Ryn Van Leeuwen The research questions that drove this ethnographic project were varied and numerous. I began with an interest in the Women, Trans and Nonbinary hours at Bikechain (a DIY bike repair teaching space on the edge of campus) yet soon realized that gender was not as important as I had expected. I then … Continue reading
Annabelle Chin Tomorrow, it will be over Words lost to time Our months will lay abandoned But the days they will be mine I joined for fleeting moments For the laughter through the pain The treasure was not glory But the friends we made along the way This is a poem I wrote to describe … Continue reading
Amelia Spong When I walk through the doors after being buzzed in, the station unfolds in front of me along one 100-foot-long hallway. Along the right side are my colleagues’ offices. Jacob and Dina share the big one, while Michelle gets her own mid-sized, although cluttered, space. To my left, a file cabinet stretches 9 … Continue reading
Jaelin Caverhill It is a bit of a weird experience, and continues to be, at least for me, to make eye contact with someone’s dick before them, but at Haven, nude bodies, explicit displays of sexuality, and undercurrents of desire are the norm. Porn plays on screens in almost every room, and it is not … Continue reading
Daniel Cross As you enter the bookstore, the sounds of the Bloor Street traffic fade away, replaced by the thick quiet of soft creaking footsteps and rustling pages. Its small interior is made even smaller by the stacks of books and boxes sitting in front of the huge shelves, leaving just enough space in the … Continue reading
Nida Islam We sat in the private library room chatting after completing our interview. There was an ease to the conversation, despite it being the first time we had met. We ended up speaking for over 3 hours. Perhaps it had something to do with the unspoken bond hijabis share, the one that prompts us … Continue reading
Rosemary Morales Pongo I started this research out of curiosity from my personal observation of the time, affection, and money pet owners invest in their mascots. My ethnographic work focused on analyzing the emotional bonding between humans and animals. My field notes were the product of participant observation in a pet store, the home of … Continue reading
Mira El Achhab For my ethnography project, I chose the UofT Fanfiction Club as my research site and over the course of the semester attended weekly meetings that I participated in and took notes on, interviewed two executives from the club, and read a number of works relating to fan studies and fandom ethnographies. From … Continue reading
Soren Morgan My ethnographic project, The Role of Irony in Socially Constructing the Self: A Study of “Performative Male” Contests took place over 3 months from September to November 2025. The “Performative Male” micro trend seemingly had macro implications as online engagement with this satirical phenomenon manifested beyond the screen to in-person GenZ communities at … Continue reading
Akari Tomita Students at the University of Toronto are able to access gender-affirming care (GAC) at the Health and Wellness Center (HWC). I interviewed six trans students (portrayed below with pseudonyms) who are in the process of medically transitioning at the HWC. These students had often heard about and experienced medical gatekeeping around GAC – … Continue reading
Ethnography Lab 