“I argue that legal equality has failed resistance movements aimed at transforming material conditions of violence, and that trans activists should take a decidedly different approach.” ShouldDifferentViolenceConditionsMovementMaterialsApproachArguingResistanceActivistTransformingTransDifferent Approach Author:Dean Spade
“I am arguing that it is a mistake for trans activists to focus our resources and attention on winning inclusion in legal equality frameworks, such as anti-discrimination laws and hate crimes laws, that will not provide relief from the life-shortening conditions trans populations are facing. Winning legal equality - getting the law to cast us as victims of discrimination who the state will protect - will not support our survival.” StatesLawHateWinningAttentionMistakeSupportFocusConditionsCrimeProtectSurvivalResourcesVictimCastsPopulationArguingDiscriminationReliefActivistInclusionFrameworkTransHate CrimeAnti Discrimination Author:Dean Spade
“Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the conditions and problems that most concern me - anti-colonial theories, Foucault, critical disability studies, prison studies and the like are rarely seen in standard US Law School curricula, where students are still fighting on many campuses to get a single class on race or poverty offered - I developed most of my thinking about these topics through activist reading groups and collaborative writing projects with other activist scholars.” ThinkingWritingStillsProblemSchoolLawFightingReadingUnderstandingRaceClassPovertyStudyGroupsConditionsStudentsTheoryProjectsIntellectualTrainingStandardsConcernTraditionPrisonCriticalActivistDisabilityGraduatesAcademicScholarTopicsCampusLaw SchoolFighting On Author:Dean Spade
“I wrote Normal Life using concepts that have been helpful to me, and hoping to offer those as accessible tools for thinking differently about the pitfalls trans resistance faces, in particular the temptation to focus on legal equality and the limitations of that approach, and the alternative approaches being taken by racial and economic justice focused trans activists.” ThinkingHas BeensFacesJusticeTakenFocusEconomicParticularOffersNormalApproachConceptsToolsFocusedResistanceTemptationAlternativesLimitationHelpfulActivistTransNormal LifePitfallsEconomic JusticeThinking Differently Author:Dean Spade
“Making my work more visual is something I am increasingly excited about. I am hopeful that it will broaden access to some of the ideas being engaged in activist and scholarly communities of which I am part.” IdeasCommunityExcitedAccessEngagedVisualsHopefulActivistScholarly Author:Dean Spade
“I am thoughtful about introducing terms that tend to be in circulation primarily in academic circles. "Homonormativity" and "homonationalism" are by no means solely academic terms, and in fact circulate in important ways in many activist circles, but in general I find them to be terms that most people I meet are not familiar with.” PeopleWayMeanImportantFactsTermCirclesFamiliarThoughtfulActivistAcademicIntroducingCirculation Author:Dean Spade
“I have deliberated carefully about which of the terms that are unfamiliar to many of my readers I wanted to take time to introduce and explain, and which terms I would not introduce, despite the fact that I find them useful in my other work, in teaching, or in other activist contexts.” FactsWantedTermTeachingReaderDespiteActivistIntroducingTake TimeUnfamiliar Author:Dean Spade
“As trans advocacy has institutionalized and developed, the context of the undemocratic nature of US non-profits and the ways that white, wealthy individuals can intensely influence the directions of advocacy have increasingly come to the surface for trans activists.” WayIndividualWhiteInfluenceProfitSurfaceWealthyActivistTransAdvocacyNon Profit Author:Dean Spade
