REACTIONS OF THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY REGARDING MEDIA REPRESENTATION
Abstract
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues have increasingly been focused on in society and also in communication media research. However, academic studies focusing on transgender reactions to recent representation developments of their community in the media world have not been done. The researcher conducted one-on-one interviews with those identifying as male to female (MtF) transgender in order to study their reactions to media coverage of the transgender community. Cultural studies and communication theories, as well as transgender and trans-identity theories provided a theoretical structure and basis for developing the study and interview questions. Qualitative methodology using an inductive grounded theory approach was performed with a thematic analysis to thoroughly evaluate interview responses. Findings included many subthemes underneath two broad themes: the lack of current media diversity and the idea of learning gender through the media.