University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository American Studies ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2-1-2016 Complicating Transgender: White Privilege and the Politics of Rurality Jordon Johnson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/amst_etds Recommended Citation Johnson, Jordon. "Complicating Transgender: White Privilege and the Politics of Rurality." (2016). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/amst_etds/20 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in American Studies ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. i Jordon Johnson Candidate American Studies Department This dissertation is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Dissertation Committee: Dr. Alyosha Goldstein , Chairperson Dr. Rebecca Schreiber Dr. Brian Herrera Dr. Susan Stryker ii COMPLICATING TRANSGENDER: WHITE PRIVILEGE AND THE POLITICS OF RURALITY by JORDON JOHNSON Department of American Studies DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy American Studies The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December 2015 iii Complicating Transgender: White Privilege and the Politics of Rurality Jordon Johnson, M.A., MSW, PhD. American Studies, University of New Mexico, 2015 Abstract This dissertation argues a dominant transgender narrative manifested through a focus on transgender bodies and prioritizing access to medical procedures when personal stories began to be publicly shared. With limited public conversations about the influence of a dominant transgender narrative, public understandings about the community have become isolated to one facet of some peoples lived experiences. Focusing on the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico, I examine the ways in which white privilege and presumptions about rural life as in certain respects antithetical to a transgender community have shaped the predominant representation of transgender in ways that often obscure the complexities of local context. Examining the iconic visual and popular culture representations and how they have contributed to creating a dominant transgender narrative, I seek to complicate the ways in which these prevailing tropes that presume the centrality of transgender medical transition narratives and urban (coastal) community formation. My hope is this research created an opening to more fully understand the impacts of whiteness, privilege and oppressive practices especially around how public knowledge is put forth about the transgender community. iv Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………... 1 Chapter 1: Emergence of a Dominant Transgender Narrative……………………………… 14 Chapter 2: Transgender Organizational Development……………………………………... 44 Chapter 3: Influences of a Nationalist Ideology and Human Rights Framework…………... 70 Chapter 4: Visual Representation of Transgender Bodies………………………………….. 98 Chapter 5: Rurality within a Transgender Movement…………………………………….. 128 Coda…………………………….…………………………………………………………. 165 Endnotes…………………………………………………………………………………… 169 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………. 181 1 Introduction When I decided to pursue my master’s degree, I wanted to deepen my understanding about the history of the transgender movement. My interest arose from my personal experience of embodying a transgender identity. In 2002, I finally embraced my transgender identity after many years of struggling to understand the complexity of my body and relationship to social structures in society. I had spent countless hours researching online for information to help me come to terms with my sense of self. I contemplated pursuing medical treatment and surgery for years because I was fearful of the potential outcomes in physically alter my body. A few years later, I made the decision to change my name legally than have gender confirmation surgery followed by starting hormone replacement therapy. As I entered the American Studies Department to pursue my doctorate, I wanted to expand my knowledge about transgender and elevate the stories of the transgender community. However, I also struggled with how a notion of transgender was publicly circulating and the approach of advocates working with community members. Alongside starting my doctoral studies, I began to delve into advancing my knowledge about the notion of white privilege and looking at the impact of systematic oppressive practices. I started to attend the White Privilege Conference to gather insight from prominent critical whiteness scholars about how privilege and oppression operate. This conference also assisted me in developing a practice of continual self-reflection on my positionality in society as a white transgender man. I continue to expand my knowledge about how I am positioned and perceived in society. Between reading scholars on critical race theory for my studies and the conference, I started to examine the systematic oppression transgender people experienced in junction with how privilege, power and oppression were 2 operating within the community. Throughout this process, I recognized the significance in starting to challenge a complacency within the transgender community in New Mexico about simply elevating personal stories and gaining access to health-care systems. The above experiences assisted me with formulating my research on complicating a transgender identity, examining how whiteness operates, and exploring the politics of rurality. Throughout my dissertation, I take the stance of being in solidarity with the educational and advocacy efforts, yet challenge how these efforts are put forth and pushing against the replication of a dominant white perspective. I am invested in advancing public understandings about a transgender identity and lived experiences. However, my dissertation critically analyzes the ways a notion of transgender publicly circulates and what have been the systems in which transgender emerged. In thinking about my interventions in the rapidly increasing knowledge production about transgender, the following questions prompted my research for this project. How has the emergence of a transgender identity primarily within urban areas potentially influenced rural approaches to raising awareness about the community? In what ways has the approach of sharing personal stories publicly alienated some transgender experiences and hindered the broader movement? How is a nationalist ideology impacting a sense of self and belonging within a transgender community? How have coastal states with transgender organizations contributed to driving a local and national dialogue about the broader movement? How has geographical and societal conditions informed the emergence of these nonprofit organizations? How might the development of the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico be contributing to a dominant transgender narrative and public perception about transgender experiences? How does a discourse about race and class subtly filter through a 3 dominant transgender narrative and public understandings about the community? What might need to be confronted in relation to notions of self, power, and representation within understanding transgender lived experiences and organizational development? Guided by these questions, my dissertation explores the manifestation of a dominant transgender narrative given the medical professions engagement with the community. I also examine the influence of whiteness and a nationalist ideology along with the impact of locality within the community and public understandings about transgender. Over the last few decades, transgender has become more visible and gained a robust public presence. Particularly in the last few years, transgender individuals such as Lavern Cox and most recently Caitlin Jenner have been highlighted in mainstream media coverage. The increase in a transgender public presence has been beneficial, yet also troublesome. Previously, visual representation of transgender individuals was very limited. Organizations have been working to advance public knowledge about the transgender community, which has assisted with gaining more national attention and visual representation. Throughout my dissertation, I look at whose representing the community, and the ways in which these components influenced cultural understandings about transgender lived experiences. I argue a dominant transgender narrative manifested through a focus on transgender bodies and prioritizing access to medical procedures when personal stories began to be publicly shared. With limited public conversations about the influence of a dominant transgender narrative, public understandings about the community have become isolated to one facet of some peoples lived experiences. Because public knowledge about transgender experiences have been primarily attentive to individuals who are physically transitioning through hormone replacement therapy and gender confirmation surgeries, the complexity of transgender lived experiences 4 is flattened. Race and locality within transgender peoples lives is minimalized. I recognize the significance of focusing on and addressing transgender bodies in relation to medical and legal frameworks although these professional systems have an intricate connection with state apparatuses and a national imagination. Transgender bodies have attracted