Existential Activism: The Complex Contestations of Trans Youth

Abstract

In response to pervasive and persistent harassment and discrimination within and beyond school walls, trans students in the United States have launched innovative campaigns to educate their peers, teachers, school administrators, elected officials, and the public—responding to questions, giving presentations at school assemblies, meeting with teachers and administrators to explain trans issues, creating “diversity clubs” at school, testifying before school boards and legislative committees, and creating social media sites to communicate with much larger audiences. This chapter moves from a discussion of trans youth involvement in conventional social change activism to explore the contours of existential activism—a mode of transformative action that debunks the notion that there are only two configurations of human bodies (male/female) and the belief that sex is fixed from birth. In their daily interactions with family, friends, schoolmates, school authorities, and the larger public, trans students challenge the presumption that assigned sex and identified sex always align. They demonstrate that for many people, gender identity and gender expression do not conform to dichotomous constructions of sex and gender accredited by science, medicine, religion, and the state. By analyzing the complex ways that trans youth challenge “common sense,” as well as the authority of science, the state, and religion, I show how trans students illuminate multiple forms of injustice routinely ignored in contemporary society. Through their daring existential activism, trans students make a compelling case for sex, gender, and sexual variation as creative diversities essential for wise, flourishing, and socially just societies.

I would like to thank C. Laura Lovin for her sharp insights and outstanding editorial work to improve this chapter.