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Trans* Lives in the United States Being and becoming trans* is a complex and varied experience whether an individual is living openly as trans* or not. Few published studies in either the academic or popular press illuminate the challenges of living as a trans* person after medical and social transition are complete. Trans* Lives in the United States builds upon earlier research and contributes a much- needed theoretically grounded empirical study that examines the hurdles from transition to the end of life by employing an intersectional analytical frame. The analysis pays careful attention to the role of class inequality, and draws on critical race studies, sexuality studies, and feminist studies. Drawing upon thirty face-to-face interviews, it privileges the experiences and voices of trans* individuals from a wide range of racial, ethnic, and class backgrounds. Moving beyond earlier studies that ended with an analysis of the moment of identity transition, this text provides a more nuanced understanding of the complex negoti - ations that individuals who self-identify as trans* endure. Andrew Cutler-Seeberis an openly trans*-identified scholar. He earned his doctorate in Sociology with a doctoral emphasis in Feminist Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Andrew teaches courses in Sociology, Social Work, and Trans* Studies. He lives in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands with his wife, Haley. Framing 21st Century Social Issues Series Editor: France Winddance Twine, University of California, Santa Barbara The goal of this new, unique series is to offer readable, teachable “thinking frames” on today’s social problems and social issues by leading scholars. These are available for view on http://routledge.customgateway.com/routledge- social-issues.html. For instructors teaching a wide range of courses in the social sciences, the Routledge Social Issues Collection now offers the best of both worlds: originally written short texts that provide “overviews” toimportant social issues as well as teachable excerpts from larger works previously published by Routledge and other presses. As an instructor, click to the website to view the library and decide how to build your custom anthology and which thinking frames to assign. Students can choose to receive the assigned materials in print and/or electronic formats at an affordable price. Available Trans* Lives in the United States Challenges of Transition and Beyond Andrew Rene Cutler-Seeber Entrepreneurs and the Search for the American Dream Zulema Valdez The Global Beauty Industry Colorism, Racism, and the National Body Meeta Rani Jha Series Advisory Board:Rene Almeling, Yale University, Joyce Bell, University of Pittsburgh, Elizabeth Bernstein, Barnard College, David , Loyola University— Chicago, Tanya Golash-Boza, University of California—Merced, Melissa Harris, New York University, Matthew Hughey, University of Connecticut, Kerwin Kaye, SUNY—Old Westbury, Wendy Moore, Texas A&M, Alondra Nelson, Columbia University, Deirdre Royster, New York University, Zulema Valdez, University of California—Merced, Victor Rios, University of California—Santa Barbara. Trans* Lives in the United States Challenges of Transition and Beyond Andrew Cutler-Seeber First published 2018 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 Taylor & Francis The right of Andrew Cutler-Seeber to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him/her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-29668-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-29669-5 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-09983-5 (ebk) Typeset in Adobe Garamond by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK Contents (cid:2) Series Foreword vii Preface xi Acknowledgments xvii 1 Bodies and Behaviors 1 2 Embodied Resources 31 3 Hierarchies of Stigma 57 4 Families, Intimacy, and Sexuality 85 5 Employment and Housing 109 6 Healthcare, Eldercare, End-of-Life Decisions 131 Epilogue 155 Appendix A 167 Appendix B 171 Bibliography 173 Glossary and Index 187 Contents v Series Foreword (cid:2) The first decades of the 21st century have been a time of paradoxes. We have witnessed a vibrant human rights movement that has advanced the civil rights of women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities and members of the LGBTQ, all during a period in which there is increasing economic inequality in some regions, climate change, and mass migration because of civil wars, religious conflicts, and state violence. The 21st century has also witnessed a resurgence of earlier forms of racism, nativism, white nationalism and violence (in Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East), against vulnerable populations including girls, women and individuals perceived to be sexual dissidents. Sociologists offer theories, concepts and analytical frames that enable us to better understand the challenges and cultural transformations of the twenty-first century. In doing so, they generate new forms of collective knowledge that can help solve some of our local, global and transnational problems. This is the seventh year of our Routledge “Framing 21 Century Social Issues” series. Our series includes books on a wide range of topics including climate change, consumption, torture, entrep reneurship, assisted reproductive technologies, and the global beauty industry. These books all explore contemporary social problems in ways that introduce basic sociological Series Foreword vii concepts, cover key literature in the field, and offer original interpretations and diagnoses. They also intervene in current debates within the social sciences over how to best define, rethink and respond to the social concerns that preoccupy the early 21st century. The goal of this series is to provide accessible essays that examine a wide range of social issues with local, global, and transn ational impact. Sociologists are ideally poised to cotribute to a global conversation on issues spanning state violence, migration, militarism, class inequality, the impact of mass incarceration on local economies, medical technologies, health disparities and en viro nmental degradation. The contributors to this series bring the works of classical sociology into dialogue with contemporary social theorists from diverse theoretical traditions including, but not limited to, critical race theory, feminist, Marxist and European social theory. Readers do not need an extensive background in academic sociology to benefit from these books. Each one is student- friendly in that we provide glossaries of terms for the uninitiated that are connected to bolded terms in the text. Each chapter ends with questions for further thought and discussion. The books are ideal for undergraduates because they are accessible without sacrificing a theoretically sophisticated and innovative analysis. Andrew Cutler-Seeber provides the first sociological analysis of the lives of trans individuals that is intersectional. This book considers the life cycle of trans individuals from diverse racial, ethnic, class, and regional backgrounds. It provides a much- needed corrective to the monochromatic representations of middle and upper middle class white trans individuals who are celebrities and thus, not representative of the experiences of a diverse group of people. The challenges, complexities, and class- based struggles of trans individuals, after transition, have received little attention in either the academic or popular press. Moreover, the ways that racial and class inequality structure the experiences viii Series Foreword of trans individuals have been neglected and missing from earlier discussions. This book provides a much- needed intersectional analysis of the struggles of trans individuals, who live in all regions of the mainland United States. It will inspire complex discussions of how trans people negotiate their social, sexual, medical and economic needs during different life stages. It is ideal for courses in the sociology of sex, gender, sociology of the body and social psychology. France Winddance Twine Series Editor Series Foreword ix