Meaning‐making on gender: Deeply meaningful information in a significant life change among transgender people

Aira Huttunen and Terttu Kortelainen

Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, 2021, vol. 72, issue 7, 799-810

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to report on the seeking of deeply meaningful information, also including embodied information, connected to significant, intensely personal life changes having lifelong impacts. The concepts of “meaning‐making,” “transitioning,” and information seeking in “deeply meaningful and profoundly personal contexts” are used in order to understand transgender individuals' information seeking in the contexts of gender identity formation. Based on the literature, emotions and information seeking connected to a significant life change were divided into four phases to study how they could be identified in the 25 qualitative interviews with transgender individuals from Finland between the ages of 15 and 72. Based on the findings of this study, in significant life changes, an individual needs reliable, sensible and identifiable information. Serendipitous encounters and embodied experiences characterize information seeking during transitional stages. Peer communities are important for minorities in order to find places where interviewees feel safe to share information and experiences. These communities can also be found online. The concept of “deeply meaningful information” highlights the effect information has on information seekers. Deeply meaningful information can serve as a trigger for life change, helping people forward during the transitions.

Date: 2021
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