Naming and Re-Naming Trans Youth: Ethical Considerations in Participant Representation

• In Event: 512 - Section on Sex and Gender Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 14. Considerations in Research and Practice

Abstract

In this paper I explore the representational and ethical conflicts contained in choosing a name for research participants. I consider the role of anonymity and research practices like using pseudonyms, to discuss tensions of representation and narrative construction in research. I discuss the ways researchers navigate participant confidentiality and conceptualize their use of pseudonyms as a means to offer their participants anonymity. Working with Judith Butler’s Giving an Account of Oneself, I question what it means to do justice to someone’s personal narrative and chosen name in qualitative research. I explore these tensions through my dissertation research, a project about how trans youth choose a new name.

Author

• Julia Sinclair-Palm, York University