Strong, TomWada, KaoriWest, Alyssa Megan Marie2019-09-032019-09-032019-08-26West, A. M. M. (2019). Authenticating and Legitimizing Transgender Identities Online: A Discourse Analysis (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.http://hdl.handle.net/1880/110840The number of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) individuals who are presenting for counselling is increasing, and yet counsellors feel unprepared and lack confidence working with gender-variant people, which has resulted in negative therapeutic experiences. Consistent with social-justice practice, knowledge of how clients understand themselves is necessary to ensure the outcomes of counselling (Arthur & Collins, 2010a). A key resource TGNC individuals are using to engage in identity exploration are online communities. In this research I applied Potter and Wetherell’s (1987) approach to discourse analysis to explore the talk and text of three such online communities. I identified that the participants made sense of their identity using three discourses: (a) felt sense, (b) authenticity, and (c) legitimacy. I discuss these findings within the context of the current social climate and existing literature regarding TGNC individual’s identity development. I offer suggestions for infusing this insight into trans-affirmative counselling practice(s) and discuss implications for future research.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.gender-diversitytransgendercounselling psychologydiscourse analysissocial justicetrans-affirmativeEducational PsychologyGender StudiesMental Healthmaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/36918