Story Collection FAQs

Who is eligible to participate in the project? 

  • Transgender* adults 50 years of age and older who live in or have strong ties to rural areas and smaller cities/towns in Washington State (outside the Sea-Tac metro). In 2024, we will be expanding the project to include transgender older adults who live in Oregon, Idaho, western Montana, and British Columbia.  

* We include and welcome anyone and any identity that falls outside the gender binary, including nonbinary, genderqueer, gender-diverse, gender non-conforming, and Two-Spirit folks. 

How will stories be collected? 

  • M. Eliatamby-O'Brien, Griff Tester, or another project team member will interview individuals or small groups of participants in person or online. Individual interviews will last approximately one hour. Group interviews will likely last longer, depending on the number of participants. With participants' permission, interviews will be audio recorded and transcribed.

  • If you are not comfortable being interviewed, participants can share their stories in writing or other creative ways. Reach out to us and let us know how you would like to share your story. 

How will the interviews/stories be used? 

  • Segments of participants' stories will be shared on the TransRural Lives website. The primary audience for the project, via the website, is LGBTQ+ individuals and groups, particularly transgender youth, and older adults in rural areas and small towns in the Pacific Northwest. 

  • Participants' stories will also be used for educational purposes in the Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies program, in other relevant academic programs, and during community and academic presentations. 

What will happen to the audio recordings, transcripts of the interviews, and other materials shared, such as writings and photos?  

  • Shared material will be securely stored at the CWU Libraries Archives & Special Collections. Participants retain copyright of the audio file and other shared materials and can have it removed from the Archives and the TransRural Lives website at any time, upon request. 

Let us know if you have further questions or would like your story collected.