Transmedia Gender & LGBTI+ Literacy (TRANSGELIT) was an interdisciplinary research project within the fields of Communication and Education. Its main objective was to research and develop innovative educational proposals to address the affective and sexual education of adolescents and young people from a critical, inclusive and transfeminist perspective. To this end, the project focused on analysing representations of gender and sexualities in the media and how these influence young people’s perceptions, identities and experiences.
TRANSGELIT adopted an ethnographic approach, based on the principles of short-term ethnography (Pink and Morgan, 2013). To this end, various methodological tools were employed: reflective and participatory workshops, co-viewing workshops, audiovisual creation workshops and interviews. This strategy enabled a predominantly qualitative approach, based on active collaboration with adolescents, who participated as co-researchers and co-creators of the products and resources developed.
Throughout the project, educational materials were designed for use in both formal and non-formal school settings. One of the main outcomes was the production of the White Paper, which brings together theoretical frameworks, empirical findings and practical recommendations aimed at teachers, researchers and professionals in the fields of education and communication. We also produced an Educational Kit, a teaching resource that combines media literacy tools, transmedia narratives and participatory activities, with the aim of fostering critical reflection on gender, sexualities and affections among adolescents in formal educational settings. We also produced the feature report ‘Media and Sexualities: The Voices of Young People’. In the report, three young people explain their experiences with affective-sexual education through the media. Guillem talks about pornography and dating apps, Laia explains the world of video games and gaming, and Ona reflects on fictional TV series.