TRANSGENDER, TRANSITIONING & DSM : An analysis of discursive violence and violations of human rights in academic discourse and DSM

Abstract: This thesis analyses the violence perpetrated against transgender people. It scrutinizes the concept of transgender and the important role of transitioning. It looks at the essentialist and social constructionist debate and its relation to transgender. In this thesis, I will advocate a theory of violence in which violence is understood as structural. I will advocate bringing the lived experience of transgender people to the foreground in theorizing about embodiment. Hereby, I will especially focus on discursive violence and the violation of human rights. I will relate transgender and the importance of transitioning to DSM’s understanding of Gender Identity Disorder. Consequently, I will uncover DSM’s subtle misogyny and transphobia and argue that it perpetrates discursive violence against transgender people. In addition, I will scrutinize the direct and indirect ways it violates the human rights of transgender people. Finally, the thesis will discuss the suggestions the Hammarberg report has made in order to improve the human rights situation of transgender persons.