Kaufhold, William T.Coker, Michael C.2018-01-112018-01-112017-12Coker, M. C. (2017). <i>Transitioning online: A study of the transgender community's digital evolution and self-portrayal practices in an online setting</i> (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.https://hdl.handle.net/10877/6943This 2-part study examined transgender individuals’ use of social media and used a variety of attitude measures to capture their perceived social support, self-acceptance, and attitudes about deception and trust in social media. A national survey of members of the transgender community (N=131) found that high social media users were less trusting and more accepting of deceptive behaviors online; those who live in the South report less social support than those living in any other region of the country; many were reluctant to report how they “negotiated” their gender transition on social media and half (51.4%) reported abandoning their original social media personas and creating new ones after transitioning. This study makes unique contributions to the understanding of the role of social media in the lives of transgender Americans.Text86 pages1 file (.pdf)enCommunicationDigital mediaSocial mediaTransgenderGender identitySelf-acceptanceSocial supportTransgender peopleSexual minorities in mass mediaSexual minoritiesThesis