Introduction

Abstract

The essays in this section confront urgent questions regarding transgender recognition in the current political moment, scheming against what we understand as the empty promises of visibility and legibility. Even as farright conservative and authoritarian political forces are on the rise throughout the world, United States President Donald Trump has promised to roll back the “liberalism” of Barack Obama by repealing health care laws, building a wall along the Mexican border, and, as a postscript, rolling back LGBT recognition, including transgender health coverage and antidiscrimination laws. Since Trump was elected, the trans communities I inhabit in the United States have expressed fear and outrage at the possibility that the “transgender tipping point” might be about to tip back. Diana Tourjee (2016) wrote in November that “transgender Americans have experienced unprecedented support from the Obama administration.” In the same article, Mara Keisling, from the National Center for Trans Equality, is quoted citing one hundred fifty policy changes that helped transgender people during the Obama administration, from including gender identity in workplace and oncampus discrimination laws to outlawing exclusions of transgenderrelated health care. These are all set to be rolled back during the Trump presidency.