By Virginia Goldner, 2011
Transgender subjectivities are paradoxical in that they both undermine the gender binary and ratify it. The contradictions inherent in trans require that we consider trans as more of a process than a thing in itself, a gerund, rather than a noun or adjective, a continuous work in progress, rather than a static fact of the self. But despite cultural upheavals and increasing tolerance, we still want our gender straight up. While we approve and often applaud efforts at excellence in masculinity and femininity (including surgery) that are sex and gender concordant, we are still deeply disturbed by any efforts toward confounding that gender, or crossing over to the “other” one.
