The findings indicate news media outlets used more positive and neutral frames than negative for both groups. However, when compared to trans women, trans men were delegitimized at higher rates. These findings highlight the ways that the police, news media, family, friends, and community members simultaneously contribute to the humanization and delegitimization of trans victims of homicide, demonstrating the importance of ensuring all information released about the victims correctly reflects who they were, or the cycle of delegitimization will continue. By studying how the news media frames trans homicide victims, we can look at how the media shapes cultural beliefs and ideologies about trans people, the role of language in reinforcing stereotypes, and the implications of these framings for trans people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]