A
Study of Self-Presentation of Transgendered Sexual Subjectivity in Written Narratives
You are being invited to take part in the
above research study. This information sheet
outlines the aims of the research and what it will involve.
Please take time to read the following information carefully. Your decision on whether to take part might best be
made after reading the following information carefully and, if you wish, after discussing
your potential participation with friends, relatives and GP.
If there is anything that you are unclear about or if you need more
information, do not hesitate to contact me at the address or telephone number given at the
end of this sheet.
The Purpose of the Study
This research is intended to reveal the way
that transgendered people think and talk about sexual subjectivity. For the purposes of the research, 'sexual
subjectivity' refers to sex, gender and sexuality, and to the overlapping effect of all
three. It can refer to fixed identity,
fluctuating identity and/or to behaviour and beliefs relating to sexual being. The research is intended to lead to a greater
societal acceptance of transgendered identities and transgendered perspectives on sexual
subjectivity.
The research will be based upon a long-term
investigation into research participants' (hereafter referred to as 'participants')
self-representations of sexual identity or behaviour.
I will take a participant role within the MtF transgender community and will
share my own experiences whilst undertaking the research.
Participants will be asked to provide written accounts, for example
occasional diaries, of their experiences and interpretations. I will assess the affects of social class, race,
location, community and age on the self-representations ventured while keeping the
participants’ identities confidential. I
will be prepared for some participants to choose to drop out of the research process.
The research will involve providing as many
discussion contributions as you wish to a discussion forum, and/or the provision of a
diary, both via the ‘Edward Transstudy’ website.
I will provide regular ideas for topics of discussion but will encourage
participants to steer the discussion in ways that they think pertinent. Discussion site contributions will be open to all
members of the site. The diary contributions
will only be accessible by myself.
Your Decision on Whether to Take Part
You must give your full consent before becoming
involved in this research project. You have
the right to withdraw this consent at any stage of the research process. Included with this information sheet is a consent
form for you to fill in should you decide to become involved in the research.
What Will Be the Advantages of Taking Part?
The research will encourage you to further
articulate and consider your own sexual subjectivity.
You will have the opportunity to steer discussion in directions of interest
or concern to yourself. In this way the
research is designed to be empowering, initially for those immediately involved in the
research and ultimately for transgendered people as a whole.
The overall aim of the research is to increase societal acceptance of
individual or alternative expressions of sexual subjectivity. This may lead to freedom for the transgendered
individual to verbally or physically express his/her/hir own particular sexual
subjectivity.
Ensuring Your Confidentiality
Your personal details and name will not be
disclosed to anyone who does not need to know. You
may choose to have your name forwarded to a health care professional in connection with
the research, but they will be asked to keep your name confidential in this instance.
Particular care has to be taken with regard to
the protection of participant anonymity when transgendered identity is involved. Steps will be taken to ensure that participants are
not identifiable by reference to their social and geographical contexts.
If you register to become a member of the
‘Edward Transstudy’ website I will email you a password and username to use for
entry to the site. Your username will be the
one that is used to identify you to other site members and to identify you in the research
write-up.
The Use to Which The Research Will Be Put
The end result of the research will be a
70-100,000-word thesis, which will be available at the Manchester Metropolitan University
library. An abstract of the thesis will be
available at university thesis websites. The
thesis will include conclusions on the data gained and recommendations for the acceptance
of and provision for variant sexual identities. It
will not include names or addresses, or any other way of identifying participants.
Who is Involved in the Organisation of the
Research?
Those involved with organising the research are
principally the research supervisors, Dr S T Whittle and Katherine Watson of Manchester
Metropolitan University, the participants, and myself, the researcher.
Who has reviewed the Study?
The School of Law Ethics Committee at
Manchester Metropolitan University has reviewed the proposed methodology and ethical
procedure for the research.
Contact for Further Information:
Edward B Davies, The School of Law, Manchester
Metropolitan University, All Saints West, Lower Ormond Street, MANCHESTER, M15 6HB.
Tel: 07791 150 246
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