For my online community Observation, I have decided to take a closer look at the transgender community. However, Before I chose an online community to observe, I knew that the best way to observe any online community would be to browse through a subreddit. You see, the thing about the social media app reddit, is that you are essentially able to create your own community which are commonly known as subreddits. Now each of these subreddits, decide to focus on one specific topic and offer a space to discuss anything and everything relating to that one specific topic. So, in short, I knew that I could learn an array of information just by browsing community subreddits. Once I figured that I was going to be using reddit for my research, I had to start thinking about groups that were marginalized against in America. Of course, more politically talked about groups such as undocumented immigrants crossed my mind, but I felt like choosing a group that has been overlooked for far too long would be a better learning experience for everyone involved. I chose to observe the transgender community of reddit or more commonly known as r/trans. “Transgender community is a term used to describe the diverse people who experience incongruence between the sex they were assigned at birth and their internal gender identity, who experience binary gender as restrictive or inaccurate, who do not conform to cultural expectations of binary gender, or who love someone who is transgender” (Frost 1). It is important to note that although transgenders are a part of the broader, generally respected LGBTQ+ community, they still face rampant discrimination in society. Transgender people in America and throughout most of the world are still seen as social outcasts and face a lot more scrutiny than someone who is content with their assigned gender. It is the rampant discrimination against trans people that has allowed online forums such as r/trans to grow and offer a safe place for transgenders to interact with one another. Furthermore, I feel that for society to move forward as a whole, then we must accept every single person from every walk of life. What this means, is to simply be mindful of another community’s culture and history such as the transgender community. It is only then, once we recognize each other and our backgrounds, that we can move forward as a whole.

            The Transgender community of subreddit is open to anyone and everyone willing to discuss a topic relating to trans people. However, trans people make up most of the posts. Most of the posts that you would find on r/trans are photos of users who want to show off themselves off to a community that accepts them for who they are. There are no such things propaganda posts, toxic behavior, and slander on r/trans, there are only people who want to express themselves freely in a community that encourages them to be who they are. Furthermore, I suspect that there are two main reasons why someone would join r/trans; it is hard to find a transgender community outside of the online realm, and that it might be one of the only places where a transgender person will feel comfortable posting themselves. I suspect that these are the main reasons why someone would join r/trans because of how much the trans community has been discriminated against. For example, the National Transgender discrimination survey showed that 26% of trans people lost a job due to bias, 50% were harassed on the job, 20% were evicted or denied housing, and 78% of trans students were harassed or assaulted (Grant 33). I believe that these are the reasons that might compel a trans person to join an online forum such as r/trans that allows them to be who they are. A lot of the posts on the Trans subreddit depict a person who is just looking to connect with people that will accept them for who they chose to be. Nearly all the posts on the subreddit are people posting photos of themselves looking for acceptance. And when I did stumble across a few discussion posts, all I found was someone who finally found comfort in their own skin followed by positive reinforcement by the community. r/trans is more than a subreddit, it is a place where people can express themselves more freely than they might be able to in the real world.

Beyond the actual moderators that enforce the reasonable rules such as no NSFW content, and NO transphobia, and no videos, the subreddit does not have any other leaders. Also, because most of the posts are photos rather than discussions, it is hard for a real leader to rise in popularity within the community. In addition to the culture of r/trans, there does not really seem to be an “insider language” within their subreddit. I suspect that an “insider language” has not really been established in r/trans either because most of the users are newcomers and have not familiarized themselves with the community yet, or because it is hard to build an insider language in a community that accounts for all types of trans people. It might be easier to spot in inside language within a community like r/mtf which is a subreddit focused on men who transition to be woman compared to r/trans which accounts for a wider spectrum of individuals.

            The trans community tends to go unnoticed, throughout much of the world. So, you can imagine how surprised I was to see how active this community has been. The Trans subreddit sees hundreds of new posts every single day, and each day sees new members. One thing that intrigued me about this community was how much people were willing to help. Most posts where people are asking for advice, are flooded with community members willing to lend a hand. However, one thing that disturbed me or at piqued my curiosity in a disturbing way, was the amount of unconditional love and support people get after posting photos of themselves. Do not get me wrong, having a loving community with support is something that everybody should have. But things start to get a little tricky when you’re dealing with a situation where young kids are posting photos on the trans subreddit because they know they’re going to get that acceptance that they so long for. Overall, the trans community is a safe place where people can come together based on similar interests. To marginalize a group as caring and charismatic as they are, would be a disservice to their community.

Works Cited:

Grant, Jaime M., et al. National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 2011, pp. 1–228, Injustice at Every Turn.

Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). “Transgender-Specific Issues.” Transgender-Specific Issues: Gender Identity | Responding to Transgender Victims of Sexual Assault, ovc.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh226/files/pubs/forge/transgender_gender.htm1.