Rethinking (and Retheorizing) Transgender Media Representation: A Roundtable Discussion

Authors

  • Thomas J Billard Northwestern University
  • Traci B. Abbott Bentley University
  • Oliver L. Haimson University of Michigan
  • Kelsey N. Whipple University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Stephenson Brooks Whitestone University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Erique Zhang Northwestern University

Keywords:

transgender, visibility, representation, global media, cissexism

Abstract

This roundtable began as the first panel of the International Communication Association dedicated exclusively to transgender studies. The articles of the panel investigated various domains of mediated representation, from television to newspapers to online pornography to Tumblr blogs. The differences in media, methods, and theoretical frameworks across the articles allowed for the panel to cover a broad swath of transgender representation in the current media environment. At the same time, their intersections allowed for conversation to move beyond theoretical understandings of media representation inherited from feminist and LGB studies to think about what transgender-specific modes of representation may be, how they differ from other modes of representation, and how the consequences of these transgender-specific modes may also, therefore, differ. After some time away to reflect, the panelists sat back down to answer important questions about how their work pushes both the theory and the practice of transgender media representation forward.

Author Biographies

Thomas J Billard, Northwestern University

Thomas J Billard is an assistant professor in the School of Communication at Northwestern University. They are a political communication scholar whose research focuses on transgender politics and graphic design. Their work has previously been published in the International Journal of Communication; Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly; Mass Communication and Society; Media, Culture & Society; and Politics, Groups, and Identities, among other journals and edited volumes.

Traci B. Abbott, Bentley University

Traci B. Abbott is an assistant professor in the Department of English and Media Studies at Bentley University.

Oliver L. Haimson, University of Michigan

Oliver L. Haimson is an assistant professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.

Kelsey N. Whipple, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Kelsey N. Whipple is an assistant professor in the Journalism Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Stephenson Brooks Whitestone, University of California, Santa Barbara

Stephenson Brooks Whitestone is a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Erique Zhang, Northwestern University

Erique Zhang is a PhD candidate in the School of Communication at Northwestern University.

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Published

2020-08-14

Issue

Vol. 14 (2020)

Section

Features

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