Transgender Identity and Gender Dysphoria
At his university, some thirty years ago, one of us (Marc Biver) first came across an ‘LG society’ – a society meant to bring together lesbian and gay people, to organise social and academic events, but above all to campaign for their rights and to fight widespread misconceptions about and discriminations against homosexuals. In fact, the society was then about to be renamed ‘the LGB society’, to include bisexuals as well. By now, the abbreviation has evolved into LGBTQI+, to include transsexual/transgender, queer and intersex persons, and its use is no longer restricted to academic and subcultural contexts, but it has long become part of mainstream vocabulary. It reflects the recognition that not only a person’s sexual orientation, but also their gender identity may be at the root of unjust treatment, unequal opportunities, discrimination, or worse. LGBTQI+ matters have become the object of study, in the academic realm, by social and political scientists, biologists, physicians, psychologists and philosophers.
‘Gender studies’ have become an established academic field in their own right. Outside academia, questions arising from the equality of LGBTQI+ persons are subject to vivid political debate in western societies: same sex marriage and homosexuals’ right to adopt children, the right to the alignment of a transgender person’s sex with their perceived gender by medical means, the age at which this should be permitted and whose consent is needed, and so on. This latter topic, in particular, has recently given rise to much controversy, following the definition of an alleged new condition, the so called ‘rapid onset gender dysphoria’ (ROGD) by the American physician and researcher Lisa Littman. She claimed that large numbers of female-to-male transgender adolescents without previous history of gender dysphoria might be attributed to peer influence and ‘social contagion’, and that gender dysphoria that sets in rapidly and unexpectedly, mostly at the beginning of or during puberty, might, in reality, be an (unconscious) coping strategy for other underlying problems. Littman’s paper attracted harsh criticism, both from scientists and from the transgender community, regarding its methodology and conclusions, and consequently had to undergo a post-publication review with corrections.
The number of publications on the subject of transgender identity in adolescents keeps growing, and they span the entire spectrum from the purely scientific literature in medical, psychological or social science journals to popular, yet objective accounts, down to politically biased manifestos. For obvious reasons, the topic is a political one and naturally lends itself to ideologisation, which has become apparent in the light of the ongoing discussions that accompany recent new legislation regarding transgender rights in European countries and in the US. The reason why discussions of gender identity so often take an incendiary turn, is that some modern gender theories regard gender identity as some form of social construction rather than as a rigid, unalterable fact imposed on us by nature, hence the necessity to distinguish between ‘gender’ and ‘sex’. For instance, according to the most influential current in modern gender theory, largely associated with the American theorist Judith Butler, gender identity is to be seen as performative, i.e. created through behaviour. The leap towards positing that gender identity is therefore changeable at will and can be ambiguous or fluid is then only a small one, and in total contradiction to the traditional view that gender and sex more or less ‘coincide’ and are genetically dictated. If gender is perceived as subject to our choice, it is clear that the idea that (biological) sex and gender are necessarily (or should ‘naturally’ be) somehow aligned and a fact of nature independent of our will is tantamount to a denial of freedom (of choice). Thus, trans-affirmative activism and ‘gender skepticism’ frequently clash in a rather unscientific way because of their radically irreconcilable premises – there have been, for instance, demands that books be taken off the market, individuals be stripped of their academic tenures, or their publications and lectures be boycotted.
In the following, we present a few reading suggestions related to the transgender topic along with a few comments. These range from unbiased books intended for a ‘scientific’, specialist readership, to those intended for the general public. We also include some controversial books or works by controversial authors. We do this because in a truly free, pluralistic and open society, librarians do not ban books from their shelves – they rather add more.
Recommendations by Marc Biver
B.P.C. Kreukels, T.D. Steensma, Annelou L.C. de Vries (eds). Gender Dysphoria and Disorders of Sex Development, Progress in Care and Knowledge. New York, Springer, 2014.
A multidisciplinary volume with chapters on (non-exhaustive list):
- Sex differences in brain organization and behavior and their origins
- Debated genetic origin of gender dysphoria
- The multitude of perspectives of gender identity: the biopsychosocial vs. the purely medical model, “Gender schema theory”.
- Medical intervention in adolescents with gender dysphoria: benefits and possible side effects of puberty suppression
- Conceptual and ethical issues of medical treatment of gender dysphoria in young people.
Mainly intended for researchers and clinicians, e.g. psychologists and psychiatrists, endocrinologists and surgeons, but clearly of interest to a wider audience in need of expert explanation of the state of knowledge in this field.
W.P. Bouman et al. (eds.) Gender Dysphoria and Gender Incongruence. London, Routledge, 2017.
A more up-to-date collection of twelve scientific articles, mainly by psychiatrists and psychologists, on topics such as gender dysphoria in general, its classification history, gender dysphoria in children, in adolescents, and its impacts on families. Connections of gender dysphoria with mental health issues (e.g. autism spectrum disorders and others). It also comprises papers on non-binary and genderqueer genders, and sexual orientation of transgender people and fertility options for them.
Lev, Arlene Istar. Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working with Gender-Variant People and Their Families. Routledge Marriage and the Family Series. New York, Routledge, 2004.
Arlene Istar Lev is an American social worker and family therapist who specialises in working with homosexual, bisexual, transgender and queer clients and their families. Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working with Gender-Variant People and their Families was her first book, which, in 2006, won the American Psychological Association (Division 44) Distinguished Book Award for its large contribution to a sparsely covered area, and for being ‘filled with clinical wisdom and understanding.’ (Wikipedia). The book is largely regarded as groundbreaking and an essential read for counsellors working with transgender people. The book is actually much more than its subtitle would suggest. It offers a very comprehensive and above all profoundly empathetic and respectful description of the many aspects of transgenderism that go way beyond mere ‘therapeutic guidelines’.
Simona Giordano. Children with Gender Identity Disorder: A Clinical, Ethical, and Legal Analysis. Routledge Studies in Health and Social Welfare. London, Routledge, 2013.
From the preface: ‘Simona Giordano has written a beautiful and complex book, a compassionate, humane, elegant, and poetic book, about vulnerable and often violated people.’ (John Harris)
Simona Giordano is a professor of bioethics at the University of Manchester. The book is written from a philosopher’s perspective, with a very thoroughly researched, well-argued chapter on ethical issues surrounding treatment of gender identity disorder in young people. Giordano also explains and critically discusses the common models of gender identity development (i.e. the biological, social and biosocial models) and concludes that there is no single theoretical or empirical explanation for gender identity and that it is ‘conceptually and empirically impossible to answer the question of how gender develops and why some people have a peaceful gender development and others do not.’ A completely unideological, objective, yet empathetic text that was written shortly before the topic began to be debated more broadly and to receive media coverage. For recent publications by Giordano on gender dysphoria and transgender identity in adolescents, the reader may refer to her page at Manchester University.
Susan and Marcus Evans. Gender Dysphoria: A Therapeutic Model for Working with Children, Adolescents and Young Adults. Bicester, Phoenix Publishing House Ltd., 2021.
‘Patients with gender dysphoria need services that are protected from political activism’
This book provides, for the first time, a psychoanalytic model of gender dysphoria. It explores possible explanations of gender dysphoria from a psychoanalytic perspective and outlines therapeutic guidelines. The authors very clearly state that their model is neither ‘pro’ nor ‘anti’ transition, but that a rigid ‘one-size-fits all’ affirmative approach is unhelpful and potentially harmful to gender-questioning clients.
Kathleen Stock. Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism. London, Fleet, 2021.
Available at the library (English) - In der Bibliothek verfügbar (Deutsch)
Kathleen Stock was professor of analytic philosophy at the University of Sussex, specialising in the philosophy of fiction and imagination. Stock’s book is first a (complex) rejection of modern gender identity theory (still from a feminist perspective), a theory that she describes as ‘intellectually confused and concretely harmful’. Secondly, it is also particularly critical of gender self-identification (namely in minors) and aggressive social and political transgender activism (that, as she mentions in passing, does not serve trans people’s interests well at all). Following her publications, Stock was accused of transphobia and resigned from the university under the growing pressure of a student led campaign and ensuing personal threats and attacks. Stock’s case is an alarming reminder of the fact that freedom of speech and freedom of academic debate are in urgent need of defense, even in 21st century western societies.
‘They [i.e. trans people] deserve to be safe, visible throughout society without shame or stigma, and to have exactly the life opportunities non-trans people do.’
Alice Schwarzer, Chantal Louis (Hrsg.). Transsexualität. Was ist eine Frau? Was ist ein Mann? Eine Streitschrift. Kiepenheuer & Witsch. Köln 2022.
Edited by the well-known feminist authors Schwarzer and Louis, this is a thought-provoking and very timely compilation. Aimed at a broad audience, it was intended as a contribution to the debate on new legislation in Germany, the so-called ‘Selbstbestimmungsgesetzt’ that simplifies gender-identification. It contains first-hand, biographical accounts of trans people, some of whom transitioned and later came to regret their decision and ‘detransitioned’ again. A number of essays by psychiatrists, psychotherapists, social workers and journalists analyse the surprising recent increase in cases of gender dysphoria in adolescents and more specifically in cases of female-to-male transitioners and their likely causes. Overall, most of the contributions support the ‘Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria’ (ROGD) hypothesis of Littman, mentioned in the introduction. According to Schwarzer, the explosion of ROGD cases among young girls is primarily due to a profoundly felt discomfort with an image of femininity that has undergone radical and quick changes in modern western societies, that has become more blurred, more complicated, and also more contradictory :
‘(…) Da ahnte ich nicht, welche problematische Entwicklung das Phänomen eines Tages nehmen würde. Nämlich, dass Transsexualität nicht mehr als schwerer seelischer Konflikt einiger weniger begriffen würde –denen selbstverständlich Verständnis und Hilfe zusteht (…)- sondern zunehmend einfach als Weg, sich für die vermeintlich «falsche» Geschlechterrolle einfach den «passenden» Körper zu suchen. Es war damals unvorstellbar, dass unangepassten jungen Mädchen leichtfertig suggeriert würde: ihr müsst nur den passenden Körper zu eurer seelischen Befindlichkeit haben. Statt ihnen zu sagen: Du kannst ein Mädchen sein, das für Mathematik brennt, gerne Fussball spielt oder sich in seine beste Freundin verliebt – und trotzdem einen weiblichen Körper haben. Das passt.
Inzwischen sind die Trans-Zahlen explodiert. (…) Immer mehr Mädchen und junge Frauen (…) halten ihr berechtigtes Unbehagen an der zunehmend widersprüchlichen Frauenrolle für «transsexuell»’.
Helen Joyce. Trans: When Ideology meets Reality. London, Oneworld Publications, 2021.
This book is mostly about trans activism. It is highly critical of the perceived collateral damages to individuals and society as a whole by gender self-identification and analyses the interplay between feminism and what the author calls ‘gender ideology’. The book is meant for the general public and its focus lies on the political, social and psychological aspects and implications of gender self-identification.
In March 2022, Joyce was invited to discuss her ‘gender-critical’ theses at a conference for trainee child psychiatrists organised by Great Ormond Street Hospital (UK). Her participation, and, later, the event itself, had to be cancelled because of ‘safety’ complaints by trans activists.
Ryan T. Anderson. When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment. New York, Encounter Books, 2018.
Anderson is a conservative American political philosopher who has published on marriage (he opposes same sex marriage) and questions of religious freedom and discrimination. When Harry Became Sally is easily the most controversial text on gender theory ever published. Anderson plainly rejects ‘transgenderism’ or ‘transgender ideology’ and the notion that gender is a social construct:
‘The idea [that gender is a social construct] should be rejected, but this doesn’t mean we need to jettison the concept of gender altogether. Sex is a bodily, biological reality, and gender is how we give social expression to that reality. Gender properly understood is a social manifestation of human nature, springing forth from biological realities, though shaped by rational and moral choice. Human beings are creatures of nature and of culture, but a healthy culture does not attempt to erase our nature as male or female embodied beings’. Thus, our gender is neither created by society nor performatively, and it is not subject to our will, it is a mere manifestation of our sex that will automatically (‘naturally’) align itself with our sex as a result of a ‘healthy culture’.
The book was banned from sale by Amazon, the largest book retailer in the U.S., under their new hate speech policy.
Debra Soh. The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in our Society. New York, Treshhold Editions, 2020.
The End of Gender is a raging manifesto, contending against all premises and conclusions of modern gender theory alike. Aimed at a general, non-specialist readership, Soh (who holds a research degree in sexual neuroscience) claims that ‘everything in here is backed by science and facts. None of this should be controversial. And yet it is.’ Unsurprisingly, some of the ‘myths’ she sets out to rebuke are gender as a social construct, the alleged unrelatedness of sexual orientation and gender identity, and the idea that children with gender dysphoria be given the possibility or supported in their attempts to ‘transition’.
Soh explains the motivation for this book and her decision to leave academia: ‘I had noticed a trend in mainstream news stories that left me feeling unsettled because they were extremely one-sided. An endless stream of pieces presented glowing stories about children as young as age three transitioning…’
Recommendations by Tania Mousel
Laura Erickson-Schroth (ed). Trans bodies, trans selves: a resource for the transgender community. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2014.
The first book on this reading list is a great resource for all kinds of information on the topic of transgenderism, given by the people from the community. I chose to include this resource, as it is widely accepted academic literature on the subject, for transgender persons themselves, but also for anyone interested in getting educated on the subject. Additionally, it is important to get explanatory information from people that are actually a part of the community. A lot of the literature on transgenderism has historically been written by authors, that aren’t actually transgender or gender non-conforming. Without dismissing all of that literature of course, I thought it important to include informative resources given by people that have lived through these experiences. The book is full of valuable information, has plenty of footnotes and citations for other reliable sources and is a good starting point for anyone interested in the topic. Published by Oxford University Press, and edited by Laura Erickson-Schroth, a psychiatrist that works with LGBTQI* people, who has either written or edited multiple books on these subjects, it is a definitely a trustworthy resource.
Julia Serano. Whipping girl: a transsexual woman on sexism and the scapegoating of femininity. Berkeley, Seal Press, 2016.
A personal account from a male to female transgender person. Julia Serano is a bisexual trans woman. The book is used in queer and gender studies as well as in feminist courses all across universities in the US. The first edition of this book came out in 2007, a time when transgenderism was far less mainstream than in 2022 so it offers a very interesting and unique perspective on the topic. Julia Serano started living her life as a trans woman in 2001, when the topic hadn’t reached mainstream attention at all. Serano has a very honest way of writing. She draws parallels between feminist, trans and same-sex struggles, but also shows how these other movements often neglect trans people’s issues and the discrimination that sometimes happens within these related movements. I decided to feature ‘Whipping girl’ in this list, as it is the first of Serano’s books. Her other works ‘Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive’ and ‘Outspoken: A Decade of Transgender Activism and Trans Feminism’ could very well be featured in this list as well. One of the terms Serano coins in Whipping girl is trans-misogyny, a term that describes how other people in the feminist and queer movements look down upon feminine trans-women and accuse them of reinforcing gender stereotypes. In Serano’s opinion this sentiment stems from a mix of misogyny and transphobia. Serano shows that it can be difficult to at the same time validate feminist and queer theories stating that gender is but a social construct, but at the same time recognize trans people’s validity and struggle. She came up with the intrinsic inclinations model. Like with most social issues, the issue is always framed through the eyes of the dominant majority. Serano shows us this through using words like cis terminology (terminology being determined by cis people and the trans issue being viewed through a cis lense) and talking about cissexism (the fact that cis people look down upon their trans counterpart and don’t see them as just as valid as themselves, but as second class women and second class men, not really men, not really women). She addresses how trans people are portrayed up until that point in media (trans women not being able to walk well in high heels, using too much make-up, men falling in love with trans women and then ‘discovering’ what is between their legs etc.). ‘Whipping girl’ has become known for its unapologetic defense of feminine gender expression.
I very much appreciate this quote from the introduction of the second edition of ‘Whipping girl’ where the author analyses the limitations of the work that she has put forth: “While I am proud of the fact that ‘Whipping girl’ was the first book to discuss trans-misogyny and the intersection of oppositional and traditional sexism, it seems clear in retrospect that it would have been a far stronger book had I extended my analysis to examine how these forces also intersect with other forms of marginalization (e.g. racism, classism, ableism, etc.). Today, numerous studies have been published that demonstrate how many forms of anti-trans discrimination (e.g., transphobic violence) disproportionately target people on the trans female/feminine spectrum, trans people of color, and poor and working class trans people, and that those who lie at the intersection of all three of these categories (as is the case for many trans women of color) are impacted the most severely.” With this she puts the transgender issue again in the wider context of social inequalities and marginalized communities. ‘Whipping girl’ has consequently earned its spot on this reading list.
Cyrus Grace Dunham. A year without a name. New York, Little, Brown and Company, 2019.
As ‘Whipping girl’ is from a male to female perspective, I thought it important to also include a memoir of a female to male transgender person. In ‘A year without a name’, Cyrus Grace describes their struggles as a little girl and not fitting in all the way to when they transitioned. It is a very personal and emotion-filled memoir and quite easy to read. Already as a child, Cyrus was closer to the boys and dressed more masculine than the other kids at school. They felt more like themselves in pants than in dresses and hated all the make-up and jewelry that their sister wanted them to have. The main focus is the year of transition, where they alternated between Grace and coming up with a new identity and name to finally leave the girl Grace behind and become Cyrus Grace. There is a lot of self-examination happening, questions about their own psyche, questioning themselves, if they have other psychological disorders or if they are actually transgender. The book gives a first-hand insight into what is happening inside the mind of someone coming to terms with their identity. Although the book does not have the same depth as ‘Whipping girl’ when it comes to analyzing broader social contexts and privileges even within the trans community, I found it important to include it in this reading list for the representation of a female to male trans person story.
Jackson Wright Shultz. Trans/portraits: voices from transgender communities. Hanover, Dartmouth College Press, 2015.
‘Trans/portraits’ is a book I highly recommend. As the first sentence from the back page of the volume says “although transgender people are increasingly represented in academic studies and popular culture, they rarely have the opportunity to add their own voices to the conversation”, that is unfortunately still an issue. ‘Trans/portraits’ includes a glossary for people not so familiar with the vocabulary of the community and in the beginning of the book a quick timeline of transgender history in the US. After the introduction, 34 trans people write short testimonies about different topics concerning their trans identity. The way the author decided to structure the book is to assemble all the essays by topic, instead of having longer testimonies one after the other talking about all their experiences. This structure made for a dynamic read and very short and concise testimonies from various points of view all talking about the same aspect. Just like the first book on this reading list, I recommend this work to anyone struggling with their own identity to possibly find support and discover that they are not alone, but also to people that want to get informed on trans issues, as it is always valuable to get knowledge from someone that has first-hand experience. The strong point of ‘Trans/portraits’ is the large variety of viewpoints and the ability of the different authors to put the trans topic in the broader context of our society, the privilege of different social classes, of the unequal access to knowledge, health care (especially in the US) and support from friends and family.
Jen Manion. Female husbands: a trans history. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2020.
“Long before people identified as transgender or lesbian, there were female husbands and the women who loved them. Female husbands- people assigned female who transed gender, lived as men, and married women- were true queer pioneers. Moving deftly from the colonial era to just before World War I, Jen Manion uncovers the riveting and very personal stories of ordinary people who lived as men despite tremendous risk, danger, and threat of violence.” (from the book jacket)
‘Female Husbands’ reconstructed the life stories of female husbands, their wives, and others who were assigned female at birth and donned male attire. In addition to the life stories of Charles Hamilton, James Howe, James Allen, Albert Guelph, Joseph Lobdell, etc., the book supplied backgrounds of laws, social systems, and political aspects during the time. These details certainly helped paint a more complete picture of what it was like back then. I included ‘Female Husbands’ on this list, as a historical resource. I found it really interesting to discover that some women chose to live as men as far back as 1746, when the term female husband was coined. The book is well researched, with plenty of sources cited, but still written in a concise and easy-to-follow way. The topic is then also tied together with later queer theory, and the development of the LGBTQI+ community until the term ‘female husband’ was finally abandoned.
Rachel Carroll. Transgender and the literary imagination: changing gender in twentieth-century writing. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2018.
“‘Transgender and the Literary Imagination’ is the first full-length study to revisit twentieth century narratives and their afterlives, examining the extent to which they have reflected, shaped or transformed changing understandings of gender. Grounded in feminist scholarship, informed by queer theory and indebted to transgender studies, this book investigates the ways in which transgender identities and histories have been ‘authored by others’, with a focus on literary fiction by British, Irish and American authors, life writing and adaptation for stage and screen.” (from the book jacket)
I thought it important to include this book, as well as the following volume ‘Trans*Gender im Film’ as they both document how trans people are portrayed in media, which will undoubtedly have an effect on how society views them. Additionally, as it has previously been mentioned on this list, a lot of the literature on transgenderism has been written by people not actually part of the community, an issue that is also discussed in this volume. When writing about a community that one is not a part of, there will most likely be some lack of authenticity when portraying it. Rachel Carroll has extensively written about the LGBTQI+ community and literature, so I thought this book, published by Edinburgh University Press a good addition to complete the reading list.
Annette Raczuhn. Trans*Gender im Film: zur Entstehung von Alltagswissen über Transsex* in der filmisch-narrativen Inszenierung. Bielefeld, transcript, 2018.
The influence that our environment and the media has on every one of us is the subject of many studies and books. That of course lends itself to studies about how trans people are shown in movies, because this will undoubtedly influence people’s opinion and image of transgender persons. Just like the previous book focused on trans stories written by non-trans people mostly in literature, this work analyses how transgenderism is portrayed in movies, and also who portrays them. Annette Raczuhn did very in-depth research for her book, it is not an easy read, full of complex models and sociological theory with references to other academic works, to feminist and queer theory and written using elaborate language and vocabulary. She uses multiple movies with trans main characters to demonstrate her findings. Very often trans stories in movies are tragic stories, full of suffering and obstacles and usually coming to terms with their identity, by changing their gender and going through with gender reassignment surgery. She notes though that this phenomenon does not represent reality, as since legislation in Germany was changed, and a trans person does not have to go through with gender reassignment surgery anymore to get their legal gender changed, less trans people have gone through with the surgery. I found it important to include as a resource firstly because it covers a very specific area of the whole transgender subject matter, secondly to include an academic work, a thesis in this list, which contains more personal narratives and experiences, and finally to also include a book written in German.
Eric Anderson and Ann Travers (eds). Transgender athletes in competitive sport. London, Routledge, 2017.
“While efforts to include gay and lesbian athletes in competitive sport have received significant attention, it is only recently that we have begun examining the experiences of transgender athletes in competitive sport. This book represents the first comprehensive study of the challenges that transgender athletes face in competitive sport; and the challenges they pose for this sex-segregated institution. Beginning with a discussion of the historical role that sport has played in preserving sex as a binary, the book examines how gender has been policed by policymakers within competitive athletics. It also considers how transgender athletes are treated by a system predicated on separating males from females, consequently forcing transgender athletes to negotiate the system in coercive ways. The book not only exposes our culture's binary thinking in terms of both sex and gender, but also offers a series of thought-provoking and sometimes contradictory recommendations for how to make sport more hospitable, inclusive and equitable.” - First page introduction
The subject of transgender athletes in competitive sport has received a lot of media attention these last few years and has become a very contentious topic. Especially male to female trans people face a lot of backlash if they win against other female athletes, as people argue that their bodies still have biological advantages from their pre-transition phase. That is why I found it important to include this book, that looks at the issue from all different perspectives and analyses if there is an argument to be made or not. The book also gives plenty of precise examples of trans athletes, shows how the current binary system in sports hurts not only trans, but also cis people and makes a conclusive argument for changing the whole competitive sports system. The book takes a very empathetic and humanizing approach to a controversial topic and includes plenty of resources for further research.
Jules Joanne Gleeson, Elle O'Rourke (eds). Transgender Marxism. London, Pluto Press, 2021.
‘Transgender Marxism’ is a collection of essays put together by the editors Jules Joanne Gleeson and Elle O’Rourke. As they say in their introduction, transgender Marxism as a term and field of study has already existed before, these writings only seek to add to the literature. The authors seek to put the transgender issue into a broader political context, describe the relations between gender and labor, between our existing structures of gender binaries with our patriarchal, capitalist society and advocate for transgender Marxism as the only way for complete liberation and equality for transgender people. The authors of each essay successfully make the connection between living under capitalism and the oppression of minority groups, be it people of color, women, LGBTQI+ community members or some combination of them and the oppression of the working class and advocate for a banding together of all social struggles to abolish capitalism and construct a fairer, more equal and tolerant society. They also make the case for existing Marxists and working class people to include minority groups in their struggle. The following sentence from the introduction was particularly well formulated: “This collection will doubtless cause outrage in certain quarters within Marxism. Many have taken class politics as somehow in opposition to any consideration of gender minorities, who are framed as a sideshow to the simplicity and ordinary concerns of workers.” I included this book in the reading list, as it very well demonstrates, that just as any other social issue, the struggle of transgender people for acceptance, equality and recognition involves a larger system change and is an intersectional fight.
Paul B. Preciado. Je suis un monstre qui vous parle : rapport pour une académie de psychanalystes. Paris, Bernard Grasset, 2020.
I chose to put the following book on the reading list for various reasons. I wanted to have books on this list in all languages. This is a transcription of a speech that Paul Preciado, a female to male non-binary and trans person, made to 3500 psychoanalysts in France. Books written by female to male transgender people are rarer and it offers a different perspective, so I thought it important to include a work from that point of view. Finally, this is a very strong and emotional speech, sure to leave the reader with a lot to think about. Paul talks about the patriarchy that sought to decide over his bodily autonomy when he was still a girl in Spain, he addresses how transgender people are treated by the medical society and are made into some kind of monster, and again being prevented from freely deciding over their body and identity. He raises the problem that in the psychoanalyst community transgender are being talked about and decided over, but hardly ever represented. I found it an easy to read, but very strong and powerful speech and that is why I chose to include it. I am finishing off my list with a few sentences, which I found particularly powerful in the text.
« Eh bien, c’est à partir de cette position de malade mental où vous me renvoyez que je m’adresse à vous […]. Je suis le monstre qui vous parle. Le monstre que vous avez construit avec vos discours et vos pratiques cliniques. […] Moi, en tant que corps trans, en tant que corps non-binaire, à qui ni la médecine, ni le droit, ni la psychanalyse, ni la psychiatrie ne reconnaissent le droit de parler sur ma propre condition, ni la possibilité de produire un discours ou une forme de connaissance sur moi-même, j’ai appris […] la langue de Freud et de Lacan, celle du patriarcat colonial, votre langue et je suis là pour m’adresser à vous. »
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