DOCSLIB.ORG

Sex Under Intimate Siege: Transgender Lives, Law and State Violence in Contemporary Turkey

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sex Under Intimate Siege: Transgender Lives, Law and State Violence in Contemporary Turkey Sex Under Intimate Siege: Transgender Lives, Law and State Violence in Contemporary Turkey by Aslı Zengin A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto © Copyright by Aslı Zengin 2014 Sex Under Intimate Siege: Transgender Lives, Law and State Violence in Contemporary Turkey Aslı Zengin Doctorate of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto 2014 Abstract My doctoral research is about the production of marginalized sexualities through both the exercise of power and resistance to it. Focusing on legal codes and regulations surrounding sex reassignment surgeries (SRSs), sex work, hate crimes targeting trans people, and state officials’ (juridical actors, police, doctors, forensic medicine people) legal and extralegal relations with trans people in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, I scrutinize the transformation of trans lives into the microphysical domain of state power for the symbolic and material production of sexual and gender difference in Turkey. I also analyze how trans people respond to this process in their everyday lives. Starting with the queer history of Beyoğlu, and trans people’s everyday experiences of spatial discrimination, marginalization and displacement by the police, capital owners, landlords, and neighbours since the 1960s, I investigate how myriad forms of everyday violence shape trans people’s political and intimate subjectivities. The construction and deployment of “transsexuality” as a medico-legal category is also part of this violent process. I elaborate on the work of this category to discuss how medico-legal actors of the state evaluate transsexuality, and hence, one’s “true” sex, and open trans people’s bodies to violent proximities and intimacies. ii Overall I argue that the categories of sex and gender are integral to the formation and intimate workings of Turkish state power as the state seeks to govern and regulate not only bodies and sexuality, but also subjects’ intimate conducts and desires. The second part of my dissertation focuses on trans people’s responses to these relations of violence, including the making of transgender community – a form of family and trans activism. In many cases, practices that are understood culturally as essential family duties (i.e. providing emotional and financial protection, caring for the body at death) are re-claimed by the trans community, replacing the assumed role of the family and announcing the community as “the real family.” I discuss family as one of the most contested intimate sites in transgender people’s lives, a site that is intimately intertwined with an ethics of care in the face of everyday violence. Arguably another expression of this ethics of care is trans activism in Istanbul. By looking at how trans people organize and mobilize around hate crimes, police violence and state control over SRSs, I scrutinize trans people’s definitions of and struggle for queer justice in institutional spaces, as well as the street. iii Acknowledgments It would have been impossible for me to complete this program without the support of several people. First and foremost I would like to express my special thanks and appreciation to my co-supervisors Holly Wardlow and Naisargi Dave for their constant support of my Ph.D. study and research. Without their motivation, inspiration, respect, patience, and guidance, I could not imagine having as rewarding an academic experience as this one. Their challenging questions and critical feedback pushed me to think about and analyze my research material in novel ways. I am especially grateful to Holly for supporting me not only academically, but also financially by providing me with research assistantship positions over almost five years. Besides my co-supervisors, I would like to express appreciation to my thesis committee member, Andrea Muehlebach, for her continuous encouragement and insightful feedback. She never stopped believing in my research project and inspired me with her motivation whenever I needed it. I and many other friends in the department have greatly benefited from her strong enthusiasm and support. Special thanks to Michael Lambek for serving on my dissertation defense committee and also for providing his guidance and encouragement through the Dissertation Writing Workshop. His mentorship has been of tremendous help and I owe him my deepest gratitude. There are many other faculty members, who deserve my sincerest thanks: Janice Boddy for her close reading of my dissertation; Girish Daswani for motivating me to start with my write-up in the first Dissertation Writing Workshop that I was part of; Donna Young for being generous with her time, motivation, and support during my time as a pre-doctoral fellow at the Center for Ethnography at the University of Toronto-Scarborough; Heather Miller for her particularly understanding and encouraging Graduate Directorship service; and Krista Maxwell, Amira Mittermaier, Valentina Napolitano, and Christopher Krupa for their encouragement and inspiration at different times throughout my program. I have also gained significant critical insight through my conversations with established scholars in the field of anthropology. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Don Kulick, who served as my external examiner at my oral defense. His engaged reading of my iv thesis and challenging feedback inspired me to rethink through my data in exciting ways. The graduate master-classes with Henrietta Moore and Elizabeth Povinelli and the Association for Queer Anthropology Workshop with Tom Boellstorff have been significantly influential in shaping some of the theoretical and ethnographic discussions in my thesis. I also had the great opportunity of being on the same panels with Ellen Lewin, David Valentine, Mary Weismantel, and Evelyn Blackwood. I am grateful for all their feedback and keen engagements with my research. This thesis would not have come to a successful completion without the financial support that I received through grants, fellowships, and awards over the course of my Ph.D. study. I wish to thank the University of Toronto Graduate School Fellowship, Lorna Marshall Doctoral Fellowship in Social and Cultural Anthropology, Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Melissa J. Knauer Award for Feminist Research, Fellowship in Ethnographic Writing at the Center for Ethnography at the University of Toronto-Scarborough, and Association for Feminist Anthropology Dissertation Award for their financial assistance. I consider myself exceptionally lucky for having old and new friends from Turkey, who have also been academic migrants in Toronto. My first and foremost special thank is to Seçil Dağtaş, whose friendship started the day I started my undergraduate degree in Istanbul and has extended to Canada with our entry to the same Ph.D. program in Toronto. Her sisterhood and academic support has meant more to me than I could express in words. Besides Seçil, several other friends from Turkey, Özlem Aslan, Ümit Aydoğmuş, Burak Köse, Tuğçe Ellialtı, Aziz Güzel, Nefise Kahraman, Hülya Arık, Begüm Uzun, Ayşegül Koç, and Nora Tataryan, have made me feel at home in our priceless long conversations and shared times in Toronto. I deeply treasure their friendship. During my graduate study, the support that I received from across the ocean has been exceptional. Each time I visited Turkey, I was welcomed with unconditional love, care, and motivation by my beloved friends, Öznur Şahin, Senem Erdoğan, Başak Albayrak, Işıl Töngel, Elif Çelik, Ceren Yartan, Cemre Baytok, Hazal Halavut, Zeynep Özdal, Ali Paşaoğlu, Zeynep Atay, Oyman Başaran, Esra Demir, Sertaç Şehlikoğlu, and by my former professors at Bogazici University, Nazan Üstündağ, Nükhet Sirman, Şemsa Özar, Ayfer Bartu Candan, and Meltem v Ahıska. Thanks to my doctoral research and dissertation writing, new friends have joined my life. I wish to express my indebtedness to Gülkan, Zeliş, Nurgül, Demet, Ebru, Ece, İlksen, Kerem, Ecem, Marta, Ceylan, Esen, Sema Semih, Begüm Başdaş, Pınar, Kannu, Ali Arıkan, Alp Biricik, Firat Firat, Yasemin Oz, Berfu Seker, Leman Sevda Daricioglu, Cenk Özbay, Feyza Akınerdem, and Selda Tuncer for their contribution to the joy, laughter, and support in my life. My time at the University of Toronto has introduced me to wonderful friends from across the world, without whose support and love it would be extremely difficult to survive in a cold city such as Toronto, let alone complete my doctoral program. My heartfelt thanks to Vivian Solana, Daniella Jofre, Deepa Rajkumar, Melanie Richter-Montpetit, Andrew Paruch, Alejandra Gonzalez, Nima Maleki, Timothy Mwangeka Makori, Janne Dingemans, Shihoko Nakagawa, Jacob Nerenberg, Columba Gonzalez Duarte, Anna Kruglova, and Rastko Cvekic, for making Toronto a second home for me by filling my life with their care, fun, enjoyment, assistance, and support. I would also like to extend my warm thankfulness to Zoya, Meghana Rao, Prasad Khanolkar, Jaby Mathew, Sude Beltan, Doruk Babaoğlu, Lucy Angus, Nelson Lai, Noa Schaindlinger, Malini Sur, Tania Tabar, Lilian Abou-Tabickh, Nishant Uphadhyay, Preethy Sivakumar, Nadia Hasan, Mai Taha, Zach Anderson, Amy Buitenhuis, Katie Mazer, Sara Suliman, Corey Ponder, Duygu Kaşdoğan, Ezgi Doğru, Ege Edener, Naoko Ikeda, Fabienne Doiron, Emily Rosser, Jana Kappeler, and Victor Kappeler, and my friends from the department, Dylan Gordon, Behzad Sarmadi, Glen Chua, Kate Rice, Sharon Kelly, Laura Sikstorm, Chantelle Falconer, Hollis Moore, Sardar
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Transgender Representation on American Narrative Television from 2004-2014
    TRANSJACKING TELEVISION: TRANSGENDER REPRESENTATION ON AMERICAN NARRATIVE TELEVISION FROM 2004-2014 A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Kelly K. Ryan May 2021 Examining Committee Members: Jan Fernback, Advisory Chair, Media and Communication Nancy Morris, Media and Communication Fabienne Darling-Wolf, Media and Communication Ron Becker, External Member, Miami University ABSTRACT This study considers the case of representation of transgender people and issues on American fictional television from 2004 to 2014, a period which represents a steady surge in transgender television characters relative to what came before, and prefigures a more recent burgeoning of transgender characters since 2014. The study thus positions the period of analysis as an historical period in the changing representation of transgender characters. A discourse analysis is employed that not only assesses the way that transgender characters have been represented, but contextualizes American fictional television depictions of transgender people within the broader sociopolitical landscape in which those depictions have emerged and which they likely inform. Television representations and the social milieu in which they are situated are considered as parallel, mutually informing discourses, including the ways in which those representations have been engaged discursively through reviews, news coverage and, in some cases, blogs. ii To Desmond, Oonagh and Eamonn For everything. And to my mother, Elaine Keisling, Who would have read the whole thing. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Throughout the research and writing of this dissertation, I have received a great deal of support and assistance, and therefore offer many thanks. To my Dissertation Chair, Jan Fernback, whose feedback on my writing and continued support and encouragement were invaluable to the completion of this project.
    [Show full text]
  • LGBTQ Notion Evaluation: a Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Review
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal) Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln Summer 6-15-2021 LGBTQ Notion Evaluation: A Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Review Poonam Gautam University School of Management, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, HARYANA INDIA, [email protected] Dr. Ajay Solkhe University School of Management, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, HARYANA INDIA, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac Part of the Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Human Resources Management Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, and the Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons Gautam, Poonam and Solkhe, Dr. Ajay, "LGBTQ Notion Evaluation: A Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Review" (2021). Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). 5886. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/5886 1 LGBTQ Notion Evaluation: A Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Review Poonam (Main Author) Junior Research Fellow University School of Management, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra-136118, Haryana, INDIA [email protected] Dr. Ajay Solkhe, (Corresponding Author) Sr. Assistant Professor University School of Management, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra-136118, Haryana, INDIA [email protected] Mobile: 9896544852 Abstract Several conservative sectors and employers are embracing equality objectives, including financial institutions, for example, more importantly, there has been a change in attitude and support towards the LGBT+ issues, which has been noticed in other professions and companies, including law and accountancy. The LGBT group includes Lesbians, Gay, Bisexuals and Transgender sexual orientation. Gay men and heterosexuals have also been observed to be in these groups.
    [Show full text]
  • An Examination of Male to Female Transgender Sex Workers' Experiences Within the Health Care and Social Service Systems in San Francisco, California
    Smith ScholarWorks Theses, Dissertations, and Projects 2007 Progressive care : an examination of male to female transgender sex workers' experiences within the health care and social service systems in San Francisco, California Laura Maria Escobar Smith College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Escobar, Laura Maria, "Progressive care : an examination of male to female transgender sex workers' experiences within the health care and social service systems in San Francisco, California" (2007). Masters Thesis, Smith College, Northampton, MA. https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses/416 This Masters Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in Theses, Dissertations, and Projects by an authorized administrator of Smith ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Laura Maria Escobar Progressive Care: An Examination of Male to Female Transgender Sex Workers’ Experiences Within the Health Care and Social Service Systems in San Francisco, California ABSTRACT This qualitative study explores male to female transgender sex workers’ experiences within the social service and health care systems in San Francisco, California. Twenty one male to female transgender sex worker participants were asked to rate services provided to them by the social service and health care systems. Ten of these participants were then asked a series of questions about their experiences within the social service and health care systems in San Francisco. Participants’ racial identities and ages were not diverse. Most participants identified as African American and their ages fell between the ranges of 41 and 50 within this study. All participants had worked as sex workers and accessed social services and health care within the last five years.
    [Show full text]
  • © 2013 Daniela Jauk All Rights Reserved Global Gender Policy Development in the Un: a Sociological
    © 2013 DANIELA JAUK ALL RIGHTS RESERVED GLOBAL GENDER POLICY DEVELOPMENT IN THE UN: A SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLORATION OF THE POLITICS, PROCESSES, AND LANGUAGE A Dissertation Presented to The Graduate Faculty of The University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Daniela Jauk August, 2013 GLOBAL GENDER POLICY DEVELOPMENT IN THE UN: A SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLORATION OF THE POLITICS, PROCESSES, AND LANGUAGE Daniela Jauk Dissertation Approved: Accepted: ________________________ ________________________ Advisor Department Chair Dr. Kathryn Feltey Dr. Matthew Lee ________________________ _______________________ Committee Member Dean of the College Dr. Matthew Lee Dr. Chand Midha ________________________ ________________________ Committee Member Dean of the Graduate School Dr. Sandra Spickard Prettyman Dr. George R. Newkome ________________________ ________________________ Committee Member Date Dr. Clare Stacey ________________________ Committee Member Dr. Sarah Swider ________________________ Committee Member Dr. Robert Peralta ii ABSTRACT The United Nations (UN) provided a stage for the evolution of a global women’s movement and global gender equality policy in the 20th century. My dissertation adds a unique perspective to the sociological literature on the global gender equality regime in that it focuses on the social construction of gender equality policy in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) of the UN. The guiding research question for my project is ″How is gender equality policy socially constructed in UN’s CSW?″ My goal is to unpack some of the processes and politics of knowledge and norm-production in the CSW in order to explore ways in which women and men around the world may be better able to shape and influence global gender equality policy and utilize it in their national contexts.
    [Show full text]
  • How Could the Yogyakarta Principles Help Improve the Situation Of
    How could the Yogyakarta Principles help improve the situation of transgender people, when examined in the framework of existing bodies of international non-discrimination norms? Alexandra PISA, ANR 835165 University of Tilburg International and European Public Law, Human Rights Track Supervising professors: S.J. Rombouts Stefanie Jansen 1 Table of contents Introduction............................................................................................................................................... .1 1. Chapter I – A general view of the 'Yogyakarta Principles' …............................................................... 1 1. What are the Yogyakarta Principles and what is their role?........................................................... 3 2. What is their legal status?.............................................................................................................. 4 3. What do the principles contain?..................................................................................................... 6 4. How were the Principles received by the international community?................................................................................................................................... 8 2. Chapter II – Comparing the Principles with existing international legal norms.................................. 13 1. Are the 'Yogyakarta Principles' derived from existing international legal norms?.........................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Barriers, Boundaries, and Borders: an Investigation Into Transgender Experiences
    Title Page Barriers, Boundaries, and Borders: An Investigation into Transgender Experiences within Medical Institutions by Madison T. Scull Bachelor of Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, 2019 Submitted to the Undergraduate Faculty of University Honors College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2019 Committee Membership Page UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH UNIVERSITY HONORS COLLEGE This thesis was presented by Madison T. Scull It was defended on April 5, 2019 and approved by Julie Beaulieu, PhD, Lecturer, University of Pittsburgh Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program Lisa Brush, PhD, Professor, University of Pittsburgh Department of Sociology Natalie Kouri-Towe, PhD, Assistant Professor, Concordia University Simone de Beauvoir Institute & Womens Studies Thesis Advisor: Lester Olson, PhD, Chair and Professor, University of Pittsburgh Department of Communication ii Copyright © by Madison T. Scull 2019 iii Abstract Barriers, Boundaries, and Borders: An Investigation into Transgender Experiences within Medical Institutions Madison T. Scull, BPhil University of Pittsburgh, 2019 As a population that has been often dismissed, neglected, discriminated against, and abused by medical institutions, the relationship between the transgender community and medicine has remained shrouded in silence until recent history. As a result of being forced to contend with transphobia, violence, and erasure, the transgender community in the United States suffers from tangible health
    [Show full text]
  • How Trans People Simultaneously Challenge and Reproduce
    Complicating Normal: How Trans People Simultaneously Challenge and Reproduce Heteronormativity A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University Master of Arts Katherine M. Kassner August 2010 © 2010 Katherine M. Kassner. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled Complicating Normal: How Trans People Simultaneously Challenge and Reproduce Heteronormativity By KATHERINE M. KASSNER has been approved for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the College of Arts and Sciences by ________________________________________ Cynthia D. Anderson Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology ________________________________________ Benjamin M. Ogles Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 ABSTRACT KASSNER, KATHERINE M., M.A., August 2010, Sociology Complicating Normal: How Trans People Simultaneously Challenge and Reproduce Heteronormativity (84 pp.) Director of Thesis: Cynthia D. Anderson This thesis examines the interactions between trans people and structural heteronormativity. Twenty-five in-depth interviews were conducted with self-identified trans people to assess how interviewees feel they’ve been affected by structural heteronormativity across the institutions of marriage, family, healthcare, education, and work. Interview questions further examined whether interviewees feel they challenge or reproduce structural heteronormativity. Analytic induction was used to analyze the interview data. Results demonstrate that all interviewees identify that they challenge structural heteronormativity and slightly more than half of interviewees identify that they reproduce structural heteronormativity. However, further analysis of the data suggests that some interviewees may challenge or reproduce heteronormativity at an individual level and had no effect or sometimes the opposite effect at the structural level. These findings were highly dependent on whether interviewees identify themselves as out or stealth as a trans person.
    [Show full text]
  • The Experiences of Transgender Female Sex Workers Within Their Families, Occupation, and the Healthcare System
    THE EXPERIENCES OF TRANSGENDER FEMALE SEX WORKERS WITHIN THEIR FAMILIES, OCCUPATION, AND THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. SHELLEY ANN VICKERMAN Degree: M.A. Research Psychology Department: Psychology Supervisor: Mr Umesh Bawa Co-Supervisor: Prof Brian Eduard van Wyk A mini-thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology in the Department of Psychology University of the Western Cape Bellville 2018. Keywords: Transgender; sex work; HIV; violence; discrimination; stigma; poverty; heteronormativity; gender; intersectional feminism http://etd.uwc.ac.za/ Abstract There is a dearth of scholarly literature surrounding transgender female sex workers (TFSW) within South Africa. Their voices are often marginalised and not adequately heard in the literature and in a society that generally views gender as a fundamental element of the self, determining their subject positions against binaried heteronormative gender ideals. This process of the ‘othering’ of TFSW, is exacerbated by the moralistic judging of their occupation of sex work. This has left many TFSWs vulnerable to emotional abuse such as being socially stigmatised, discriminated against and socially isolated. The literature further echoes vulnerability to physical violence, such as hate crimes, rape, heightened HIV infection, homelessness, police brutality and murder. The current study aimed to explore the subjective experiences of TFSW within their families, occupations and the healthcare system within the Cape Town metropole, South Africa. The study was framed within an intersectional feminist epistemological position, highlighting intersecting identities that marginalise groups of people. Informant driven sampling was used in the case of this study where a total of eleven participants were individually interviewed using a semi-structed approach – interviews ranged from 35-90 minutes.
    [Show full text]
  • Tracing Social and Legal Acceptance of the Transgender Community in Developing Countries
    CONCEPT, Vol. XXXIX (2016) 1 Third Gender and the Third World: Tracing Social and Legal Acceptance of the Transgender Community in Developing Countries Kimberly Tower Political Science Introduction There is a stereotype in the Global North that asserts its superiority over its less developed neighbors in the South.1 This idea goes beyond technology, economics, education, and health care. Some believe that the Global North is morally more advanced and treats its citizens in a more equal manner. By extension, Global South countries are generalized as “backwards, traditional, [and] oppressive.”2,3 Upon closer examination, this holds no water. There is an “immense variation” in human rights in the developing world that is just as wide-ranging as their “different religious, historical, political and cultural practices.”4 Actually, many of these states are quantifiably more progressive than the West on certain issues. This is particularly true in terms of transgender rights. While the United States is still struggling with the question of which bathrooms transgender people should use, Tehran is one of the global capitals of sex reassignment surgery.56 Some countries have gone so far as to create laws requiring insurance companies to cover medical costs, something that is not even up for debate in many US states (see Table II). 1 Formerly known as the “First World” and “Third World,” respectively, the Global North/South distinction represents the social, economic, and political differences that exist between developed and developing states. 2 La Barbera, Maria Caterina. Identity and Migration in Europe: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. (Dodrecht: Springer, 2015), p. 61. 3 Lambino, Antonio.
    [Show full text]
  • Violence, Belonging, and Potentiality in Transgender Latina Sexual Economies Andrea Bolivar Washington University in St
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Washington University St. Louis: Open Scholarship Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations Arts & Sciences Spring 5-15-2018 We are a Fantasia: Violence, Belonging, and Potentiality in Transgender Latina Sexual Economies Andrea Bolivar Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds Part of the American Studies Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons Recommended Citation Bolivar, Andrea, "We are a Fantasia: Violence, Belonging, and Potentiality in Transgender Latina Sexual Economies" (2018). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1512. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/1512 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Arts & Sciences at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS Department of Anthropology Dissertation Examination Committee: Shanti Parikh, Chair Bret Gustafson, Co-Chair Rebecca Lester Jeffrey McCune Gina Pérez “We Are a Fantasía: Violence, Belonging, and Potentiality in Transgender Latina
    [Show full text]
  • Cybertrans:Online Spaces and Places, Isolation, and Unclaimed Activism in the Transgender Movement
    CYBERTRANS:ONLINE SPACES AND PLACES, ISOLATION, AND UNCLAIMED ACTIVISM IN THE TRANSGENDER MOVEMENT By PETTA-GAY GEANETTE HANNAH A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2016 © 2016 Petta-Gay Geanette Hannah To my Mother for all of her sacrifices ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my Mother, Andrea Rhoden, my Grandmother, Panchetta Rhoden, my Cousin, Carol Rhoden, and all the other women in my family before them who dedicated their lives to seek a way for their children. You all were the first feminists in my life. You all have inspired me to want more, and have taught me that I could be more. To my sisters, and brothers thank you for listening to my complaints. I want to also thank you all for constantly asking me about the time frame in which I would finish my degree; your inquisitions kept me motivated to complete my research. I would also like to thank Mamey and Pops for their continued support of my goals from the very moment they met me. I would like to thank my participants for volunteering their time to tell me their stories, without them, none of what I know about my topic would be possible. Moreover, I would not be able to achieve my goal of finally earning a Ph.D. without their stories. To my committee members, Dr. Kendal Broad-Wright; Dr. Barbara Zsembik; Dr. Constance Shehan; and Dr. Bonnie Moradi, thank you. Though my journey to this point has been rough, I appreciate the constant support.
    [Show full text]
  • General Editor's Introduction
    General Editor’s Introduction PAISLEY CURRAH n the last decade, movements for transgender equality appear to have advanced I with astonishing speed, while other issues of concern to women’s movements have largely stalled, either making little progress (equal pay) or suffering real set- backs (abortion access). From policy reforms to public opinion trends, it seems that the situation has changed faster, and in a more positive direction, on issues char- acterized as “transgender rights” than it has on those understood as “women’s rights.” This apparent gap may be exacerbated in the United States: at the con- clusion of the culture wars of the last forty years, the almost inseparable bond between movements for sexual and gender freedom that marked liberationist discourse of the 1970s has been torn asunder, reconstituted through the logic of an identity politics that affirms the demands for recognition of sexual and gender minorities but finds the misogyny that still structures all women’s lives largely unintelligible, outside the scope of the liberal project of inclusion. One poll, for example, found that 72 percent of the millennial generation in the United States favor laws banning discrimination against transgender people—a proportion very close to the 73 percent who support protections for gay and lesbian people. But only 55 percent of this generation, born between 1980 and 2000, say abortion should be legal in all (22 percent) or some (33 percent) cases (Jones and Cox 2015: 42, 3). In a three-month period ending July 31, 2015, when this introduction was written, the New York Times editorial board came out in support of transgender issues seven times—and that number does not include the several almost uni- versally positive op-ed contributions published during the same period.
    [Show full text]