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To run like a girl: state transmisogyny and the legal construction of gender in Hecox v. Little (2020)

In: Research Handbook on Feminist Political Thought

Author

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  • Kathryn J. Perkins

Abstract

Recent work in feminist theory has expanded our understanding of misogyny (Manne 2017) and transmisogyny (Bettcher 2014). This study builds on this work and contributes to feminist political and legal theory by examining transmisogyny enacted by the state. Using a case study of Idaho’s “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” and its subsequent legal challenge in Hecox v. Little (2020), I examine the legal construction of gender by the transmisogynistic state. Using a trans feminist framework, I argue that state transmisogyny relies on the logic of cis sexism to legally construct gender in ways that reinforce oppositional and traditional sexism. I find that the state of Idaho constructed a gender order based on sexist biologics, excluding trans women and girls to “protect” cisgender women and girls in a demonstration of protectionist state transmisogyny. This chapter contributes to our understanding of the logic of state transmisogyny, sheds new light on legal gender construction, and provides alternative paths towards a trans feminist jurisprudence based on solidarity and liberation.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathryn J. Perkins, 2024. "To run like a girl: state transmisogyny and the legal construction of gender in Hecox v. Little (2020)," Chapters, in: Mary Caputi & Patricia Moynagh (ed.), Research Handbook on Feminist Political Thought, chapter 4, pages 77-99, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:elg:eechap:20848_4
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    File URL: https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781800889132.00011
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