Join us for our November Reading Rainbows session presented by Lee W. Hibbard, PhD (he/they), Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow, College of Literature, Media, and Communication

Living and working in digital spaces holds obstacles for every user; whether it's protecting identities to safely work or exploring identity in online communities, the internet requires a certain level of anonymity and privacy to be hospitable to those who use it. For transgender users, there exists an additional layer of needed security, especially for individuals who are still investigating or exploring their identities and consider the internet an opportunity to question and express their gender safely. But what does the internet look like for a transgender individual? How can transgender people move through online spaces without facing violence or hostility for their identities? How does a person's digital past interact with their transgender future?

This presentation explores the paradoxical nature of being transgender in a digital space, where a person's history and future do not necessarily align and can be multilayered, complex, and even used against them. Through an archival tracing of his own digital footprint in tandem with the context of the current political atmosphere in the United States, Dr. Lee Hibbard (he/they) examines the complicated nature of being transgender in a digital world and how his experiences reflect the changing landscape of technology and identity. His presentation of his own experiences offer advice, strategies, and potential plans for other transgender and queer individuals for navigating their own virtual lives and safeties.