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27. Apr 2026|18:06 |
"Queer theory was not the only force driving the transition from sex to gender. The liberal individualism of human rights was important in the early phase. This discourse informed a series of legal decisions which erected a new domain of rights around gender identity. Thus Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees respect for private and family life was interpreted as requiring the transfer of a violent rapist to a women’s prison.
There is an affinity between the liberal discourse of human rights and the radical discourse of queer theory: they favour those who are construed as victims of formal institutions of power. From this perspective, it is progressive to champion the transgender prisoner contesting the power of the state and transgressing the dominant categories of society. The power that can be exercised among individuals, such as that exerted by one inmate over another, is ignored. Thus no consideration was given to women who would be confined with violent or sexually predatory males. Female prisoners were invariably treated as an audience obliged to validate the performance of gender identity."
http://journalofcontroversialideas.org/download/article/2/1/183/pdf |
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