Trans? Use Tumblr? Want to make $100?
Greetings! My name is Spencer Garrison, and I’m a graduate student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Michigan. I’m conducting a research project on how trans-identified teens and young adults — folks between the ages of 18 and 25 — make decisions about how to present their gender in online spaces.
What is the project about?
I’m hoping to answer three questions:
How do different types of social networking platforms — each with their own features and benefits — help to shape our interactions with others around gender and gender identity? As we explore new forms of self-presentation or adopt new identity labels, do we start to use social media differently, too?
How do users “triangulate” their gender presentation across different online contexts? When (if ever) does it feel important to do this, and when does this feel less important?
How do changes in online networks help to shape, reinforce, or undermine users’ gender identity claims? How do users respond to other users that might challenge their identity claims or question their gender presentation?
What does the study involve? What will I be asked to do?
Participants will be asked to take part in two short (90-120 minute) interview sessions, spaced approximately three months apart. These interviews will be conducted using BlueJeans, a browser-based video-conferencing program that is free to use. During the first interview, we’ll talk about your identity and coming-out process, your social media use, and your social support networks (both online and off). At the second interview, we’ll look together at specific pieces of content that you’ve posted to (or removed from) your social media profiles over the three-month gap between interviews, and we’ll talk about your decisions to post this content (as well as the feedback you received on it from other users).
Respondents will earn a $50 MasterCard gift card in exchange for participating in each interview session (meaning that those who participate in both interviews will earn $100).
Am I eligible to participate?
To participate, you must:
Be between the ages of 18 and 25
Identify as trans or gender non-conforming (or as someone in the process of exploring/questioning their gender identity)
Be active in at least two different online communities or on two different social media platforms (Tumblr; YouTube; Reddit; Facebook; Instagram; Twitter; etc.)
Must post new content at least once per week
Must interact with other users on each of the two platforms at least three times a week
I have other questions about the study. Who can I contact?
If you have questions or concerns about this project, please contact Spencer Garrison at [email protected]. If you have questions about the study that you wish to discuss with someone other than the study coordinator, you may also contact the University of Michigan Institutional Review Board (UM-IRB) by phone via e-mail at [email protected].
