(Trans)gender citizenship in Italy: A contradiction in terms? from the parliamentary debate about Law 164/1982 to the present

Abstract

This article concerns the processes of normalisation and medicalisation of transgender people's experiences in Italy. Drawing on the analysis of the parliamentary debate which led to the endorsement of Law no. 164/1982, 'Rules Concerning the Rectification of Sex-Attribution', the article will foreground the (still) existing contradictions between trans people's (ostensible) individual rights over their own gendered bodies, as enshrined in law, and their subjection to medico-legal supervision and control. Next, it will look at the relationship between transgender experience and the notion of citizenship: in particular, it will explore the opportunities and contradictions in the possibility of trans citizenship in the current Italian context.