Weight (trans)itions: social support at the intersections of weight and identity online

ABSTRACT

Though weight and weight-related issues have been explored prominently among the greater cisgender population and within other segments of the LGBTQ+ community, little has been done to explore such issues among transgender individuals. This study of online communities of support examines the role of narrative and narrative coping among transgender individuals seeking to lose or manage weight. Analysis reveals that individuals seeking support engage in three distinct processes of secondary threat appraisal: responsibility, obstacles to success, and fear and alignment. To mitigate and better navigate the tension of these threats, further analysis highlights the role that narrative plays in sensemaking and coping, both at an individual level and as a greater mechanism of communal coping and reciprocal support.

Notes

¹ Even (unexpected) mainstream sources are providing tips to their audience about interacting with trans folks. For instance, in 2018, Cosmopolitan published an online resource titled “5 things you’re probably guilty of asking trans people” (see Chilimigras, 2018).

² We own our language in this manuscript, with full acknowledgment that language shifts over time and that it is highly likely the language we use here may be out of date or no longer best practice at time of publication or in the coming years. We validate trans identities at an individual level and recognize that, even within the community, there is often disagreement over the nuances of language. We recognize that all lived experience is personal. The language we use here is intended to model currently appropriate language and nuance and intended to speak in general terms, even though we recognize that generalizing an entire community risks writing a narrative of personal experience that is not ours to write.

³ Spelling in context