Reconfiguring sex: the paradoxical relationship between intersexed and transgendered identities
Abstract
Reconfiguring Sex: The Paradoxical Relationship between Intersexed and Transgendered Identity explores the connections between medical protocol used to treat intersexuality, and the emergence of a collective transgendered identity. Arguing that transgenderism must be analyzed in the context of intersexed protocol, this paper suggests that transgendered identity ultimately subverts hegemonic constructions of sex and gender even though the initial emergence of transgenderism remains contingent upon the sexism and heterosexism that predominates within the medical industry. By engaging in "deconstructive performance" transgendered individuals illustrate the arbitrary, socially constructed nature of sex and gender. Thus, they work to destabilize nonnative heterosexuality from its perceived natural, static presence created by cultural hegemony. The paper concludes with a detailed examination of the current state of transgendered issues within gay and lesbian politics, and demonstrates that transgendered issues remain pertinent to the growing discourse of queer theory and activism.