The Trans Case Against Queer Theory

Page 54

How Current Trans Activism Limits our Models of Possibility I want to talk about the concept of 'possibility models', popular among some parts of the trans community, and use it to examine how the current dominant discourse of trans activism limits the models of possibility available for trans people, and hence are actually harming the trans community.

First, let's look at the idea of 'possibility models'. This term was popularized by trans actress Laverne Cox (from Orange is the New Black), who used it in an interview back in 2014. "I hate the term 'role model'. I think it's presumptuous to think anyone should model their life after me, but I do like the term 'possibility model' and thinking about what's possible," Cox said. Hence, a 'possibility model' is basically a trans person living out a model of life that can inspire other trans people to realize the possibilities about how their life can be like. In the case of Cox, the 'possibility' is that a trans person can aspire to be a popular actress, for example.

I think the idea of 'possibility models' is important, because it encourages trans people towards self-actualization, which would also be important for our mental wellbeing. In a world where trans representation remains limited, the availability of a wide variety of 'possibility models' is especially important for trans people who are at the stage of life where they need to figure out where to take their lives. 54


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Conclusions

1min
pages 169-170

The Key to Winning Trans Rights

2min
pages 165-167

Exit the Trans Culture War?

1min
page 168

Compassion Builds Bridges

3min
pages 156-158

How This Trans Person Sees Trans Jokes

1min
pages 163-164

Pronouns and Free Speech: A Trans Woman's View

4min
pages 159-162

Chapter 7. Building Bridges to End The Trans Wars

0
page 155

Lessons from the Gay Marriage Movement

2min
pages 152-153

We Need to Provide a Better Alternative

3min
pages 148-150

We Need to Raise Awareness About The Problem

2min
pages 146-147

Political Considerations Must Not Get in the Way of Good Science

1min
page 138

How to Tame The Beast: The Lessons of Recent History

1min
page 145

The Return of Critical Theory Radicalism, From 2008 to the Present

3min
pages 142-144

The Medical Science Case for Trans Accommodation

2min
pages 136-137

It All Started with a Historical Accident

3min
pages 139-141

Chapter 6. The Anti-Postmodern Case for Trans Acceptance and Rights

1min
pages 132-133

Wish vs Reality: A Trans Perspective

3min
pages 129-131

What is a Woman (or a Man

7min
pages 119-125

Is Gender A Social Construct? A Deeper Dive

3min
pages 126-128

The Case for a Trans Empiricism

4min
pages 100-104

On Trans Rights, Let's Not Get Distracted By Philosophical Questions

2min
pages 117-118

Trans People Are Not An Ideology

2min
pages 97-99

Chapter 5. Re-building a Facts Based Trans Discourse

0
page 96

Trans: A Scientific View

14min
pages 105-116

Are All Social Constructs Bad?

2min
pages 92-93

Destroying Everything in the Name of Progress

1min
page 89

Chapter 4. The Ideological Distortion of What Being Trans Means

1min
pages 80-81

Further Reading

0
page 79

When Reality Itself Becomes A Social Construct

2min
pages 90-91

Intersectionality: The Coalition That Critical Theory Built

2min
pages 77-78

Why Many Trans People Are Still Unhappy

2min
pages 86-87

The New Radical Feminism that Critical Theory Built

2min
pages 75-76

Trans Issues, Radical Feminism and Critical Theory

8min
pages 39-45

Why a Trans Echo Chamber Full Of Postmodern Theory is Unhealthy

6min
pages 48-53

Chapter 3. The Broader Context of the Rise of Critical Theory and Postmodernism

3min
pages 59-61

The Marcusean Influence on LGBT Activism

2min
pages 73-74

Why We Should Consider Postmodernism Within the whole Critical Theory Tradition

3min
pages 68-70

The Problem with Media Representation of Trans People: De-centering of Dysphoria

1min
pages 46-47

How Current Trans Activism Limits our Models of Possibility

5min
pages 54-58

The Philosophy Wars Over Trans Lives and Truth

4min
pages 35-38

Why Queer Theory is Bad For Trans People

8min
pages 14-20

Introduction: How Theory Harms Trans People and the LGBT Community

5min
pages 8-12

Queer Theory is What Has Come Between LGBT and Free Speech

5min
pages 21-24

Chapter 1. Queer Theory: The Core of the Problem

1min
page 13

We Don't Need to Erase Differences to Gain Acceptance

4min
pages 30-33

Why Gender Performativity Is Wrong and Anti Trans

1min
page 29

Chapter 2. How Queer Theory and Adjacent Philosophy Theories Harm Trans People

0
page 34

Why Trans and Queer Theory is Skewed and Unrealistic

5min
pages 25-28
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