Creative Research Methods in Trans Studies (Open group)

9th Nordic Trans Studies Conference, December 8-9, 2025, Örebro University

How do you use - or would like to use - creative methods in trans studies? How do researcher-artists create amid the sometimes-conflicting requirements of academic research, art, and activism?

Traditionally, academic research reporting is expected to be clear and concise. The reader should easily understand the researcher’s interpretations and analyses. In artistic practices, however, we often value ambiguity and the possibility of multiple interpretations. Furthermore, in activist discourses, simplifying complex information is sometimes needed for the message to be impactful. Trans studies is academic and political. When we employ artistic methods within trans studies, we position ourselves at the intersection of research, art, and politics. How do we navigate these different ways of knowledge production?

After the presentations there will be time for discussion with the non-presenting audience as well.

Presenters

●      Milo van der Maaden: Trans* Pedagogies of Care: Cruising Narratives as Artistic Research Method

●      Leo Valentin Theissing: Trans Parents’ Diaries: Use of Creative Methods in a Mixed-Method PhD Project

Facilitators

Kaarna Tuomenvirta (they/them) is a doctoral researcher in Gender Studies at the University of Helsinki. They research how trans people experience the gender assessment period in Finnish gender identity clinics. They held creative writing workshops for the participants and used poetic methods in analysing interviews.

Utu-Tuuli Jussila (they/them) is a doctoral researcher in gender studies at the University of Helsinki. They focus on visual representations of non-binary genders and use artistic research methods, mainly collaborative self-portraiture photography.

The working group is open to non-participating audiences.