The Trans Case Against Queer Theory

The Trans Case Against Queer Theory (New Book)


In recent years, the influence of queer theory and adjacent ideas rooted in postmodernism and critical theory has distorted the discussion around trans issues. This has led to confusion about why trans people transition, and the decentering of the actual experience of trans lives in the public trans discourse. In turn, these developments have likely contributed to a slow down in trans acceptance and even backlash in some segments of society.

 

Why Queer Theory is Bad For Trans People

The fundamental reason why queer theory is bad for LGBT people is because it is ideological, i.e. it is rooted in certain philosophical commitments rather than empirical reality or the actual lived experience of LGBT people.

 

The Many Ways Queer Theory Hinders Trans Acceptance

Queer theory’s refusal to accept at least some level of essential meaning for ‘male’ and ‘female’ hampers both trans people’s formation of a stable identity in themselves, as well as our communication with broader society. 

 

Queer Theory is What Has Come Between LGBT and Free Speech

Queer theory insists that the existence of stable, meaningful notions of ‘male’ and ‘female’ is inherently oppressive to LGBT people, and LGBT identity should be defined by resisting this. This model positions LGBT lives, particularly trans lives, as the battering ram against long-standing mainstream understandings of ‘male’ and ‘female’, rather than as participants in a fair marketplace of ideas seeking to better our understanding of the objective truth.

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