Engaging Trans Debates on Gender Variance: A Feminist Analysis

Transgender studies has emerged from a series of debates that have produced internal tensions, border wars and rifts. The rift I examine here concerns the politically volatile questions of how to think about and how to live gender variance. While some feminist, queer and transgender theorists have come to celebrate the critical potential of the allegedly more transgressive expressions of trans theories and lives, many transsexual theorists read this celebration as devaluing their lives and work. After outlining the transsexual critique, I examine to what extent their concerns are justified through an analysis of two key texts. I discuss strategies for challenging this rift, and argue that the potential for transforming it will depend on dismantling existing hierarchies and revaluing diverse forms of gender variance.