Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law

235 Pages·2015·1.25 MB·English

by  Dean Spade

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION OF NORMAL LIFE
“ Sharply po liti cal, deeply intellectual, broadly accessible, Nor-
mal Life is exactly what we need right now.”
— LISA DUGGAN, author of The Twilight of Equality?:
Neoliberalism, Cultural Politics, and the Attack on Democracy
“ This street- smart and theoretically sophisticated little book
should be required reading for all would-be radicals looking
for practical ways to build a better future.”
— SUSAN STRYKER, author of Transgender History
“ With Normal Life, Spade has succeeded in reframing the
terms of lgbt politics by building a far-r eaching vision for
queer and trans politics that is rooted in community work
that has already begun. . . . [It] lay[s] out a road map for
queer and trans activists that leads neither to the altar nor
to war, but guides us to resist state power by building com-
munity and returning to our radical roots.”
— WENDY ELISHEVA SOMERSON, Bitch
“ Dean Spade’s much- anticipated book is a rich tapestry of
critical inquiry, interventions into l egal and transgender
studies, and strategies for transformative res ist ance. . . .
The strength of Normal Life lies in Spade’s commitment to
accessibility as a m atter of pol itic al and ethical princi ple.
This princi ple is evident in the way Spade skillfully articu-
lates theoretical concepts in common parlance, enabling
critical trans politics to inform pol itic al struggles beyond
the academy. Moreover, his concrete discussions of adminis-
trative governance and transformative pol iti cal interventions
position radical change within our reach rather than demar-
cate it to the realm of speculative futures.”
— DAN IRVING, glq
“ [Normal Life] makes an im por tant contribution to a new and
emerging critical trans politic. It is provocative, compre-
hensive, and engaging. It should be widely discussed as an
im por tant strategic framework for work within the lgbtq
movement.”
— JENNIFER LEVI AND GIOVANNA SHAY, The Women’s Review
of Books
“ Spade’s book is personal, practical, and theoretical. It lays
out a framework for a critical trans politics and gives fresh
analyses of immigration, l egal reform, wealth distribution,
and lesbian and gay politics— all buoyantly and optimisti-
cally aimed at a repaired world.”
— KATE CLINTON, The Progressive
“ [Spade] provides an eminently teachable text for courses
on power in society, social movements, and community
organizing—in the university, and outside. . . . We will have
to take Spade’s proposals very seriously to build a movement
centered on those most affected by administrative vio lence.”
— MARCIA OCHOA, Social Justice
NORMAL LIFE
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NORMAL LIFE
Administrative Vio lence, Critical Trans Politics,
and the Limits of Law
Revised and expanded edition
DEAN SPADE
duke univeRsity pRess
Durham & London
2015
© 2011, 2015 Dean Spade
Originally published by South End Press, 2009
Republished by Duke University Press, 2015
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of Ame rica
on acid- free paper ∞
Designed by Amy Ruth Buchanan
Typeset in Scala Pro by Westchester Book Group
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Spade, Dean, 1977– author.
Normal life : administrative vio lence, critical trans
politics, and the limits of law / Dean Spade.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8223-5989-0 (hardcover : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-8223-6040-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-8223-7479-4 (e- book)
1. Transgender people— Legal status, laws, etc.—
United States. I. Title.
kf4754.5.s63 2015
342.7308'7— dc23
2015016311
Cover art: Xylor Jane, Via Crucis (cross), 2010.
29 × 31 inches, oil on panel. Courtesy of the artist.
CONTENTS
Preface ix
Introduction: Rights, Movements,
and Critical Trans Politics 1
1. Trans Law and Politics on a Neoliberal Landscape 21
2. What’s Wrong with Rights? 38
3. Rethinking Transphobia and Power—
Beyond a Rights Framework 50
4. Administrating Gender 73
5. Law Reform and Movement Building 94
Conclusion: “This Is a Protest, Not a Parade” 117
Afterword 139
Ac know ledg ments 163
Notes 167
Index 207
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PREFACE
In 2002, I opened the doors of the Sylvia Rivera Law Proj ect (sRlp). I had
raised enough grant money to rent a desk and a phone at a larger poverty
law or ga ni za tion, and had spread the word to other serv ice providers like
drug treatment centers, l egal aid offices, m ental health centers, needle
exchanges, and community organizations that I would be providing
free legal help to trans people. I never would have guessed the number
of people who would call the org a ni za tion for help or the gravity and
complexity of the problems they face.
My first call came from the men’s jail in Brooklyn.1 Jim, a 25- year- old
transman, was desperate for help; he was experiencing harassment and
rape threats. Jim is a trans person with an intersex condition.2 He was raised
as a girl, but during adolescence began to identify as male. To his family
he remained female-i dentified, but in the world he identified as male,
changing clothes every night when he returned home and trying to avoid
contact between his family and everyone else he knew. The stress of living
a “double life” was im mense, but he knew it was the only way to maintain
a relationship with his family, with whom he was very close.
When Jim was nineteen, he was involved in a robbery for which he
received a sentence of five years probation. During the second year of
that probation period, Jim was arrested for drug possession. He was sen-
tenced to eigh teen months of residential drug treatment and sent to a
male residential faci lity. In what was a purportedly therapeutic environ-
ment, Jim discussed his intersex condition with his counselor. His confi-
dentiality was broken and soon the entire staff and residential population
were aware of Jim’s intersex condition and trans history. Jim faced a
threat of rape and the staff of the faci lity refused to help or protect him.
Out of fear and self- protection, he ran away from the fac ility.