Centering transgender consumers in conceptualizations of marketplace marginalization and digital spaces

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to center transgender consumers in the conceptualizations between marketplace marginalization and digital spaces. We examine transgender crowdfunding as a hashtag-bounded digital space created by and for the transgender community–namely, the #TransCrowdFund digital space on Twitter. We draw on trans digital geographies as a novel analytical lens to focus attention on transgender consumers' unique experiences in and between digital spaces. Through qualitative hashtag mapping, we analyzed a sample of 200 Twitter profiles and accompanying tweets drawn from individuals using the #TransCrowdFund hashtag. Findings suggest transgender consumers utilize crowdfunding as a hashtag-bounded digital space in three ways: accessing networks, narrativizing needs, and signaling identity. Within each of these functional uses, underlying tensions arise in navigating transphobic marketplace marginalization, unique to transgender consumer well-being. Our research demonstrates the power of centering transgender consumers–both conceptually and contextually–in consumer research and offers implications for scholars and policy makers.