Trans activist talks of the future
Canadian trans activist, author and scholar Viviane Namaste will present a series of talks in Sydney in late October, examining contemporary feminist views on transgender inclusion.
With years of experience in both the academic field -” she is the author of four books, including Invisible Lives: The Erasure of Transsexual and Transgendered People -” and on the front lines of social change campaigning for greater trans health services in Quebec, Namaste comes to Australia to share her views on the future of the trans struggle and how Australia fits into that wider picture.
I am definitely excited to learn more about the work going on in Australia, Namaste told Sydney Star Observer before elaborating that many of the issues facing trans people remain the same worldwide.
Access to health care is the political question I’ve devoted the most time and energy to. But there are other priorities as well: the right to change one’s identity papers, or the right to citizenship for trans refugees.
Namaste has been careful to distance herself from other academics over the years in an attempt to move away from general theorising.
Trans peo-ple are invoked in theoretical discussions and scholars claim that their work is politically relevant but they rarely do rigorous empirical work on trans people and lives and often misrepresent the issue, she said.
That being said, there are some younger scholars who are doing some really super empirical work on trans people that is important to social change -” looking at the situation of trans refugee claimants or documenting the rich history of trans activism in Canada and it is this kind of scholarship which gives me hope and inspiration.
info: Viviane Namaste will talk at the Sydney Mechanic’s College of the Arts on October 20, and at the University of Sydney on October 22. Details: contact Vek Lewis at [email protected].
