Feminism and the (Trans)gender Entrapment of Gender Nonconforming Prisoners

Oparah, Julia Chinyere

doi:10.5070/l3182017822

“…The separation of people based on sex assigned at birth, a policy almost universally implemented in institutional settings (Brown and McDuffie, 2009 ; Routh et al., 2017), can create an inherently dangerous environment (Ledesma & Ford, 2020 ). Gender diverse people are extremely vulnerable to stigmatization, victimization, neglect, violence, and sexual abuse (Banbury, 2004 ; Beck, 2014 ; Jenness and Fenstermaker, 2016 ; Malkin & DeJong, 2018 ; Oparah, 2012 ; Stein et al., 2020). This systemic sex-segregated rigidity often fails to keep TGD people safe and may impede access to gender-affirming health care (Stohr, 2015 ).…”

Section: Chapter 11 Institutional Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8

Coleman

¹

,

Radix

²

,

Bouman

³

et al. 2022

International Journal of Transgender Health

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Background: Transgender healthcare is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary field. In the last decade, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number and visibility of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people seeking support and gender-affirming medical treatment in parallel with a significant rise in the scientific literature in this area. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is an international, multidisciplinary, professional association whose mission is to promote evidence-based care, education, research, public policy, and respect in transgender health. One of the main functions of WPATH is to promote the highest standards of health care for TGD people through the Standards of Care (SOC). The SOC was initially developed in 1979 and the last version (SOC-7) was published in 2012. In view of the increasing scientific evidence, WPATH commissioned a new version of the Standards of Care, the SOC-8. Aim: The overall goal of SOC-8 is to provide health care professionals (HCPs) with clinical guidance to assist TGD people in accessing safe and effective pathways to achieving lasting personal comfort with their gendered selves with the aim of optimizing their overall physical health, psychological well-being, and self-fulfillment. Methods: The SOC-8 is based on the best available science and expert professional consensus in transgender health. International professionals and stakeholders were selected to serve on the SOC-8 committee. Recommendation statements were developed based on data derived from independent systematic literature reviews, where available, background reviews and expert opinions. Grading of recommendations was based on the available evidence supporting interventions, a discussion of risks and harms, as well as the feasibility and acceptability within different contexts and country settings. Results: A total of 18 chapters were developed as part of the SOC-8. They contain recommendations for health care professionals who provide care and treatment for TGD people. Each of the recommendations is followed by explanatory text with relevant references. General areas related to transgender health are covered in the chapters Terminology, Global Applicability, Population Estimates, and Education. The chapters developed for the diverse population of TGD people include Assessment of Adults, Adolescents, Children, Nonbinary, Eunuchs, and Intersex Individuals, and people living in Institutional Environments. Finally, the chapters related to gender-affirming treatment are Hormone Therapy, Surgery and Postoperative Care, Voice and Communication, Primary Care, Reproductive Health, Sexual Health, and Mental Health. Conclusions: The SOC-8 guidelines are intended to be flexible to meet the diverse health care needs of TGD people globally. While adaptable, they offer standards for promoting optimal health care and guidance for t...

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“…The curiosity of the Other denotes a marked departure from a space where trans are at risk, where trans women “engage in unwanted sex as a way of bargaining in the ‘survival economy’ in prison” (Jenness, Sexton and Sumner, 2019: 621) and use their body as a commodity with other incarcerated persons or prison officers to survive their prison sentence, to gain protection, to be free from various forms of punishment and victimization, for food, canteen and other commissary items (Jenness, Sexton and Sumner, 2019; Mogul, Ritchie and Whitlock, 2011; Oparah, 2012). Here, Sandra negotiates an alternative carceral space where the term queen and its embodiment in this incarcerated trans space, ultimately subverts the rule of law, which dictates “queen” as criminal.…”

Section: Analysis and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…use of a person's birth name as opposed to chosen name) (Brömdal et al, 2019b; Clark et al, 2017; Halliwell et al ., 2022; Lydon et al ., 2015; National Center for Transgender Equality, 2018; Tadros et al, 2020; Van Hout et al, 2020; White Hughto et al ., 2018). Cisnormative policies, practices and a hypermasculine carceral culture constrain incarcerated trans persons’ embodiment of gender, constructing particular and normative ways of knowing trans (Jenness and Fenstermaker, 2014; Jenness and Gerlinger, 2020; Musto, 2019; Oparah, 2012; Pemberton, 2013; Robinson, 2011; Rodgers et al, 2017; Rosenberg and Oswin, 2015; Rosenberg, 2017; Smith, 2014; White Hughto et al ., 2018; Wilson et al, 2017).…”

Section: Lived Experiences Of Trans Incarcerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trans architecture and the prison as archive: “don’t be a queen and you won’t be arrested”

Sanders

¹

,

Gildersleeve

²

,

Halliwell

³

et al. 2022

Punishment & Society

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Most incarceration settings around the world are governed by strong cisnormative policies, architectures, and social expectations that segregate according to a person's legal gender (i.e. male or female). This paper draws on the lived experiences of 24 formerly incarcerated trans women in Australia and the U.S. to elucidate the way in which the prison functions according to Lucas Crawford's theory of trans architecture, alongside Jacques Derrida's notion of archive fever. The paper displays how the cisnormative archive of the justice system and its architectural constructs impact trans women in men's incarceration settings, including how trans women entering the incarceration setting are able to embody gender in a way that is not reified by the insistences of those normative structures. In light of this, this paper advances a theoretical understanding of the prison as an archive and as an architectural construct, providing a new means of understanding how incarcerated trans persons may use and perform gender to survive carceral violence.

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“…The separation of people based on sex assigned at birth, a policy almost universally implemented in institutional settings (Brown and McDuffie, 2009;Routh et al, 2017), can create an inherently dangerous environment (Ledesma & Ford, 2020). Gender diverse people are extremely vulnerable to stigmatization, victimization, neglect, violence, and sexual abuse (Banbury, 2004;Beck, 2014;Jenness and Fenstermaker, 2016;Malkin & DeJong, 2018;Oparah, 2012;Stein et al, 2020). This systemic sex-segregated rigidity often fails to keep TGD people safe and may impede access to gender-affirming health care (Stohr, 2015).…”

Section: Statement 117mentioning

confidence: 99%

Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8

Coleman¹,

AE²,

WP³

et al. 2023

ESPE

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Transgender healthcare is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary field. In the last decade, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number and visibility of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people seeking support and gender-affirming medical treatment in parallel with a significant rise in the scientific literature in this area. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is an international, multidisciplinary, professional association whose mission is to promote evidence-based care, education, research, public policy, and respect in transgender health. One of the main functions of WPATH is to promote the highest standards of health care for TGD people through the Standards of Care (SOC). The SOC was initially developed in 1979 and the last version (SOC-7) was published in 2012. In view of the increasing scientific evidence, WPATH commissioned a new version of the Standards of Care, the SOC-8. Aim: The overall goal of SOC-8 is to provide health care professionals (HCPs) with clinical guidance to assist TGD people in accessing safe and effective pathways to achieving lasting personal comfort with their gendered selves with the aim of optimizing their overall physical health, psychological well-being, and self-fulfillment. Methods: The SOC-8 is based on the best available science and expert professional consensus in transgender health. International professionals and stakeholders were selected to serve on the SOC-8 committee. Recommendation statements were developed based on data derived from independent systematic literature reviews, where available, background reviews and expert opinions. Grading of recommendations was based on the available evidence supporting interventions, a discussion of risks and harms, as well as the feasibility and acceptability within different contexts and country settings. Results: A total of 18 chapters were developed as part of the SOC-8. They contain recommendations for health care professionals who provide care and treatment for TGD people. Each of the recommendations is followed by explanatory text with relevant references. General areas related to transgender health are covered in the chapters Terminology, Global Applicability, Population Estimates, and Education. The chapters developed for the diverse population of TGD people include Assessment of Adults, Adolescents, Children, Nonbinary, Eunuchs, and Intersex Individuals, and people living in Institutional Environments. Finally, the chapters related to gender-affirming treatment are Hormone Therapy, Surgery and Postoperative Care, Voice and Communication, Primary Care, Reproductive Health, Sexual Health, and Mental Health. Conclusions: The SOC-8 guidelines are intended to be flexible to meet the diverse health care needs of TGD people globally. While adaptable, they offer standards for promoting optimal health care and guidance for the treatment of people experiencing gender incongruence. As in all previous versions of the SOC, the criteria set forth in this document for gender-affirmi...

show abstract

Feminism and the (Trans)gender Entrapment of Gender Nonconforming Prisoners

Cited by 14 publications

References 1 publication

Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8

Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8

Trans architecture and the prison as archive: “don’t be a queen and you won’t be arrested”

Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8

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