What this story covers:
Social media can be a blessing and a curse. It’s a place to make connections and find information. And it’s a place where bullying and hate are all too common. It’s easy to fixate on the harmful effects of social media. But for people in the transgender community, there’s plenty of value.
Why it matters:
Often times, people who are transgender have no one they can talk to in person about transitioning or other aspects of daily life. Platforms such as Reddit, 4chan and Facebook give them that community and sense of comfort.
By Makya Kreamer, Rohan Mattu & Terrell McAlily
Every 12 hours, 21-year-old Towson University senior Carter Mason takes two pills. One pill, spironolactone, decreases testosterone production. The other, estrogen, promotes feminization. The medication is called feminizing hormone replacement therapy, or HRT. In January, Mason began her transition from male, her gender assigned at birth, to female. The process, commonly described as a “second puberty,” takes at least two years.
Mason was 15 when she first questioned her gender identity. She describes her realization as sudden. She woke up one day and visualized herself as a woman. Mason was wary of the social repercussions of being transgender, and she didn’t come out to anyone until she got to college, where she felt accepted by her friends.
Mason was uncertain of what her gender identity truly was, but she was certain she was not male. “I had so many questions for myself,” Mason said. “I didn’t know if being transgender meant that I had to be attracted to men too or what.”
Like many young people questioning the gender they were assigned at birth, Mason was able to confront her isolation and uncertainty by finding communities of support on the internet.
Mason, who was 15 at the time, browsed her phone during shifts working in a gift shop in Ocean City, Maryland. The LGBT board on 4chan piqued her interest. The website, a range of anonymous message boards, became a trusted resource.
Hear Carter Mason speak about her experience with 4chan.
On that LGBT message board, Mason found posts of people charting their facial changes after hormone therapy, asking for styling advice and sharing their experiences of coming out. The forum gave Mason the vocabulary to interpret feelings about her own gender.
“It was a place to connect with people and learn these new terms like different gender identities and HRT,” Mason said. “[4chan] is where I learned what hormone therapy was. It was an interesting place for a young 15 year old that kind of had this confused idea of what they wanted to be to find some solidarity and knowledge.”
4chan’s message board topics range from music and history, to cooking and anime. The website is often associated with harmful trolling and organized cyberbullying. The site’s most popular forum, /b/, is a “no rules, anything goes” page filled with racism, gore, and shock content. Yet Mason said she has overwhelmingly benefited from the site.
“It’s hard to find a purely good online community,” Mason said. “What I found on 4chan was toxic in some ways but with my best judgement I was able to navigate it fine.”
After learning about various gender identities, Mason decided she wanted to make a full female transition. While she began her physical transformation only this year, 4chan guided her knowledge to reach the decision.
Despite the risk of exposure to transphobic content and hateful trolls, many transgender people turn to the internet as a resource for social support and resources to begin a transition. There is no reliable statistic for transgender-specific communities, but LGBT-specific websites and message boards have seen steady growth as more people look for online support.
4chan is far from the only forum used to share information and experiences — Reddit and Tumblr are also common places where transgender individuals turn to find community. And it’s more than just moral support. Users frequently raise funds for each other in solidarity through platforms like GoFundMe.
“Seeing someone who was similar to me and has gone through what I’m feeling and has actually gone through with a transition, it’s super encouraging to see,” Mason said. “It’s encouraging because I don’t know a lot of trans people in real life.”
Support in the trans community
Finding community is especially important for people who are transgender because they are at an increased risk of experiencing mental health struggles. In 2019, 48 percent of trans adults surveyed by the National Alliance of Mental Illness reported contemplating suicide within the last year, compared to 4 percent of cisgender adults.
Transgender individuals are likelier to suffer from mental health issues that stem from social stigmas, issues at home or at school, and many other internal challenges.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, many of these mental health issues can be attributed to the sense of dysphoria and anxiety surrounding gender identity.
Because transgender individuals may find little support among those around them, some find comfort in groups online. Social media can connect people in disparate places. Several social media websites such as Facebook allow users to join a group of interest. They can exchange beliefs and news stories, ask questions and share information.
Sierra Middleton, 25, is a transgender woman who uses social media heavily. It allows her to voice her opinions without fear that family members will see. And on some platforms, she can post videos that aren’t permanently online.
“Social media is a good place where I can tell my thoughts to the world,” Middleton said. “It’s like documenting my life for the world to see. People I don’t even know comment and sometimes I build a bond with some people and become real friends.”
For some, online communities provide support and relief. Every social media platform has a space where members of the transgender community can meet. Sites like Facebook, Reddit and Tumblr seem to have the biggest transgender presence.
Tumblr is a good source of information for young transgender individuals, and a place to express themselves. Facebook has a LGBT+ Towson University alumni group made by the Towson University Alumni Association that gives graduating students support. The group encourages members to engage with one another to promote unity as well as a way to network.
The groups, subreddits and blogs on social media websites offer everything from places to vent to pre-surgery workout tips to memes.
And research shows that social media use has tangible benefits.
“The effects of social media use on the health and well-being of LGBTQIA+ youth vary across contexts, gender identities and sexual orientations,” said Megan Curtis, a master’s in social work student at the University of Southern Maine who conducted research on social media and mental health in trans youth. “But studies conducted over the past decade show that social networking sites (SNS) like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr play a particularly important role in the adolescent self-construction process.”
Curtis said social media can help transgender kids and adults dive into their identities. Websites provide a wealth of knowledge and support on issues specific to them and help “explore new forms of sexual and self-expression,” she said.
However, Curtis also warns of the flipside of social media and having to explore one’s identity while also opening oneself up to toxic responses online. Research conducted by Curtis and colleagues on sexual and gender minority groups’ mental health found a correlation between the subjects updating their status and feeling alone or unhappy.
“Transgender youth in particular are at increased risk of experiencing violence from people within their homes and their communities, so finding trustworthy resources and supports can be a complicated, and dangerous, process to navigate,” Curtis said.
Beauty YouTuber Nikkie De Jager, known as Nikkietutorials online, came out as transgender in January after being threatened and blackmailed by an unidentified individual. Despite her online presence opening her up to threats, De Jager remained optimistic.
“If you feel like you’re trapped and there’s no way out, know that it gets better. Trust me, it gets better,” she said in her “Coming Out” video.
Kathleen McAdam, a crisis hotline operator in Baltimore, has anecdotally seen that queer and transgender individuals are more likely to experience mental health issues and traumas. She said social media can help provide resources and support but can also be a source of stress.
“Social media can go both ways in terms of community,” McAdam said. “It really comes back to the pros and cons of the internet. Where you can spread love and kindness, you can also plant seeds for hate.”
Sunshine Estes, a 21-year-old architecture student at the University of Maryland, came out as transmasculine nonbinary in 2019 after they began looking at LGBT blogs on Tumblr at 17.
Estes attributes a lot of their gender dysphoria to participating in gymnastics for over a decade growing up.
“I never saw the point of being separated by gender as a kid, I always thought it was really annoying.” Estes said. “I never felt like I connected with girls. I still like dresses and being feminine, but I never understood why everything was so separated.”
Estes said it is important to balance online support with in-person therapy.
“The two shouldn’t replace each other but should work symbiotically,” Estes said. Estes meets with an LGBT therapist biweekly. Mason meets with her therapist weekly.
It was through Tumblr and Reddit that Estes began to explore their own identity.
“That’s where I guess the internet comes in and I started discovering when I came out as bisexual, I started discovering more genders and identities,” Estes said. “I felt like as I was discovering it through the internet. I was able to connect more with being either transmasculine or nonbinary.”
To Estes, being transmasculine and non-binary means transitioning to a more masculine look while not aligning with the gender binary. Estes, who was assigned feminine at birth, has been on hormones for a year to balance their feminine and masculine features.
Estes had a knowledge of trans identities in high school but came into their non-binary identity with the help of Reddit and threads like “ftm” (female to male). It is on these subreddits that Estes has been finding workout tips for their upcoming top surgery, which will reconstruct the appearance of their chest.
Top surgeries are considered an elective surgery, so they are not covered by most insurance companies in the United States. As a result, a common and tangible way virtual transgender communities support one another is through crowdfunding for top surgeries.
Although Estes said they are financially stable enough to cover their top surgery with their own savings, they donate to GoFundMe fundraisers often, which are spread tweets and Instagram stories, and Reddit posts. The cost of top surgeries can range between $3,500 to $10,000 depending on insurance coverage.
“I’m very fortunate I have a good-paying job and pretty low rent right now,” Estes said. “So I feel like I should give a little bit of that money away, especially to those people who are going through the same things that I am.”
While Estes uses social media to connect with and engage in the trans community, they acknowledge its drawbacks and say it can be an “echo chamber” at times.
“There’s a lot of controversy in the trans community right now.” Estes said. “There’s a debate whether you need gender dysphoria to be considered a trans individual. It basically all comes down to gatekeeping.”
Estes advised others in the trans community or those exploring their identity to use social media and the internet for information and advice, and not get bogged down in the negativity.
“Just be kind with other people’s experiences and stories.” Estes said. “And also, ignore the transphobes and the trolls. They’re everywhere.”
Allies of the trans community
Social media also allows people who do not identify as transgender to show support and gain knowledge. Aijalon Ray, 22, works in leasing at an apartment complex in Owings Mills, Maryland. As a cisgender heterosexual woman, she has learned from social media about language to use when referring to transgender individuals.
Celebrities such as Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union have publicly shown support towards the trans community, in response to their daughter coming out as transgender.
Social media has helped people who are not transgender learn about the LGBT community. Ashton Horne, a cisgender heterosexual man, is an aspiring journalist who uses his Instagram page to post about news and pop culture. Social media exposed him to news about deaths in the transgender community.
“I think social media has helped me learn about those in the trans community more than the news has,” he said. “I’m always on social media and like to use it for education when I’m not scrolling through pictures or videos.”
The need for safe spaces
Finding safe spaces online has proven to be liberating and cathartic for many, as well as a vehicle for self discovery. Unfortunately, being openly transgender on the internet can potentially have professional and social repercussions.
“Some people are against [transgender people], and it’ll come in their head when they want to hire me” said Mason, who isn’t yet out to many in her personal life. “Maybe someone from my hometown will see stuff and start spreading rumors. It’s dangerous.”
Mason’s solution to this concern is to use a “fake Instagram,” commonly known as a finsta. A finsta is a private Instagram account used in tandem with a public account, but only close friends and confidants are permitted to follow it.
“It’s my mailing list,” Mason said. “I can keep the people I trust updated and vent about how I’m doing and talk about my progress without having to think about like, if they approve of my life.”
Estes maintains ambiguity with her gender both online and in their professional life because they fear that appearing ‘complicated’ may deter employers.
“I feel like having to explain to bosses, especially people older than me would just be way too much or way too confusing,” said Estes. “I’m also a little bit worried about it impacting my job prospects.”
Despite the threat of real-world retaliation, the embrace of these online communities and resources, in tandem with therapy, emboldened both Mason and Estes to move towards a body and identity they feel comfortable in.
“I’ve been on HRT since last March, so almost a year now,” said Estes. “I feel a lot more confident about myself and I feel more like me I think.”