Abstract
In 2015 the Gender Vectors research team received a major research grant to conduct research with and about transgender youth in the Greater Vancouver Area. A unique aspect of this research project involved combining social action research with the development of a prototype of a video game as a knowledge translation tool to depict the life experiences of trans youth. We draw on transformative gender justice theory to document and address the diminished life chances of and the need to promote resilience among trans youth in the region and more broadly, across Canada and the United States. This article provides an overview of the research project and concludes by identifying key insights relating to resiliency that resulted from 15 narrative interviews with transgender youth, focus group meetings with the Project’s Youth Advisory Council, and dialog from an intergenerational workshop for transgender youth and adult care/service providers and allies. These themes informed the creation of the prototype.
Acknowledgements
This article reports on a (2015-2019) Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada-funded project. We also received funding for this research from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the Department of Sociology & Anthropology, and the Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University.
Notes
1 Jacob von Uexkull was a German biologist who argued that our knowledge about any living creature can only be understood by studying their umwelten or ‘self-worlds’
2 For an analysis of social justice and gaming, see Gray & Leonard, Citation2018. For examples of games, see Third World Farmer: a simulation to make you think! http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com; Darfur is dying http://www.darfurisdying.com/; SOS slaves: changing the trafficking game, http://www.sosslaves.org/
3 See Dys4ia, http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/591565; Transitory, http://aliendovecote.com/uploads/twine/others/transitory.html
4 See Queen at Arms; One Night Hot Springs and A Closed World, https://store.steampowered.com/curator/26898915-Trans-tastic-Games/
5 Character avatars in the prototype remain undeveloped due to the cost involved. Developers purchased models from Unity platform which is very limited. We are in the process of applying for major grants to provide adequate funds to develop multiple scenes with appropriate racial and body-type diversity.
6 Self-defined
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Ann Travers
Ann Travers, Professor, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Simon Fraser University
Jennifer Marchbank
Jennifer Marchbank, Professor, Department of Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies, Simon Fraser University
Nadine Boulay
Nadine Boulay, Doctoral Candidate, Department of Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies, Simon Fraser University
Sharalyn Jordan
Sharalyn Jordan, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University
Kathleen Reed
Kathleen Reed, Doctoral Candidate, Department of Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies, Simon Fraser University