Abstract
Internet and social media sites have long served as a rich form of community-building and knowledge exchange within transgender communities. In particular, Tumblr has become a popular site among trans youth in recent years. Paralleling changes in medical and mainstream societal understandings of what it means to be transgender, trans Tumblr users have engaged in dialogue and debate about the definitions and limits of trans identity. While research has established the potential for positive identity-formation among LGBTQ+ youth on Tumblr, it is also important to consider how online trans communities may re-inscribe hegemonic narratives in addition to disrupting dominant discourses and ideologies. Using a critical discourse analysis of Tumblr posts, this research analyses how trans Tumblr users define “who counts as trans,” including how users define gender dysphoria and its relationship to trans identities. Our findings provide critical insight into how trans communities define the boundaries of their identities in a struggle for visibility, resources, and respect.
Highlights
Internet and social media sites have long served as a rich form of community-building and knowledge exchange within transgender communities
Fink and Miller (2014) described the unique role that Tumblr has served in transgender community-building and creative practices, arguing that “from at least 2011 to 2013, people collectively oriented in opposition to dominant discourses of gender and sexuality used Tumblr to refashion straight cisgender norms and to create everyday art in a hybrid media space” (p. 625)
The trans community on Tumblr was irreparably altered by the adult content ban, but many of the original draws of Tumblr persisted for users that stayed
Summary
Internet and social media sites have long served as a rich form of community-building and knowledge exchange within transgender communities. In parallel with a rapid expansion of public visibility, there have been significant intra-community discussions and debates about what legitimately counts as trans identities, and who may claim them Many of these discussions have taken place online, including through the social media micro-blogging platform Tumblr. Fink and Miller (2014) described the unique role that Tumblr has served in transgender community-building and creative practices, arguing that “from at least 2011 to 2013, people collectively oriented in opposition to dominant discourses of gender and sexuality used Tumblr to refashion straight cisgender norms and to create everyday art in a hybrid media space” Renninger (2015) described Tumblr as a “networked counterpublic” that forms a discursive and technological space suited to LGBTQþ community formation He explained that, for asexual communities, Tumblr provides a space to both “work out ideas related to identity, community, and relationships, and [. As another LGBTQþ group marginalized in the dominant public sphere, trans communities may find a similar home on Tumblr, as noted by Dame (2016)
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