Sarah M. Gordon | she/her | Department of Folklore | Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador
The Trans*ition Rituals Project seeks to document and understand the ways that trans* and gender-diverse adults in Atlantic Canada develop rituals around processes of physical gender affirmation or gender transition. “Rituals” can include any collection of repeated behaviours that people perform to improve to add meaning or comfort to their gender affirmation or transition practices. Sometimes these rituals may be religious or spiritual, but often they are secular. They can be elaborate, formal performances, or they can be as simple as listening to a specific song or arranging your material in a particular way. Sometimes they’re shared between people, and sometimes individuals invent them on their own.
We are documenting transition rituals to understand how they relate to trans* We are interested in documenting what these rituals can look like and how they impact people’s relationships with their bodies, their genders, their identities, and their communities.
We are looking for participants to take part in a 30-90 minute interview about their ritual. The interview can be in-person in St. John’s or can be conducted virtually. Interview participants will be compensated $50.
The proposal for this research has been reviewed by the Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research and found to be in compliance with Memorial University’s ethics policy. If you have ethical concerns about the research, such as your rights as a participant, you may contact the Chairperson of the ICEHR at icehr.chair@mun.ca or by telephone at 709-864-2861
Queer Joy Stories 