Gender transition and social media
Social computing technologies, such as social media sites, often privilege people who fit within expected and unchanging categories. Thus, designing technology and social media flexible enough to allow for representation of complex identities that emerge as people embark on major life transitions, such as changing gender, is a particular challenge. Because little is known about how transgender people navigate gender transition on social media, this work seeks to understand challenges and opportunities related to this experience. Examining the relationships between issues including disclosure, self-presentation, emotional wellbeing, and social support on social media sites for transgender and non-binary users is fundamentally important on its own accord, but can also inform technology design that will benefit people who struggle with navigating a wide range of major identity changes online.