Trans People Talking to Trans People: Transgender Qualitative Methods

• In Event: Poster Session: American Politics Research & Ideas and Institutions in American Political Thought
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: American Politics Research

Abstract

I will discuss the methods I used to conduct my dissertation research on transgender(trans) people’s experiences of the military in South Korea as a trans non-binary person. The research questions for this project were “why would a military militarize some trans people while excluding others and why do some trans people seem to benefit from the militarization of transgender people while others suffer from it?” I conducted my research over 8 months, and held 35+ interviews with trans people who were South Koreans, US citizens, and other foreigners living in South Korea. I additionally conducted a governmentality study of the South Korean and United States transgender military polices to connect the experiences of trans people to broader themes of US imperialism in South Korea. In this specific paper, I plan to discuss how I created and carried out my research design as a trans person working on trans issues.

Author

• Carissa Ann Cunningham, Rutgers University