Forms of social solidarity in trans Facebook groups

This article aims to analyze the sociabilities, information-sharing behaviors, and types of social support among users of French trans Facebook groups. First, our national survey (n = 405) reveals that the different uses of these groups (information retrieval, emotional support, etc.) vary according to the age and education levels of their trans users, or according to their progress on the transition pathways. Secondly, we perform a lexical analysis of the messages (n = 70,488) posted, since 2013, in a sample of 24 groups, in order to identify the main topics of discussion. This analysis leads us to emphasize the diversity of social support provided by trans people to one another. These findings deemphasize the benefits of institutional support because they suggest, alternatively, that trans people are organizing themselves, using social media to avoid challenges associated with medical institutions and the French “therapeutic shield”.