‘It’s just common sense’: A critical exploration of contemporary trans-exclusionary feminism

Thurlow, Claire 2024. ‘It’s just common sense’: A critical exploration of contemporary trans-exclusionary feminism. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the contemporary resurgence of trans-exclusion within certain forms of feminist practice. I explore how contemporary trans-exclusionary feminism is situated within the history of feminist trans-exclusion, and how it is situated within local and transnational contexts. I also explore how trans-exclusionary feminist arguments are promulgated and reproduced. Through this exploration I uncover how this resurgence has occurred and detail its varied manifestations and effects. I employ a multi-method approach to this research. This includes working with feminist frameworks of gender and sex as well as theories of emotion and common sense to interrogate my research curiosities. This approach renders theoretically visible the work of emotion in sustaining and entrenching feminist trans-exclusionary positions, and the work of ‘common sense’ in popularising exclusionary arguments. I also activate the concept of ‘transantagonistic architecture’ – the incorporeal structures that are fortified and extended through trans-exclusionary rhetoric – to explain how trans-exclusionary positions are reproduced, and how these positions can seem to easily assimilate into dominant narratives. To explore and illustrate the workings and impacts of feminist trans-exclusion, I include a case study of trans-exclusionary feminism in the UK, an analysis of social media posts, and flash auto-ethnographies. This constellation of theoretical and methodological frameworks facilitates a comprehensive exploration and mapping of contemporary trans-exclusionary feminism since 2016, including identifying and analysing the discursive pivot in contemporary feminist trans-exclusion from being ‘anti-trans’ to ‘pro-women’. Finally, this thesis situates trans-exclusionary feminism firmly within the transnational anti-gender movement through centring the view of sex as stable and binary. It does so by tracking the ideological matrices that bring together this single-issue feminism and the ultraconservative and populist anti-gender actors.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Law
Subjects:	J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	#trans-exclusionary feminism #feminism #commonsense #transantagonistic architecture #LGBTQ+ #anti-gender #UK
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 June 2024
Last Modified:	20 Jun 2024 08:11
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/169922

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