Trans Technologies

by Oliver L. Haimson

Overview

How technology creates new possibilities for transgender people, and how trans experiences, in turn, create new possibilities for technology.

Mainstream technologies often exclude or marginalize transgender users. Trans Technologies describes what happens when trans people take technology design into their own hands. Oliver L. Haimson, whose research into gender transition and technology has defined this area of study, draws on transgender studies and his own in-depth interviews with more than 100 creators of technology—including apps, games, health resources, extended reality systems, and supplies designed to address challenges trans people face—to explain what trans technology is and to explore its present possibilities and limitations, as well as its future prospects.

Haimson surveys the landscape of trans technologies to reveal the design processes that brought these technologies to life, and to show how trans people often must rely on community, technology, and the combination of the two to meet their basic needs and challenges. His work not only identifies the role of trans technology in caring for individuals within the trans community but also shows how trans technology creation empowers some trans people to create their own tools for navigating the world. Articulating which trans needs and challenges are currently being addressed by technology and which still need to be addressed; describing how trans technology creators are accomplishing this work; examining how privilege, race, and access to resources impact which trans technologies are built and who may be left out; and highlighting new areas of innovation to be explored, Trans Technologies opens the way to meaningful social change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262551861
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	02/25/2025
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Oliver L. Haimson is Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1 What is Trans Technology?
2 Agency and Empowerment in Trans Technology Design
3 Privilege and Exclusion in Trans Technology Design
4 Involving Trans People and Communities in Trans Technology Design Processes
5 Monetizing Trans Technologies: Trans Capitalism, Investment Funding, Mutual Aid, and Anti-Capitalist Approaches
6 Trans Technological Futures
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Appendix A: Technologies and Interviewees Included in Study
Appendix B: Lineage of the Term “Trans Technology”
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“In this celebration of creativity, Haimson explores how marginalized communities develop technologies of mutual support and joyous affirmation.”
—Sandy Stone, Professor Emerita, University of Texas, Austin; University of California Humanities Institute Fellow; Banff Centre Senior Artist; State of California Lifetime Achievement Award recipient; National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee

“Trans Technologies provides a powerful and accessible analysis of trans media production through a vulnerable ethic of care. Haimson beautifully shows how trans people navigate troubled layers of accessing, creating, making, and archiving digital worlds, platforms, and technical infrastructures.”
—Kishonna L. Gray, Professor, University of Michigan

"In this fascinating and timely book, Haimson sheds light on the untold stories of trans tech creators, challenging our understanding of what technology can—and should—be. Trans Technologies is an essential read for anyone committed to building a more inclusive and just tech future.”
—Taylor Lorenz, bestselling author of Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet

“Trans Technologies takes us on a detailed journey into the brilliant and kaleidoscopic world of technologies created for (and largely by) trans people. Expertly written and with a deep commitment to trans care, Dr. Haimson's immersive book presents an incredible survey of what trans technologies are and how trans people are experts at making and remaking worlds that work for us. An absolute must-read for anyone who cares about technology and trans liberation.”
—Alex Hanna, coauthor of The AI Con