Threads of Commonality in Transgender and Disability Studies

Abstract

This paper draws together two fields of study and activism: disability studies and transgender studies. I analyze disability and transgender identifications and communities through a comparative and intersectional lens. From conceptual terminology, to societal oppression, to discrimination within medical interactions, disability studies and transgender studies share common themes that this article evaluates to facilitate a broader understanding of their complementary and innovative potential for social change.

Transnormativity: A New Concept and Its Validation through Documentary Film About Transgender Men

“…As it is developed in this article, transnormativity is an ideology that structures trans identification, experience, and narratives into a realness or trans enough hierarchy that is heavily reliant on accountability to a medically based, heteronormative model (Bornstein ; Chen ; Ekins ; Langer ; Mog and Lock Swarr ; Spade ). Transnormative ideology creates and sustains the social, medical, and legal arrangements within which trans people are held accountable to trans‐specific sets of standards, enforced by both trans and cis people.…”

“…While community narratives that align with a transnormative medical model may in fact be accurate accounts of some transgender people's experiences, not all transgender people identify with the medical model or require medical interventions. Thus, reliance on a medical model at the expense of others is argued to be a disservice to trans community building in that it creates “an unspoken hierarchy” (Bornstein ; p. 67) that positions trans people who do not align with a medical model as “not ‘trans’ enough because of lack of surgeries or hormones” (Mog and Lock Swarr , np).…”

Normative Accountability: How the Medical Model Influences Transgender Identities and Experiences

“…While community narratives that align with a medical model may in fact be accurate accounts of some transgender people's experiences, not all transgender people identify with the medical model or require medical interventions. Thus, reliance on a medical model at the expense of others is argued to be a disservice to transgender community in that it creates “an unspoken hierarchy” (Bornstein , p. 67) that positions transgender people who do not align with a medical model as “not ‘trans’ enough because of lack of surgeries or hormones” (Mog and Swarr , np).…”

Homens gays com deficiência congénita e/ou adquirida, física e/ou sensorial: duplo-fardo social

“…A opressão estrutural e, em consequência, a estigmatização e a discriminação foram implicitamente incluídas na definição de deficiência pelos participantes. Na sua essência, o conceito de deficiência é, para estes homens, indissociável das desigualdades sociais, que desvalorizam a diferença (Mog & Swarr, 2008), o que torna árdua a promoção de direitos (National Disability Authority, 2005;World Association for Sexology, 2000).…”

“…De facto, o modelo social da deficiência considera-a como uma construção social, inerente às características pessoais, embora resultante de barreiras artificiais, socialmente construídas (e.g. barreiras arquitetónicas) (Mog & Swarr, 2008). Para a Organização Mundial da Saúde, particularmente nos termos da Classificação Internacional de Funcionalidade -CIF (2003), "impairment (deficiência) é descrita como as anormalidades nos órgãos e sistemas e nas estruturas do corpo; disability (incapacidade) é caracterizada como as consequências da deficiência do ponto de vista do rendimento funcional, ou seja, no desempenho das atividades; handicap (desvantagem) reflete a adaptação do indivíduo ao meio ambiente resultante da deficiência e da incapacidade" (Buchalla & Farias, 2005:189).…”