ABSTRACT
Set in the 22nd century, not far into the future, Autonomous by Annalee Newitz explores a world where the evolution of late-stage capitalism has resulted in the dissolution of national borders into economic zones and the increased enforcement of patent and property laws. At first glance, Autonomous appears to be a cautionary tale about the violences of capitalism and, while it certainly is that, the novel in more covert ways asks what defines sex, gender, queerness, and, by extrapolation, transness. The current paper investigates Autonomous as an allegory of trans becoming by examining the character Paladin—a genderless, yet gender inscribed, part human, part robot—whose storyline leaves traces of trans ephemera throughout the course of the novel. Like many trans identified individuals, Paladin becomes an enmeshment of symbols, flesh, and technology that questions both what it means to be human, and what role gender and technology play in answering such a question. As an analogy of trans becoming, Paladin’s experience of gender as an alien concept illustrates how gender simultaneously belongs to and is something that is done to the body.
