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Saffin, Lori. "Bodies that (Don't) Matter: Systems of Gender Regulation and Institutions of Violence against Transgender Persons: A Queer/Critical Race Feminist Critique ," Washington State University, June 2008. Advisor: Linda Heidenreich
This project provides an economic-based analysis of various forms of violence enacted against transgender persons. Employing a Critical Race Feminist and Queer Theory analysis, I argue that transpersons are often the targets of the most vicious and blatant forms of violence due to regulatory and policed systems that rely on gender normativity. Because transpersons fail to fit within a rigid binary gender structure, they are often subject to transphobia, bias, and ostracism from dominant society, resulting in pervasive economic discrimination and violence. In addition to rampant transphobia, most national gay organizations disproportionately serve the interests of wealthy, white, gay men. For example, several national LGBT organizations support hate crime enhancement legislation that relies upon a racist and classist punitive criminal justice system to remedy hate-motivated violence. This will ultimately lead to the incarceration of more persons of Color and the poor and hinges on a myopic, singular identity politic. iv From hate-motivated crimes and prison violence to reliance on identity documents for employment, this project explores the myriad of ways that violence is enacted against transpersons, and argues that transgender persons undergo systemic violence every step of the way, including, discrimination in employment, education, health care, social and legal services, and the criminal justice, to name a few. Throughout the course of their lives, transpersons endure violence from their families, peers, the state, and various institutions. The solution lies in forging political movements and organizations that connect transgender rights to racial, social, and economic justice. By addressing the relationship between gender non-conformity and violence, and accounting for the impact that political strategies have across racial, class, and gendered lines, a more comprehensive and inclusive political strategy can be employed that can curb violence against transpersons and promote social change.
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