Article Review #2

 Currah, Paisley. “Stepping Back, Looking Outward: Situating Transgender Activism and Transgender Studies- Kris Hayashi, Matt Richardson, and Susan Stryker Frame the Movement” Sexual Research & Social Policy 5.1 (2008): 93-104.

            In “Stepping Back, Looking Outward,” Paisley Currah employs the help of three experts in gender and sexuality studies and history to help readers look at the transgender movement through a variety of frames. She asks Kris Kayashi, Matt Richardson, and Susan Stryker three questions that shed light on the transgender movement, its history, and where it could go from here. The article explores the transgender movement in current terms, in historical terms, and in relation to other social justice movement. It also focuses on the  relationship between “the newly emerging academic field of transgender and its central object of study- the challenges by gender- nonconforming people to traditional gender normativities,” (93).

            The first question the author poses to these experts is, “What does the emerging trans-rights movement- if it is a movement- look like and how does it fit into a broader struggle for social justice domestically and globally? What key coalitional opportunities are yet to be exploited by trans activists and our allies?” (95). The three experts argue that we need to look at history to truly understand the transgender movement and its diversity. Furthermore, they argue that this history can provide perspective into how the movement should be broadened. Susan Stryker, for instance, explains that there is a strong presence “throughout history and across cultures” of people who do not fit into a heteronormative and gender normative social construction. She bolsters her proposition that the trans-gender movement should be understood through a historical perspective by giving readers many examples of the diverse instances of trans-rights individuals. Kris Hayashi expands on this history by commenting on how the transgender movement is “diverse, multifaccted and continually changing,” (97). He makes this point by detailing various trans-rights organizations and identifying the limitations placed on trans-rights organizations by lack of funding. He emphasizes that race is essential to understanding the trans-right movement, because looking at transgender rights through a lens of diversity broadens the movement’s goals from simply getting justice for marginalized transgender or non-conforming individuals to maintaining overall social justice. This point will continue to resonate throughout the piece. Matt Richardson elaborates on the connection between race and the trans-rights movement by talking about how the issue of dehumanization is at the core of trans-rights problems. He connects problems fought by racial minorities and gender minorities by talking about how Black people, like current trans individuals, were often viewed as people who transgressed gender norms in the 1700s because they were seen as animalistic and not distinctly male or female (99). He goes on to explain that the trans-rights movement needs to take advantage of opportunities to work with a diverse group of people from multiple races, to help people see that there are lots of hidden historical connections that can help frame the transgender rights movement in a unique way.

             The second question Paisley Currah posed to experts is, “How has the framing of trans rights changed in the last 10- 20 years with its increasing visibility and legislative gains? What should be the central political and policy objectives of this movement? How can we build a successfully antiracist movement for transjustice?” (99). The three experts agree that the policy objectives of this movement should revolve around the most marginalized individuals in society and that building a multi-issue movement would help create a movement that everyone can support. Hayashi starts off by explaining how dangerous single issue movements are because they often leave behind the most vulnerable communities. He uses the LGBT movement as an example of a movement that has become dangerously single issue. Hayashi says, “It’s important that however trans movements develop and progress, we must do so in ways that continue to fight against all forms of oppression and for justice for all oppressed communities” (99). He explains that the central policy objectives of this movement should first cater to those who are the most oppressed and that the leadership of this movement should include those who are most oppressed. He also talks about how building a successful antiracist movement involves “(challenging) the ways in which racism is perpetuated within trans movements” (100). Richardson responds to this by saying he totally agrees with Hayashi. He continues to expand on how we can build an antiracist trans-rights movement, saying that we can primarily do this by accepting that trans- individuals are a very diverse community. To do this, we need to pay attention to the historical background of the trans- rights movement and use this information to understand that “the more that trans organizations are led by people who are affected by racism and class oppression, the more multilayered strategies will be enacted” (101-102). Finally, Stryker acknowledges that no one single movement will meet everyone’s needs, but that it is important to create movements with multiple goals. She also emphasizes the already positive shift in the transgender movement from being apolitical in the 1980s to becoming a political movement presently. She says this signifies that the movement’s objective has shifted from survival to bringing about change at the root of the problem. This is a very powerful analysis and it shows how uniquely resilient this movement has become.

            The third question the article talks about is, “How well do transgender studies, as it has been framed academically, fit the needs and agenda of trans activists? What kinds of academic work are most needed? Which are the least helpful?” (103). Only Richardson and Stryker respond to this question, but both agree that academia should provide tools for activists. Richardson talks about how the most useful individuals to the trans-rights movement might be scholars who are also activists, as can be seen in history with people like Angela Davis. Furthermore, he talks about how “the academy is sorely lacking interdisciplinary studies of the racial construction of gender, and that this is what may be the most productive future of these trans studies,” (103). Stryker adds to this by saying that we often make the mistake of believing that “academics are not activists, or that activist are not academics, and that the proper role of academic trans studies should be to provide content and tools for nonacademic activists,” (103). Stryker cites different examples of ways ‘academic activists’ can be useful in propelling the trans-rights movement forward, such as a psychiatrist contending that the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnoses of trans- individuals is stigmatizing and harmful. These examples also illustrate Richardson’s point as to how the most useful individuals to any social movement are the ‘academic activists’. All in all, Stryker and Richardson believe that academic knowledge can be used to fuel movements and inspire change.

            A lot of the analysis in “Stepping Back, Looking Outward” is mirrored in the article “The Nonprofit Industrial Complex and Trans Resistance.” The most obvious similarity can be seen in how both articles outline the importance of creating a broad social movement which deals with multiple issues and which includes the most disenfranchised people in society. For instance, “The Nonprofit Industrial Complex and Trans Resistance” talks about how nonprofit organizations can actually limit social movements, like the LGBT movement, by constricting them to deal with single issues. The article also talks about how the newly emerging trans-rights movement can work to avoid these imposed limitations. “Stepping Back, Looking Outward” also talks about the down side of single- issue organizations (even using the same example of the LGBT movement) and how the trans-rights movement can rise above this. Furthermore, both articles talk about the positive shifts that can be seen in the transgender movement and the ways that the movement has shown substantial forward movement in accomplishing its goal. Because “Stepping Back, Looking Forward” provides a lot of critiques and analysis of the trans-rights movement, it is perfect for my blog topic, The Transgender Rights Movement. This article provides positive insight into how the transgender movement works and how it can go on from here. I learned a lot of historical information from “Stepping Back, Looking Outward” about the movement and I would recommend this article for anyone interested in looking at how the history of trans- individuals can propel the current trans- rights movement forward.

- Sarah Reasoner