CYBERTRANS:ONLINE SPACES AND PLACES, ISOLATION, AND UNCLAIMED ACTIVISM IN THE TRANSGENDER MOVEMENT By PETTA-GAY GEANETTE HANNAH A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2016 © 2016 Petta-Gay Geanette Hannah To my Mother for all of her sacrifices ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my Mother, Andrea Rhoden, my Grandmother, Panchetta Rhoden, my Cousin, Carol Rhoden, and all the other women in my family before them who dedicated their lives to seek a way for their children. You all were the first feminists in my life. You all have inspired me to want more, and have taught me that I could be more. To my sisters, and brothers thank you for listening to my complaints. I want to also thank you all for constantly asking me about the time frame in which I would finish my degree; your inquisitions kept me motivated to complete my research. I would also like to thank Mamey and Pops for their continued support of my goals from the very moment they met me. I would like to thank my participants for volunteering their time to tell me their stories, without them, none of what I know about my topic would be possible. Moreover, I would not be able to achieve my goal of finally earning a Ph.D. without their stories. To my committee members, Dr. Kendal Broad-Wright; Dr. Barbara Zsembik; Dr. Constance Shehan; and Dr. Bonnie Moradi, thank you. Though my journey to this point has been rough, I appreciate the constant support. Thank you for never giving up on me, I needed someone to believe in me, before I could have learned to believe in myself. I am forever grateful for your support. Kendal, I am forever grateful for the kind and constant feedback over the years and especially during the writing process, it has made me stronger and more open to critique, and I know it also made my analysis better. Dr. Zsembik, I do not know if I would still be in this program if it were not for your constant support and mentoring. You have always been there for me through the good and the bad, thank you. 4 To my friends and colleagues, thank you for the kind words of encouragement, the shared resources, the mentoring, and for demonstrating that it was possible to achieve your degrees; it gave me motivation to continue when I thought I could not go on any longer. A special thank you to Amanda Ragnauth for her careful review of the final iteration of this dissertation. I would also like to thank the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law and the Office of Graduate Minority Programs for their support throughout my tenure as a graduate student. To Andrew Riera, my partner, thank you for your patience; yet much needed expressed frustrations; it kept me honest with my goals, my path, and myself. You are my rock and my confidant; and you constantly challenge me to stay in the moment. I love you. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 8 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 9 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 12 Qualitative Approach and Research Goals: Grounded Theory ............................... 13 Literature Review .................................................................................................... 14 Sensitizing Concepts ........................................................................................ 16 Space ......................................................................................................... 17 Collective identity and identity politics ........................................................ 20 Infighting .................................................................................................... 22 Online Support Group: The Internet, Support Groups and Social Movements . 25 2 DATA AND METHODS ........................................................................................... 27 Sampling Strategies ................................................................................................ 27 Data Collection ....................................................................................................... 32 Semi-Structured Interviews .............................................................................. 32 Active Mobile Online Ethnography (Field Research) ........................................ 33 Textual (Data) Analysis .................................................................................... 38 Coding and Analysis ............................................................................................... 39 Pilot Study ............................................................................................................... 44 Adjustments to Methods and Methodologies .......................................................... 46 Sampling Adjustments ...................................................................................... 46 Interview Guide Adjustments ............................................................................ 47 Recruiting Adjustments..................................................................................... 48 3 ONLINE SPACE AS PLACE ................................................................................... 50 Gender, Space, and Place ...................................................................................... 50 Finding Spaces of Acceptance ............................................................................... 52 “I Googled it” ..................................................................................................... 53 Using Online Spaces Of Acceptance to Find Other Spaces of Acceptance ..... 56 “Trace Back” Method ........................................................................................ 57 Doing is Believing ................................................................................................... 59 Doing (Trans)Gender ....................................................................................... 59 “Who I am DOES exist and is real”: coming out of the closet..................... 62 6 Finally, acceptance .................................................................................... 64 Collective Identity .................................................................................................... 65 Space and Place-Making ........................................................................................ 76 Networks .......................................................................................................... 77 Space Becomes Place ..................................................................................... 81 4 ISOLATION: THERE IS NO ROOM FOR ME UNDER YOUR UMBRELLA ............ 85 Collective Identity and Identity Politics .................................................................... 86 Still just a BIG Closet .............................................................................................. 97 Trolling .................................................................................................................. 101 5 DOING TRANSGENDER ACTIVISM: COLLECTIVE ACTION IN ONLINE PLACES .............................................................................................................................. 110 (Trans)gender Activism ......................................................................................... 110 (Trans)gender Identity, Activism and Space ......................................................... 116 Activism is Acceptance Work ................................................................................ 129 6 FINDING THE TRANSGENDER MOVEMENT ONLINE: SPACEMAKING, UNMAKING, COLLECTIVE IDENTITIES AND ACTIVISM ................................... 132 Collective Identities and Identity Politics ............................................................... 133 Collective Identities ........................................................................................ 134 Identity Politics ............................................................................................... 135 Space and Place ................................................................................................... 137 Isolation: Making & Unmaking of Online Spaces and Places ................................ 143 Activism ................................................................................................................ 147 Activism in the Transgender Movement ......................................................... 148 Inclusion and Exclusion: Gender and Sexuality Politics ................................. 150 Reflection and Limitations ..................................................................................... 153 APPENDIX A INTERVIEW GUIDE.............................................................................................. 157 B IRB PROTOCOL ................................................................................................... 159 C CONSENT FORM ................................................................................................