Pro-Social on Trans-inclusive Design: A Recap
A conversation with Erin White
How should we design online spaces to be sure trans users feel just as welcome and included as all users? Erin White found themselves being asked that question a lot by colleagues back in 2019, motivating them to put some of their guiding principles into a post that became a go-to resource for designers.
We invited Erin to join us at a Pro-Social in April 2025 to share some of those principles and to update us on the state of trans-inclusive design. What we learned is that the principles of trans inclusive design are most often simply, to use Erin's words, "inclusive, thoughtful design" for anyone who may be from a marginalized group or not otherwise fit the mold of a "normal" user.
That inclusive, thoughtful design starts with accessibility; building online tools for the user with a five year old android on 3G just as much as for the 5G'ed latest iPhone user. The other themes Erin touched on are familiar to folks in the prosocial design space, including Trust, Safety, Privacy, Transparency and Agency. Erin spoke, for example, about how designers should be careful - and honest - about the data they collect, asking themselves if a piece of information, like gender, is really necessary to provide the best user experience. If not, don't ask for it (or be honest that you're using it to help advertisers).
We, of course, had to ask Erin about AI. Their take was pretty clear: "AI is a bias machine", one that reproduces all the stereotypes and misrepresentations in the human-produced data it scoops up to build its models (h/t to Shieh et al, 2024), leaving those who don't fit the AI's conception of "normal" feeling excluded. But Erin also left open the possibility that AI doesn't have to be "garbage in, garbage out"; in fact, when we asked them what researchers should focus on, investigating ways to build AI models that account for all users' lived experiences was their first recommendation.
We only touch on a handful of Erin's pearls of good practice in the brief write-up above - and so highly recommend soaking in the full (15 minute) conversation:
About the Prosocial Design Network
The Prosocial Design Network researches and promotes prosocial design: evidence-based design practices that bring out the best in human nature online. Learn more at prosocialdesign.org.