Social media usage of trans people in struggling against discrimination

Today, new media and social media mediums provided by new communication technologies are available and accessible to all individuals and have a structure that allows the production of user generated content. In this way, individuals who are content creators can communicate and express themselves to anyone through the new media. In this thesis, social media usage practices of transgender individuals are discussed.Social media profiles fed with individuals' experiences and practices in offline environments addresses their identity performances and online practices such as shares, groups they participate, likes and comments Gender performances and experiences, which are the most important elements that constructs the individual and the subject in daily life, are also encountered in social media platforms. From this point of view, social media environments are an expression area for individuals who cannot make their own voices heard in society and cannot live their identities in offline environments. For trans people who are exposed to various discrimination practices in family, school and work life within the gender system, who are marginalized by discursive practices, who are exposed to transphobic discrimination in various ways of verbal and physical violence , social media platforms are emerging as communication channels where they can freely express their views and opinions on social, political, cultural and economic issuesand they are also forming a basis for new practices in fighting discrimination.In this thesis, what kinds of opportunities social media provides to fight discrimination are analyzed by looking at social media usage practices and experiences of trans people living in Ankara. According to the findings of this thesis, it was seen that the participants gained information about their own identities in new media and social media environments, made social environment through these mediums, performed their gender identities to people they selected and developed practices to fight hate speech.