An imaginative geography of linear gender: Bathrooms, locker rooms and cis vulnerability | Intellect Skip to content
1981
Volume 42, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 1466-0407
  • E-ISSN: 1758-9118

Abstract

The wave of anti-trans bathroom bills since 2015 has raised awareness of the importance of bathroom politics for trans people. Long before this, feminist scholars have argued that bodies and spaces are simultaneously forced into a gender binary through the regulation of gender-segregated spaces such as bathrooms. In this article, I offer a trans feminist reading of the media events and rhetoric of the Christian right opposing trans access. I analyse the opposition of the Christian right towards trans access to gender-segregated spaces as an imaginative geography of linear gender. As I argue, the Christian right builds an imaginative geography of a threatened, White ‘cis America’ through rhetorical devices. Vulnerability attached with micro-level spaces across the United States is evoked through the figure of the child, ‘women and children’ and the predator. Through these rhetorical devices, bodies and spaces are imagined simultaneously. These figures work as powerful ‘stopping devices’ for anyone bending the straight line of linear gender. These stopping devices can mobilize cis bodies around a defence of a conservative gender order, legitimize a ‘protective’ control over cis girls and women, make living in the social world even harder for trans people, all the while envisioning an exclusionary ‘America’.

Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • The Finnish Cultural Foundation (Varsinais-Suomi regional foundation) (Award 85141519)
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/ejac_00086_1
2023-04-24
2024-04-30
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Ahmed, Sara. ( 2006), Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Alliance Defending Freedom ( 2016;), ‘ The unintended victims of bathroom bills and locker room policies. ’, YouTube, 9 May, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg-MAMvkplE. Accessed 22 January 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. American Family Association ( n.d;.), ‘ Sign the boycott target pledge!. ’, https://www.afa.net/target2. Accessed 26 July 2018.
  4. American Family Association’s iVoterGuide ( 2020;), ‘ Border security. ’, https://ivoterguide.com/Issue/Border-Security. Accessed 22 January 2021.
  5. Barthélemy, Hélène. ( 2017;), ‘ Christian right tips to fight transgender rights: Separate the T from the LGB. ’, Southern Poverty Law Center;, 23 October, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/10/23/christian-right-tips-fight-transgender-rights-separate-t-lgb. Accessed 19 January 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Bender-Baird, Kyla. ( 2016;), ‘ Peeing under surveillance: Bathrooms, gender policing, and hate violence. ’, Gender, Place & Culture, 23:7, pp. 98388.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Berlant, Lauren. ( 1997), The Queen of America Goes to Washington City: Essays on Sex and Citizenship, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Bettcher, Talia Mae. ( 2007;), ‘ Evil deceivers and make-believers: On transphobic violence and the politics of illusion. ’, Hypatia, 22:3, pp. 4365.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Bettcher, Talia Mae. ( 2014;), ‘ Trapped in the wrong theory: Rethinking trans oppression and resistance. ’, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 39:2, pp. 383406.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Blumell, Lindsey Erin,, Huemmer, Jennifer, and Sternadori, Miglena. ( 2019;), ‘ Protecting the ladies: Benevolent sexism, heteronormativity, and partisanship in online discussions of gender-neutral bathrooms. ’, Mass Communication and Society, 22:3, pp. 36588.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Bremer, Signe. ( 2011;), ‘ Kroppslinjer: Kön, transsexualism och kropp i berättelser om könskorrigering’ (‘Body lines: Gender, transsexualism and body in stories about gender reassignment. ’), Ph.D. thesis, Gothenburg:: University of Gothenburg.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Bremer, Signe. ( 2013;), ‘ Penis as risk: A queer phenomenology of two Swedish transgender women’s narratives on gender correction. ’, Somatechnics, 3:2, pp. 32950.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Brown, Steven. ( 2002), Trumping Religion: The New Christian Right, the Free Speech Clause, and the Courts, Tuscaloosa and London:: University of Alabama Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Browne, Kath. ( 2004;), ‘ Genderism and the bathroom problem: (Re)materialising sexed sites, (re)creating sexed bodies. ’, Gender, Place & Culture, 11:3, pp. 33346.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Butler, Judith. ( 1990), Gender Trouble, Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, New York:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Carpenter, Leonore, and Marshall, Barrett. ( 2017;), ‘ Walking while trans: Profiling of transgender women by law enforcement, and the problem of proof. ’, William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice, 24:1, pp. 538.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Carter Andrews, Dorinda,, Brown, Tashal,, Castro, Eliana, and Id-Deen, Effat. ( 2019;), ‘ The impossibility of being “perfect and white”: Black girls’ racialized and gendered schooling experiences. ’, American Educational Research Journal, 56:6, pp. 253172.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Castañeda, Claudia. ( 2002), Figurations: Child, Bodies, Worlds, Durham, NC and London:: Duke University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Cavanaugh, Sheila. ( 2010), Queering Bathrooms, Toronto:: Toronto University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Chow, Rey. ( 2002), The Protestant Ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism, New York:: Columbia University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Ciobanu, Claudia. ( 2018;), ‘ “New world order”: The “natural family” franchise goes global. ’, Balkan Insight, 21 November, https://balkaninsight.com/2018/11/21/new-world-order-the-natural-family-franchise-goes-global-11-05-2018/. Accessed 19 January 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Doan, Petra. ( 2010;), ‘ The tyranny of gendered spaces: Reflections from beyond the gender dichotomy. ’, Gender, Place & Culture, 17:5, pp. 63554.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Eckholm, Erik. ( 2014;), ‘ Legal alliance gains host of court victories for conservative Christian movement. ’, New York Times, 11 May, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/us/legal-alliance-gains-host-of-court-victories-for-conservative-christian-movement.html. Accessed 19 January 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Edelman, Lee. ( 2004), No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Epstein, Rebecca,, Blake, Jamilia, and Gonzalez, Thalia. ( 2017;), ‘ Girlhood interrupted: The erasure of Black girls’ childhood. ’, SSRN, 27 June, https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3000695. Accessed 27 May 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Frank, Gillian. ( 2014;), ‘ The colour of the unborn: Anti-abortion and anti-bussing politics in Michigan, United States, 1967–1973. ’, Gender & History, 26:2, pp. 35178.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. George, Marie-Amélie. ( 2019;), ‘ Framing trans rights. ’, Northwestern University Law Review, 114:3, pp. 555632.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Gill-Peterson, Jules. ( 2018), Histories of the Transgender Child, Minneapolis, MN:: University of Minnesota Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Gottry, James. ( 2016;), ‘ The DOJ is concerned with your civil bathroom rights: If you identify as the opposite sex. ’, Alliance Defending Freedom, 9 May, https://adflegal.org/detailspages/blog-details/allianceedge/2016/05/09/the-doj-is-concerned-with-your-civil-bathroom-rights-if-you-identify-as-the-opposite-sex. Accessed 27 May 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Kafer, Alison. ( 2016;), ‘ Other people’s shit (and pee!). ’, South Atlantic Quarterly, 115:4, pp. 75562.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Katz, Leanne. ( 1993;), ‘ Women, censorship, and pornography. ’, New York Law School Law Review, 38:9, pp. 924.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Kincaid, James. ( 1998), Erotic Innocence: The Culture of Child Molesting, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Machalow, Deborah. ( 2020;), ‘ The equal rights amendment in the age of #MeToo. ’, DePaul Journal for Social Justice, 13:1, https://via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1201&context=jsj. Accessed 27 May 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Mason, Carol. ( 2019;), ‘ Opposing abortion to protect women: Transnational strategy since the 1990s. ’, Signs, 44:3, pp. 66592.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. McLaughlin, Grace. ( 2017;), ‘ Divergent students, disruptive students: Gender anxieties in U.S. K–12 schools. ’, QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking, 4:1, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/660592. Accessed 27 May 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Murib, Zein. ( 2020;), ‘ Administering biology: How “bathroom bills” criminalize and stigmatize trans and gender nonconforming people public space. ’, Administrative Theory & Praxis, 42:2, pp. 15371.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. National Records of Scotland Web Archive ( 2018;), ‘ Review of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, published responses from organisations. ’, Scottish Government, 21 August, https://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/20190116052027/https:/www2.gov.scot/Topics/Justice/law/17867/gender-recognition-review/review-of-gender-recognition-act-2004-list-of-orga/published-responses-from-organisations. Accessed 10 October 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Nicolazzo, Z.,, Pitcher, Erich N.,, Renn, Kristen A., and Woodford, Michael. ( 2017;), ‘ An exploration of trans* kinship as a strategy for student success. ’, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 30:3, pp. 30519.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Paasonen, Susanna. ( 2015;), ‘ A midsummernight’s bonfire. ’, in K. Hillis,, S. Paasonen, and M. Petit. (eds), Networked Affect, Cambridge, MA:: Massachusetts University Press;, pp. 2742.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Papacharissi, Zizi. ( 2002;), ‘ The virtual sphere: The internet as public sphere. ’, New Media and Society, 4:9, pp. 927.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Parke, Cole. ( 2016;), ‘ The Christian right’s love affair with anti-trans feminists. ’, Political Research Associates, 11 August, https://www.politicalresearch.org/2016/08/11/the-christian-rights-love-affair-with-anti-trans-feminists#sthash.UgsFPZr1.dpbs Accessed 19 January 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Patel, Nigel. ( 2017;), ‘ Violent cistems: Trans experiences of bathroom space. ’, Agenda, 31:1, pp. 5163.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Pearce, Ruth. ( 2019;), e-mail to author. , 10 October.
  44. Percelay, Rachel. ( 2015;), ‘ A “religious freedom” legal powerhouse is leading the national fight against transgender student rights. ’, Media Matters for America, 5 November, https://www.mediamatters.org/alliance-defending-freedom/religious-freedom-legal-powerhouse-leading-national-fight-against. Accessed 18 January 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Puar, Jaspir. ( 2007), Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Renfro, Paul. ( 2018;), ‘ “Hunting these predators”: The gender politics of child protection in the post-9/11 era. ’, Feminist Studies, 44:3, pp. 56799.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Republican National Committee ( 2016;), ‘ Resolution condemning governmental overreach regarding Title IX policies in public schools. ’, https://prod-static-ngop-pbl.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/Resolution_Title_IX%20_Overreach.pdf. Accessed 18 January 2019.
  48. Saffin, Lori. ( 2011;), ‘ Identities under siege: Violence against trans persons of color. ’, in E. A Stanley, and N. Smith. (eds), Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex, Edinburgh, Oakland, CA and Baltimore, MD:: AK Press;, pp. 14164.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Said, Edward. ( 1978), Orientalism, New York:: Random House;.
    [Google Scholar]
  50. Schilt, Kristen, and Westbrook, Laurel. ( 2015;), ‘ Bathroom battlegrounds and penis panics. ’, Contexts, 14:3, pp. 2631.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Sears, Alan. ( 2015;), ‘ Re-teaching schools the basics of restroom privacy. ’, Alliance Defending Freedom, 9 September, https://adflegal.org/search?search_term=re%20teaching%20schools%20the%20basics%20of%20restroom%20privacy. Accessed 18 January 2019.
    [Google Scholar]
  52. Sharp, Mathew,, Tedesco, Jeremy, and Gray, Roy. ( 2015;), ‘ Re: Schools are not legally required to allow students to use opposite-sex restrooms, showers, and changing rooms. ’, Alliance Defending Freedom, 1 September, https://slidelegend.com/queue/letter-alliance-defending-freedom-media_5a16c7d11723ddbb6ad33c1d.html. Accessed 17 February 2023.
    [Google Scholar]
  53. Southern Poverty Law Centers ( n.d;.), ‘ American Family Association. ’, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/american-family-association. Accessed 20 January 2021.
  54. Spencer, Leland. ( 2019;), ‘ Bathroom bills, memes, and a biopolitics of trans disposability. ’, Western Journal of Communication, 83:5, pp. 54259.
    [Google Scholar]
  55. Stockton, Kathryn Bond. ( 2009), The Queer Child, or Growing Sideways in the Twentieth Century, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  56. Stoeckl, Kristina. ( 2020;), ‘ The rise of the Russian Christian right: The case of the world congress of families. ’, Religion, State and Society, 48:4, pp. 22338.
    [Google Scholar]
  57. Stone, Amy. ( 2018;), ‘ Gender panics about transgender children in religious rights discourse. ’, Journal of LGBT Youth, 15:1, https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2017.1395305. Accessed 20 January 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  58. Stryker, Susan. ( 2018;), ‘ General editor’s introduction. ’, Transgender Studies Quarterly, 5:4, pp. 51517.
    [Google Scholar]
  59. Vähäpassi, Valo. ( 2019;), ‘ User-generated reality enforcement: Framing violence against black trans feminine people on a video sharing site. ’, European Journal of Women’s Studies, 26:1, pp. 8598.
    [Google Scholar]
  60. Wanzo, Rebecca. ( 2008;), ‘ The era of lost (white) girls: On body and event. ’, Differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies, 19:2, pp. 99126.
    [Google Scholar]
  61. Vähäpassi, Valo. ( 2023;), ‘ An imaginative geography of linear gender: Bathrooms, locker rooms and cis vulnerability. ’, European Journal of American Culture, 42:1, pp. 2943, https://doi.org/10.1386/ejac_00086_1
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/ejac_00086_1
Loading
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error