“Passing” and the Politics of Deception: Transgender Bodies, Cisgender Aesthetics, and the Policing of Inconspicuous Marginal Identities

Abstract

Billard raises important questions about the nature of "deception" and status of "deceiver," analyzing media discourses surrounding instances of transgender "passing." These discourses position transgender people as deceivers who live out their genders to seduce heterosexuals, scrutinizing their appearances for signs of their "true gender." Contradictorily, the successful attainment of cisgender aesthetics deemed "passing" legitimates a transgender person's gender identity, but also renders them more malicious in their deception. As such, media discourses surrounding transgender people who "pass" justify punishment for their deception through violence. In this chapter, Billard explores these tensions, challenging the application of the label "deception" by the social majority to those of marginal identities, particularly inconspicuous ones, as it serves to delegitimate authentic identities and police the boundaries of social hierarchies.

Representations of Trans People in Swedish Newspapers

“…Not only does this portray women as weak and in need of men's protection but it also fits transgender people into the dichotomy by transphobically implying that transgender women are simply heterosexual men posing as women to make unwanted advances on "real" women (see Billard, forthcoming;Graber 2017;Westbrook and Schilt 2014). This excludes and delegitimise transwomen who do not conform in expression and body, deeming "incomplete" transitions as unworthy to be recognised as real (see Espineira 2016).…”

Experimental Evidence for Differences in the Prosocial Effects of Binge-Watched Versus Appointment-Viewed Television Programs

“…Finally, this study adds to a nascent, but rapidly expanding literature on contemporary media representations of transgender people (Billard, 2016(Billard, , 2017(Billard, , 2019b(Billard, , 2019cCapuzza & Spencer, 2017) and their effects on public attitudes (Billard, 2019a;Gillig et al, 2017).…”

Migración de género, passing e inteligibilidad post-recesionaria

“…Las identidades trans se consolidan a través de la construcción de relatos, como sucede con todas las identidades. La repetición de un relato homogéneo y consolidado acredita el reconocimiento social, una contestación mínima y una identidad estable (Billard, 2019;Butler, 2004). Esos relatos tienen que seguir una serie de características, si quieren ganar legitimación.…”

“…En vez de promover una percepción global e integradora del cuerpo como archivo de experiencias (Halberstam, 2018), el discurso de la disforia entiende la transición como un corte. La consistencia, la reconciliación y la unificación se consiguen a través del passing, de la hormonación o de los cambios quirúrgicos (Billard, 2019) ; AspArkíA, 39; 2021, 213-232 -ISSN: 1132-8231 -e-ISSN: 2340-4795 -DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6035/Asparkia.4563 raramente basta solo con la autodefinición previa a alguna intervención corporal. Sin embargo, una persona que cumple con los criterios de diagnóstico de disforia hoy en día, a lo mejor no los sigue cumpliendo dentro de dos años (Benson, 2013).…”

“…La solución sería entonces reconciliar el pensamiento postestructuralista con la materialidad y la corporalidad, rodeando el abanico de posiciones que propone lo genderqueer y acabando con los discursos de falsedad versus autenticidad (Hines, 2013). Dichos discursos a menudo justifican el estigma desacreditador contra las personas trans en base a su decepcionante passing; de ahí que se denominen «marco de la decepción» (deception frame) (Billard, 2019). El privilegio de poder menospreciar a las personas más marginadas reproduce doblemente su eficaz control social.…”