Results of AEGIS Survey on Community Building (1998)
©1998, 2013 by Dallas Denny
Source: Denny, Dallas. (1998, April). Results of AEGIS membership survey. AEGIS News, 1(13), p, 20.
As AEGIS was winding down in preparation for re-baselining as Gender Education & Advocacy, I sent out a quick-and-dirty questionnaire to our members over our internet mailing list, asking them to rank the services we provided in order of importance. As you will see, respondents identifying as providing some sort of professional service to transsexual and transgendered people ranked items quite differently from respondents who did not identify as providing services. The results presented here are intriguing, but hardly conclusive, as they represent only the 99 forms that were returned. True to our promise, we sent our analysis of the results to other trans organizations and to respondents. We published some of the results in AEGIS News.
It took some searching, but I found the blank questionnaire, which I reproduce below.
View Survey Results from AEGIS News (PDF)
AEGIS Questionnaire on Community Building
Questionnaire on Community Building
(Yes, there are two question nos. 18)
In an effort to determine the needs and opinions of transsexual and transgendered people, we are soliciting your input. We will use the information you provide to help us restructure to better meet your needs. When data are analyzed, we will produce a report which will be disseminated to other community organizations to help them with their planning efforts. We will not share your name or contact information.
Our goal is to reassess what transgender and transsexual organizations could and should be. How many should there be? What form should they take? What should they do? What shouldn’t they do? What alliances should they make? What can and should national organizations do to support local organizations? What should local organizations do to support nationals? Where should funding come from? How can transgender and transsexual organizations help you? Would you support them with your time and/or money?
We’re included a number of questions, but it’s important that you feel free to give us your opinions about whatever concerns you.
1. Your name and address or e-mail address (optional)
2. Would you like a copy of the report that will follow? (If so, please fill our #1 so we’ll know where to send it.)
3. How do you self-identify in terms of your gender? (you may be as creative as you wish.)
4. In conventional terms, are you: MTF / FTM / Intersex / Nontrans (No gender issue)
5. Which term best describes you?: Transsexual/ Transgenderist/ Crossdresser
6. What is your home state/province (and country if outside the U.S.)?
7. What is your ethnicity/race?
8. In what year were you born?
9. Are you or have you been a member of any local or state-level transgender organization? (Please list)
10. Have you ever played or do you now play a leadership role in any local or state-level transcommunity organizations? [Please list and specify your role(s)]
11. Please tell us in what ways you have been helped (if you have been helped) by state or local transcommunity organizations (please be specific):
12. One a scale of 1 to 5, please rate your experience with each state/local transgender organization you have been in touch with:
1 =Extremely negative / 2 = Somewhat negative / 3 = So-so / 4 = Good / 5 = Excellent
13. Please tell us how important state/local transcommunity organizations have been to you in the past:
0 = Not important at all / 1 = A little bit important / 2 = Somewhat important / 3 = Important / 4 = Very important / 5 = Critically important
14. How important are state/local transcommunity organizations to you now?
0 = Not important at all / 1 = A little bit important / 2 = Somewhat important / 3 = Important / 4 = Very important / 5 = Critically important
15. Are you or have you been a member of any national transgender organization? (Please list)
16. Have you ever played or do you now play a leadership role in any national transcommunity organizations? [Please list and specify your role(s)]
17. Please tell us in what ways you have been helped (if you have been helped) by national transcommunity organizations (please be specific):
18. One a scale of 1 to 5, please rate your experience with each national transgender organization you have been in touch with:
1 = Extremely negative / 2 = Somewhat negative / 3 = So-so / 4 = Good / 5 = Excellent
18. Please tell us how important state/local transcommunity organizations have been to you in the past:
0 = Not important at all / 1 = A little bit important / 2 Somewhat important / 3 = Important / 4 = Very important / 5 = Critically important
19. How important are state/local transcommunity organizations to you now?
0 = Not important at all / 1 = A little bit important / 2 = Somewhat important / 3 = Important / 4 = Very important / 5 = Critically important
20. Have you ever attended a gender convention (e.g., Southern Comfort, Fantasia Fair, FTM Conference of the Americas, Esprit, New Woman Conference, IFGE Coming Together, Tri-Ess, Holiday en Femme, True Spirit, Be-All, Fall Harvest, Moonlight in Manhattan)? (Please list)
21. Have you ever played or do you now play a leadership role in any gender convention? [Please list and specify your role(s)]
22. Please tell us in what ways you have been helped (if you have been helped) by gender conventions (please be specific):
23. One a scale of 1 to 5, please rate your experience with each gender convention you have attended:
1 = Extremely negative / 2 = Somewhat negative / 3 = So-so / 4 = Good / 5 = Excellent
24. Please tell us how important gender conventions have been to you in the past:
0 = Not important at all / 1 = A little bit important / 2 = Somewhat important / 3 = Important / 4 = Very important / 5 = Critically important
25. How important are gender conventions to you now?
0 = Not important at all / 1 = A little bit important / 2 = Somewhat important / 3 = Important / 4 = Very important / 5 = Critically important
26. Have you been active on the internet or on a computer bulletin board regarding gender? (Please list how)
27. Have you ever played or do you now play a leadership role in gender telecommunications? [Please list and specify your role(s)]
28. Please tell us in what ways you have been helped (if you have been helped) by telecommunications:
29. One a scale of 1 to 5, please rate your experience with gender telecommunications:
0 = Never on line / 1 = Extremely negative / 2 = Somewhat negative / 3 = So-so / 4 = Good / 5 = Excellent
30. Please tell us how important gender telecommunication has been to you in the past:
0 = Not important at all / 1 = A little bit important / 2 = Somewhat important / 3 = Important / 4 = Very important / 5 = Critically important
31. How important are gender telecommunication to you now?
0 = Not important at all / 1 = A little bit important / 2 = Somewhat important / 3 = Important / 4 = Very important / 5 = Critically important
32. Please rate the following functions of a hypothetical national transgender organization:
0 = Not important at all / 1 = A little bit important / 2 = Somewhat important / 3 = Important / 4 = Very important / 5 = Critically important
Public Education
Information and referral for transpersons
Publishing (Magazine, Newsletters)
Publishing (Books)
Holding a convention
Education on HIV/AIDS and support for Persons Living with AIDS
Ending employment discrimination
Legal Aid
Information about medical issues
Inclusion of Youth
Inclusion of the Aging
Inclusion of Racial and Ethnic Minorities
S/O support
FTM inclusion
Intersex inclusion
Working with gay and lesbian organizations
Advocacy
Political Action
Internet activity
Telephone information line
Telephone crisis line
Other Functions (List as many you like)
33. Please let us know how you feel. You can talk about things we have addressed on this form or anything else you wish. Specifically, we would like feedback to help us better meet your needs.