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 Ratings
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| Reviewed: |
Feb 13, 2005 by Psychology |
| Overview: |
This is a multi-page website devoted to the topic of the psychology of gender
identity and transgenderism. It was created by a graduate student in
development psychology and includes information on her personal experiences, the
personal experiences of others, and scholarly resources.
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| Learning Goals: |
The author states that her rationale for creating the website is to bring "a
personal and non-judgmental scientific approach to understanding transgenderism"
and help "transsexuals, cross-dressers, and psychopathologists grow and develop
as people.? From a teaching perspective, the site is full of information to
educate students on a topic they often find mysterious and fascinating.
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| Target Student Population: |
College students.
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| Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: |
None.
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| Type of Material: |
This site consists of multiple web pages all linked from the homepage.
Almost all the pages consist solely of text, although there are a few images as
well (in .jpg format).
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| Recommended Uses: |
This site could be used as an out-of-class reading for students, either as
the basis for an assignment or as a discussion-starter. It could also be used
by faculty to broaden their knowledge of transgenderism.
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| Technical Requirements: |
None.
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| Strengths: |
This is a very well-designed web site. The pages are easy to read and all the
links work. Clearly, the site is updated regularly. The text is well-written
and a wealth of information is provided in a very organized way. Although the
site is heavy on the side of personal experience, the anecdotal information is
tempered with well-placed doses of scholarly and scientific works on
gender-related issues. The information seems accurate and timely.
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| Concerns: |
A few spelling and grammatical errors were noted. In order for this to be a
fully effective teaching tool, more of an academic introduction is needed.
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
Rating:  |
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| Strengths: |
This site provides a wealth of excellent information about
transsexualism/transgenderism, a subject which students typically have many
questions about. Students can easily navigate through the site and have many of
their questions answered. The academic information included is up-to-date and
accurate. The many personal anecdotes that acquaint the reader with the author,
a transsexual psychology graduate student, make a visit to this site one that
will be remembered. Numerous activities and discussion questions could be
coordinated with this web site. For example, the site includes diagnostic
criteria (e.g., from the DSM) for gender identity disorder and a discussion of
whether this "condition" should be depathologized and removed from manuals of
mental disorders. This is a controversial issue that would make a great
discussion or debate topic.
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| Concerns: |
None.
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
| Rating: |
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| Strengths: |
This is a very clear, well-designed website. All of the links work and no
special technical skills or software is needed to view the pages. The author
has organized the material into categories so that one does not need to read
every page but rather those pages that are most relevant for one's purposes.
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| Concerns: |
The faculty member who is sending students to this site should do so with
caution as students are likely to find themselves exploring the many links.
Faculty using this site as a teaching tool need to be very clear in terms of
what they want students to read and review for class purposes.
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| Other Issues and Comments: |
I very much enjoyed browsing a website in which all the links actually worked.
It was also very interesting to read about the author's personal experiences as
a transsexual juxtiposed with intelligent commentary on the scholarly work in
this area.
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