Research Proposal from Group 6

Tayler McNeill, Kerrington Misher, Rachel Wilson

What is the topic of your inquiry?

How are transgendered people represented in the media, including news, TV, and movies,
and how does this differ from the facts and stories in real life?
What questions are your project trying to answer?
Tayler
1. How are transgender people represented in the media?
2. Why is there a difference in the amount of transgender media representation
compared to cisgender representation?
Kerrington
3. What are some personal accounts from transgendered people and their families?
4. How do these accounts differ from what is shown in media?
Rachel
5. How are transgendered people represented and presented in news?
6. What are the real facts concerning news on the transgendered community?
7. Why does the news choose to not focus on transgendered people?
What is the rhetorical situation? What is the purpose of the project? Who is the audience?
Why is a good time to be talking about this issue?
The rhetorical situation is to inform and to raise awareness. This would be geared
towards people who use or watch media and people who support the LGBT community. This is
also geared towards people who are poorly informed or completely uninformed about
transgendered people. This is an excellent time to talk about this because LGBT civil rights
movement is emerging and growing quickly. Many people are beginning to support and learn
more about LGBT people and their community and so this project will point out the mistakes
that media makes when it comes to transgendered people.
What genre is each group member using and how does this answer the questions being
asked?
Tayler: The genre Tayler chose for the inquiry is a comparative collage because through
a collage the real difference in media representation between transgender people and cisgender
people can be seen. Also a collage gives a visual representation to the inquiry.
Kerrington: The genre Kerrington chose for the inquiry is short narratives. Through
narratives people can read and understand the firsthand accounts and stories from people who are
transgendered or their family. Narratives make the story easy to present and easy to read.
Rachel: The genre Rachel chose is comparative charts as well as statistical charts. Charts
are an easy way to present the differences in facts, it will be clear the contract between the news

Research Proposal from Group 6

Tayler McNeill, Kerrington Misher, Rachel Wilson

and what is really true. Statistical charts also provide clear and concise facts for people to read
and understand.
What genre will be used and where will it be housed?
The whole project will be put together and housed in a Tumblr blog. Tumblr is a different
type of social media site where people can create blogs, anonymously or not, that are full of
things that they find important or that they enjoy. Many times Tumblr is a place for people to put
the real facts out online to get people to realize what is really going on in the world so this
project will go well on Tumblr for it is a place for people to destroy what the news is saying and
present the actual facts.