Resisting unreality : gender identity as semantic authority and a transfeminist ameliorative analysis of gender

Like all people trans people are assigned a gender at birth, but at some point trans people begin self-identifying as a different gender. Trans people also face a society that frequently invalidates their gender identities and insists that they cannot be the genders they self-identify as. This dissertation argues that when trans people begin to self-identify as a gender that is different to their assigned gender they are engaged in an act of political resistance against gender oppression. This argument addresses two key issues in feminism. First, it addresses the trans-exclusionary radical feminist argument that trans people cannot participate in feminism’s resistance against gender oppression. Contemporary feminists reject the trans-exclusionary argument, but I contend that it remains unanswered. My argument answers it and shows that trans people engage in the same kind of political resistance that feminists urge cis women to engage in. The second issue is that because trans people used to be excluded from feminism many of the concepts that are central to feminists are biased against trans people. For instance the concept of woman is vital to feminists, but feminism’s concept of woman is not inclusive of trans women. To defend my argument I develop an account of gender that counters this bias and shows that trans people are the genders they self-identify as. Chapter one introduces the topic by highlighting how trans people have been excluded from feminism. Chapter two explicates feminism’s account of the gender categories man and woman and the trans-exclusionary radical feminist argument, and shows how this argument has not been fully addressed. Chapter three illuminates the extent of trans people’s exclusion from feminism and proposes an account of gender that can address feminism’s biases against trans people. Chapter four defends an account of gender identity and uses this account to show that beginning to self-identify as trans is an act of political resistance. Chapter five develops this account of resistance to argue that trans people should be treated as authoritative experts about gender. Chapter six summarizes the project and highlights some next steps.