What if you weren't born this way?
"Some children insist, from the moment they can speak, that they are not the gender indicated by their biological sex. So where does this knowledge reside? And is it possible to discern a genetic or anatomical basis for transgender identity? Exploration of these questions is relatively new, but there is a bit of evidence for a genetic basis."
- Scientific American Feb 2016
On the other, hand, as Laverne Cox has reminded us: “There’s not just one trans story. There’s not just one trans experience.”
This evening we address the question of how, why and whether we should defer to biological explanations to validate our sexual or gender choices.
Perhaps when we defer to science to validate the identities of trans people, we also loose some other the diverse understandings of our bodies and our experiences in favor of medicalized explanations of our existence. We risk dissolving our own explanations, experiences and choices, for ones backed by scientific explanations. Whilst medical research has done wonders for many aspects of our lives, do we really need to an appeal to science to validate our individual experiences and choices? In fact, might such an approach hindering the development of solidarity throughout the trans community and the movement as a whole?
This evening we will be discussing the central role that biological explanations for non-normative sexualities and gender identities has played in LGBTQ activism and the challenges it presents, both in stretching the limits of what science can tolerate and to building solidarity across queer communities.
Links shared
Largest ever study of transgender teenagers set to kick off - Nature