MBIMITDR is my degree show project, exploring transness in relation to the online world. I had top surgery not long before beginning this project and it heavily impacted my research. I began to think about how reliant trans people become on doctors to make changes to their bodies.
In the early stages of transition when your identity exists purely online, you have a kind of control over how your identity is perceived that you lose once you transition in the offline realm. You chose what you reveal about yourself; and you have room to imagine, romanticise, explore gender expression with privacy. In coming out in the real world, although this is often a liberating and necessary experience, you are leaving that safety blanket and facing what it really means to transition. If you choose to medically transition you are heavily reliant on a flawed system where doctors overcharge you for basic care, and expect you to constantly prove that you are ‘trans enough’ in order to change your body. This project explores the idea of what it would mean if you could do it all yourself from the comfort of your own bedroom?
