Academic Papers
Upcoming:
Book Chapter in edited volume on resistance to anti-gender movements in Europe (due in 2026)
Bleibt doch Feindlich!: Anti-(trans)gender Discourse in Germany’s EMMA Magazine and Resisting Exclusionary Border Politics of Gender
Abstract:
The overall goal of this chapter is to situate trans exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) politics in Germany within the broader anti-gender movement and discuss how building alliances beyond the borders of Germany, Europe, and the Global North can help us deconstruct and resist hegemonic colonial, racist, heteronormative, and transphobic gender politics. The TERF movement and the anti-gender movement are seldom differentiated as distinct entities with unique goals, and even less frequently are they examined together, despite their numerous parallels (Bassi & LaFleur, 2022) and commitment to opposing “gender ideology”. Through the lens of decolonial feminism, a critical discourse analysis of 13 articles published by Germany’s longest-running feminist magazine, EMMA, in response to the Selbstbestimmungsgesetz(Self Determination Law), shows how TERFs use anti-gender discourse to not only defend heteronormativity and biological essentialism, but also uphold white supremacist and colonial power structures that firmly align them with right-wing anti-feminist politics in Germany. With this knowledge, this chapter also considers how resistances in Germany, in the form of coalition building and engaging in dialogues that embrace diverse perspectives with activists and academics in the Global South, can use these differences to develop political strategies and theoretical approaches to counter the anti-transgender feminist movement and build a more inclusive society for all.
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MASTER’S THESIS:
“It Isn’t Hate to Speak the Truth”: Anti-Trans(Gender) Politics in the UK and the Development of the ‘Gender Critical’ Feminist Movement
a critical look into the colonial remnants of gender discourse
(2 December 2021)
Abstract:
The UK is currently experiencing a backlash against transgender rights coming from a group of people calling themselves gender critical feminists, who debate the existence of transgender people and what political and social rights they should be afforded. Little is known outside of transgender activist circles and scholarship about the impact this movement is having on trans(gender) politics and transgender lives, and so this thesis project hopes to bring greater awareness to the subject within studies of European societies in sociology. Through an extensive literature review of scholarship on the discursive battles in feminism over the concepts of gender and sex, and transgender people’s place within the greater feminist movement, I discuss the implications of the gender critical feminist movement on transgender lives and rights. Despite great work by these scholars, no effort has been made to understand the importance of colonialism in maintaining domination of sex, gender, and intersubjectivity. Using a feminist critical discourse analysis methodology, I analyze 16 different texts from prominent gender critical voices in the UK to examine the question: how is our view of trans(gender) politics and people shaped by gender critical feminist discourse? In order to more completely understand the systems of oppression that construct our gendered reality in the Western world and how they shape transgender experiences and how we understand them, I take a decolonial feminist approach to discussing the results by examining them through the coloniality of gender. This framework provides me with a way to unpack the constructed realities of transgender people in order to think critically about the origins of gender politics in the UK to reveal a legacy of colonialism which is present in the gender critical feminist discourse. The results demonstrate how transgender politics and lives are constructed by a Eurocentric hegemonic gender order where boundary-making around essentialist notions of womanhood promote coercive, violent colonial constructs of gender and sex.
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An InQUEERy Into SKAD: Researching the Queer Way
(March 2020)
A research paper exploring the benefits and problems of doing research with/on queer subjects with a special focus on the Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse Analysis.
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Queering Conviviality: Towards a Queer Futurity
(March 2020)
A research paper exploring the concept of ‘conviviality’ from a queer perspective, what queering ‘convivial spaces’ looks like, and what it means for developing a future-oriented queer theory.
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Seizing the Means of (Gender) Production: a trans* account of social reproduction theory
(March 2021)
What I hope to address in this (albeit, brief) paper is how Marxist theory can address trans* subjects, specifically through reformatting social reproduction theory to include trans* reproduction and trans* care.
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“We Were Never Meant To Survive”
LGBTQ Development and Queer Resistance in the Age of Neoliberalism
(September 2020)
Abstract
Neoliberalism has been described as the most successful ideology of our time. It has been adopted and adapted in a variety of theoretical and disciplinary contexts and it seems like there is no escaping it’s ideological reach. There is a growing tide of conceptual critiques that have begun to unravel it’s once lauded economic benefits that privilege individualism, competition, and merit, yet in reality, it’s policies have led to widespread inequality and eroded social ties. Despite promoting diversity to recognize formerly excluded differences, LGBTQ people have had vastly different experiences in relation to neoliberal policies, where one’s “otherness” is marketed to perform in accordance with existing stereotypes. By exploring the intersections of class and sexuality in neoliberal policies, this paper will look at various theoretical approaches that have been taken to understand LGBTQ and queer lives and their resistance in this new age of neoliberalism.
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“Aje Burrneshe!”
Patriarchy and the Performativity of Gender in Albanian ‘Sworn Virgins’
(September 2020)
Abstract
The purpose of this research paper is to examine the phenomena of the Burrnesha, or Albanian ‘Sworn Virgins’ from a sociological point of view in order to examine whether or not the ‘gender transition’ they go through serves to dismantle or uphold the patriarchal structure in their society. Through reviewing the anthropological study of Young (2000) and her follow up with Twigg (2008), I have decided that the best way to go about is this looking at how gender is structured in their society and gender performed by the Burrnesha. I will examine Bourdieu’s concept of social structures, and compare and contrast his idea of ‘habitus’ with that of Butler’s ‘gender performativity’. Because gender is so normatively structured and acted out by all members of the communities in Northern Albania in accordance with the Kanun, I conclude that the Burrnesha only serve to keep the patriarchal system in place.
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J.K. Rowling and the Order of the TERFs: A Critical Discourse Analysis into the Construction of ‘TERF’ Ideology Transforming UK Gender Politics
(March 2021)
Abstract
The UK is currently witnessing a drastic shift in gender politics. This research paper will be exploring the ‘Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist’ (TERF) discourse in light of the recent debates surrounding transgender rights. While trans rights advocates push for less restrictions on accessing healthcare and legal recognition of their gender identity, TERFs have taken to the internet and the media to ring the alarm bells against proposed changes to existing legislation. One of the most prominent voices of the TERF movement has been J.K. Rowling. In order to understand their arguments, I will be reviewing the current trans legislation, discussing feminist knowledge of sex and gender, and using a feminist critical discourse analysis approach look at J.K. Rowling’s June 2010 essay on her reasons for speaking up about sex and gender issues. My research will show how TERF ideology is constructed by discourses utilizing power and transphobic language that privileges an essentialist view of sex and a politics of gender that is regressive to everyone.
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Powerpoint Presentation – Discourse Analysis
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Journalism Pieces via Queerspace Magazine
FULL DISCLOSURE: My Trans Moment of Truth
FULL DISCLOSURE: I’ve Never Been Anyone’s Boyfriend
FULL DISCLOSURE: Stranger in a Strange Land
FULL DISCLOSURE: Overcoming the Stigma of HSV
FULL DISCLOSURE: Setting the Bar
FULL DISCLOSURE: My Year in Review
Gender Diversity in Electronic Music
FULL DISCLOSURE: I Came to Pee in Peace
A Meditation on Queer Feelings
FULL DISCLOSURE: The Second Coming of Puberty
Braedyn Ezra Simon, PhD Candidate 