Celebrating Pride: English Professor Receives Award for Transgender Hormone Therapy Research

To celebrate Pride Month in June, a Utah State Today series is highlighting university employees and students who are conducting research, academic pursuits and other projects related to or that benefit the LGBTQIA+ community.

Avery Edenfield

Assistant Professor of Technical Communication and Rhetoric, Department of English

Why is this work important?

“One of the first things that a person could do is to understand the health coverage at their job and how it protects transgender individuals. Even if you are a non-trans person, you don’t know what another person or their child is going through. You can lobby to create more inclusion in your healthcare policies and advocate for others.”

Summary of research:

Avery Edenfield, USU assistant professor of technical communication and rhetoric in the Department of English, recently received an award for his research paper Queering Tactical Technical Communication: DIY HRT.

In his paper, Edenfield proposes a connection between technical communication, specifically when shared by independent audiences on online forums, and hormone therapy when completed by members of the transgender communities without professional medical assistance.

Edenfield also recently published a paper which examines the impact of the COVID-19 shutdowns on the transgender communities and their ability to access the necessary healthcare to continue their transition.

Edenfield hopes his research will inspire people to lobby for better, non-discriminatory healthcare opportunities.

Read more about Edenfield’s research in Liberalis: