Trans Data: A Research and Design Agenda from Trans Activists' Transformative Data Science
Author(s)
Stevens, Nikko
D'Ignazio, Catherine
Doğan, Amelia
Date Issued
October 16, 2025
Journal
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Publisher
ACM
Citation
Amelia Lee Doğan, Nikko Stevens, and Catherine D'Ignazio. 2025. Trans Data: A Research and Design Agenda from Trans Activists' Transformative Data Science. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 9, 7, Article CSCW501 (November 2025), 21 pages.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Trans activists play a deeply important role in caring for and advocating for the transgender community using data. Through an interview study with 16 trans activists working in trans-led and trans-serving organizations in the United States, we document how they use restorative/transformative data science processes of resolving, researching, recording, and refusing and using data. We incorporate their data practices with trans technology and trans competent interaction design approaches to propose a research agenda for trans data: materially improve trans lives, cross data boundaries, and constantly engage in power analysis. We expound on how a trans data research agenda can benefit data advocacy and CSCW research and design.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1145/3757682
