ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the “rhetorical silences” (Carrillo Rowe, 2000) through which mainstream struggles for trans rights center white middle-class perspectives and needs. Many of these arguments invoke trans people of color only as argumentative devices, resulting in iterations of “trans equality” that reinforce cisnormative values. I then turn to Kai Cheng Thom’s book of personal essays, I Hope We Choose Love, to envision trans futures that refuse this politics of disposability. Through trans of color critique, I demonstrate how Thom’s writing draws from trans of color experiences to envision a “loving justice” guided by the value and complexity of human life. What emerges is an approach to justice that pursues systemic change while accounting for personal and communal healing.
