Abstract
ABSTRACT With Facebook frequently dismissed by scholars as being insufficient for facilitating trans identity-work, this study set out to uncover the overlooked ways in which young transgender men subvert the platform’s enforcement of identity singularity to create a private space segregated from their main following to safely navigate the early stages of their gender transition. Ditchfield's (2020) work on the ”rehearsal stage” explores the pre-post realm of digital messaging platforms as a space of in-between public and private where users can construct their presentation of self before publicising it to an audience. Drawing on Ditchfield's theorisation, and using empirical data from a virtual ethnographyand qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted with 11 transgender men, I conceptualise private Facebook groups for transgender men as a type of rehearsal stage, and explore the ways this space has been utilized as a tool for trans men to mould, draft and rehearse (trans)masculinity prior to adopting a male role full-time.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
