Not the Normal Trans Story: the Negotiation of Privacy and Identity While Crowdfunding at the Margins

• In Event: Identity and Visibility Online

Abstract

The creation of gender identity is a process begins at birth and continues throughout a person’s life and which is often negotiated online. This study uses 20 qualitative interviews to explore how transmen* negotiate both privacy and identity while crowdfunding for top surgery. Results suggest that while transmen to manage their and negotiate their privacy online, their disclosure of personal information is often negotiated offline and as part of their identity. Furthermore, transmen used crowdfunding as an opportunity to further negotiate their identity narrative and often framed themselves as “not the normal trans story,” suggesting an interplay between negotiating privacy and negotiating identity.

Authors

• Niki Fritz

• Amy L Gonzales, Indiana U