Geek Culture and Art Therapy: Explorations of Gender Dysphoria Expressions

Abstract

Gender dysphoria is a psychologically distressing condition, which transgender people experience, as an incongruence between one’s natal sex and perceived gender identity. The standard medical reaffirmative interventions in treating gender dysphoria involve hormone replacement therapy, psychotherapy, and gender reassignment surgeries. However, not all transgender people choose to undergo medical reaffirmative treatments either because of inaccessibility to such treatments, lack of financial or informational sources, personal reasons, or the severe difficulties they experience in transitioning due to transphobia or discrimination. The purpose of this research report is to explore the creative ways transgender geeks employ to alleviate gender dysphoria and communicate lived experiences, especially when gender reassignment surgeries or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are unavailable. These creative ways may involve tropes within the geek subculture such as avatars, or character creation that conforms with one’s perceived gender, and role-playing in online video games and virtual environments that allow one to express their gender. Other creative ways include art as therapy through painting, writing, or journaling, as well as dressing up as a means of expressing one’s gender identity. The theoretical framework that informs this study is phenomenology which helps appraise or analyse the lived experiences of the research participants. A key concept that has helped shape the research approach is surfaces and depths in considering how the trans body and trans art as texts are read and interpreted in relation to passing or transitioning. There are four emerging themes in the overall study which include: time/temporality, genres of textual hybridity, geek subculture and identity, and art as therapy. The data for this project was collected through ‘deep- hanging out’ as a method of observation, fieldnotes, and semi-structured interviews with two participants, Archer and Kahless, both of whom are white transgender men from different socioeconomic brackets and identify as geeks or creatives. Additionally, autoethnography has been included as part of polyvocality and reflexivity. The ethnography is multi-sited in the suburbs of Roodepoort and Randburg where my participants reside. The findings in the ethnographic text have shown that both participants primarily engage in creative arts as a means of self-expression and secondarily as a way of 7 alleviating or communicating gender dysphoria. Art, therefore, fulfils two purposes for my research participants: as a form of therapy and for creative expression.