Intersections of Queer Identity
I designed this informational graphic as a tool to enable conversations and discoveries about sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. Printed at 30 in x 30 in, the scale of the piece allows viewers to trace paths with their finger, exploring relationships between terms. I created this piece to help viewers learn more about identities with which they feel unfamiliar.
How might we excite viewers to explore the complex identities that encompass sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression and motivate learning?
process:
Data visualization is a reliable way to distill very complex information into accessible communication. In my exploration of LGBTQ+ identities, conversations with peers brought up frequent questions about the meanings, appropriate uses, and relationships between different sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. Using these ideas to guide me, I began my search for as many resources as possible to derive my terms and definitions. With feedback from queer peers and friends, I compiled a varied collection of terms and concepts. My goal was to create a graphic that encourages participatory learning on a topic that feels overwhelming to people outside of the community and inspires curiosity to learn about new identities.
challenges:
What will engage viewers’ curiosity and encourage exploration?
I began with an analysis of information graphics and data visualization, especially those that draw the viewer in and use that curiosity to create an experience out of a flat graphic. My goal was to create a tool that enables viewers to follow their impulses, start wherever they pleased and still discover new identities. By highlighting each term individually, I hoped to engage viewers with a word they recognized to begin their discovery. Additionally, I determined the need for a glossary to help decode unknown terms as one investigates the piece.
How will I compile a glossary of inclusive definitions?
It felt essential to assemble the terms and concepts for this information graphic from a diverse collection of sources. The most valuable resource I discovered was Refinery 29’s Gender Nation Glossary, a compilation of first-person narratives of queer people. This resource was critical to the project because it provided the perspectives of many other queer voices.
outcomes:
Outcomes: Using the primary categories of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression helped ground the entire visualization and also helped me structure the glossary. The use of color helps distinguish categorization and identify which terms fit into more than one primary category. I chose this structure to keep the experience accessible for everyone, irrespective of their background information on the topic. The intricate and unfamiliar form of the visual surprises everyone, which helps knowledgeable and uninformed viewers approach with equitable understanding.