6 - Queerly Navigating the System: Trans* Experiences Under State Surveillance

Summary

Introduction

The criminalization of trans* lives in the United States is largely the result of stigmatization in the cis-and heteronormative society and being subjected to trans-antagonism. Societies’ adherence to rigid gender and sexuality dichotomies influences the laws and rules that regulate behavior and fails to recognize and legitimate trans people as valid human beings deserving of human rights (Spade, 2015). Gender shapes how we are perceived and valued; challenging normative gender identities can bring far-reaching consequences (Worthen, 2016).

The pervasive challenges trans people face because of their gender identity impacts their trajectories, compromises mental and physical health, impedes achievement of economic stability, pushes them into the survival economy, heightens the risk of victimization, and increases their propensity to encounter the criminal legal system (CLS) and come under correctional control (MAP & CAP, 2016a). In effect, trans people are under constant surveillance, whether or not they are behind bars or on probation or parole. Whereas probation is imposed pre-trial or in place of incarceration, parole is for eligible people granted early release from prison after serving a period of time.

This chapter uses a queer criminological and intersectional lens to explore barriers to full participation in society for trans people throughout social institutions (that is, entry) and the pathways these barriers create that lead to CLS involvement, which are compounded by intersecting identities (for example, race, class). It illustrates what we know about the overrepresentation of trans people in the CLS, emphasizing both those under community supervision and those released from incarceration (that is, re-entry), barriers to re-entry and compliance with probation and parole, and aspects of these systems that raise concerns about cultural competence in service provision. The limited literature informs a discussion of interventions that could reduce CLS encounters and the related harms and describes a model transinclusive pathway to entry and re-entry as a means of reimagining justice for trans people.

Queer criminology and intersectionality

Mainstream criminology has historically pathologized and criminalized queer people in social scientific inquiry (Woods, 2014), hence the importance of a critical, queer lens. Buist and Stone (2014) contend that ‘[t]ransgender identities, lives, and experiences are not well known in our society’ (p. 44).