To Whom It May Concern:

I am a graduate student working in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Suffolk University. I am working with Dr. Amy Marks, Ph.D. on a research study called, “A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Identify Formation in Female-Assigned Transgender People.” The study is for people assigned a female gender at birth but who now identify as transgender, either female-to-male or some other identity like genderqueer.

We are looking for individuals 18 years or older. The specific label that the individual identifies with (e.g., FTM, male, transgender, genderqueer, etc.) is not important for this study, just that they were assigned a female gender at birth, currently don’t identify with that gender, and are willing to share their experience of learning/developing who they are with us.

We are interested in learning more about transgender identity formation and some of the related factors such as support and satisfaction with their identity. In order to recruit participants for the study, we are looking for websites/Listervs that would be willing to allow us to share information about our study with the people who visit the website site or subscribe to the Listserv. For example, we would be very grateful if you would post our flyer on your website which will provide participants with a link to the study website.

The study involves completing an interview with a trained researcher about the individual’s experience of coming to develop their sense of gender identity. The researcher is based in Boston, MA, but interviews will be conducted online using Skype. Completing the interview will take approximately 1-1.5 hours and participants who complete a Skype interview will receive a $15 online Amazon card as a thank you for their time and effort. Participants can also choose to donate their $15 to one of three organizations: the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), The Trevor Project, or the Silvia Rivera Law Project. In order to participate in this interview, a consent form will need to be signed (this can be accessed at the study website).

We would be happy to discuss the project in more detail with you if you have any comments, questions, or concerns. I can be reached at (512) 436-3378 or theidentitystudy@gmail.com and Dr. Marks can be reached at (617) 573-8017 orakmarks@suffolk.edu.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

Tristan E. Guarini, M.A.