Language and Identity in Online Trans Communities

An Exploration of Communities of Practice Originating on the Internet by Serena Cleo Lareau

If you're using a small screen, turn your device sideways.

Trans people tend to group together and form communities, which often develop into linguistic communities of practice. These communities usually have specific ways of talking about identity and gender that are not common elsewhere. Many, if not most of these communities in the modern age exist at least in part on the internet, which offers a unique medium to communicate through.

This essay is meant to be an exploration of the communities of practice that I take part in with other trans people on the internet. More specifically, it's viewing the interactions of me and other trans people with each other through a lens of linguistic anthropology. The communities I will be talking about are my immediate online social circles, for the most part, which are primarily on Tumblr and a Discord server, which I am a moderator of.

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