ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the materiality of trans embodiment through the lens of psychoanalytic, queer and transgender theories, focusing on the transitioning body in literary works such as Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts (2016) and Lexie Bean’s edited anthology Written on the Body (2018a). It discusses the physical and affective aspects of trans experiences as depicted in these texts, advocating for a corporeal revisioning that challenges conventional notions of sexual difference and trans embodiment. The analysis extends to the politics of trans rights and liberation, critiquing the conservative view of transitioning as a shift between sexes and addressing the oppressive roles of medical gatekeepers and neoliberal policies that enforce gender conformity and exacerbate vulnerabilities among trans people. Drawing on Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s concepts of “deterritorialisation”, “reterritorialisation” and “assemblage” (1987), the chapter proposes a framework for trans liberation that emphasises “positive deterritorialisation” (1987:186-187; 508-510) in addressing systemic challenges. It calls for building dynamic “assemblages” (Deleuze and Guattari, 1987) of trans organisations that combine legal expertise, policy advocacy and community support. This intersectional approach challenges neoliberal commodification and marginalisation of trans identities while promoting a shift beyond gender identity politics towards a broader, more inclusive conceptualisation of “trans-” to enact new social ontologies and possibilities for being.
