6 - Pedagogy and TransLiteracy

Summary

‘Like everybody's on YouTube and everybody's trans.’

Ben

In this chapter I respond to the previous two chapters outlining barriers to trans health by discussing how those barriers are sometimes overcome. This chapter is largely descriptive of a specific moment in time and space, but this description is valuable in answering in understanding, when they are able to at all, how trans people overcome barriers to accessing quality healthcare. Firstly, I identify what trans people need to learn in order to access quality healthcare within a system ill- equipped to serve them. I especially highlight the strategic use of personal narrative but there are a myriad of things that make up these trans specific knowledges, the amalgamation of which I call TransLiteracy. Secondly, I look at how trans knowledges are disseminated and what makes this dissemination effective. I understand this system of distributing knowledge as a form of pedagogy, one that is not based in any particular institution but is rather a tool used widely by trans communities to improve health outcomes. The two key features of this type of pedagogy that I identify are that it is decentralized and social. Both aspects are important in ensuring that helpful information is disseminated broadly, and contextualized, which can improve trans health through increasing access to quality healthcare and through building social bonds. This discussion supports previous work by Israeli- Nevo, Spade, Ponse, Pearce, Raun, Andrews, Zhao et al, and Duguay and extends that of Latham and Poster.

Pedagogy

Many trans people become quite adept at educating themselves, care providers, and others within their communities. When accessing healthcare, trans people learn to deploy personal narrative as well as being prepared to educate medical care providers and gatekeepers on medical practice and policy. In order for this education to take place the trans person must first acquire the knowledge themselves, which in turn requires them to know where and how to look for such knowledge. This education happens through community relationships which help trans people learn to advocate for themselves in healthcare and other settings.