Navigating the Binary: A Visual Narrative of Trans and Genderqueer Menstruation

Abstract

Menstruation is often categorized as a function of the female body that affects women. Trans and genderqueer people contest this biological function as a social signal of gender/sex identity. The comics illustrate the gendered interactions trans and genderqueer people must navigate in their daily lives and visually explore four gendered/ sexed social spheres: (1) gender/sex identity, (2) public bathroom attendance, (3) product marketing and messaging, and (4) healthcare. Each of these arenas is permeated by the biologically and socially constructed gender/sex binary, and as a result trans and genderqueer menstruators confront preexisting constraints ranging from social interactions to the built environment. These micro social symbols of gender/sex distinction are symptoms of a larger gender regime in which gender/sex are interpreted, regulatd, and policed.