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Moral Shock and Trans ‘Worlds’ of Sense

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2024

E. M. HERNANDEZ
E. M. HERNANDEZ*
Affiliation:
INDEPENDENT SCHOLAR [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper has two aims: to explore the affective dimensions of moral shock and the way it relates to normative marginalization of those furthest from dominant society and also, more specifically, to articulate the trans experience of constantly being under moral attack because the dominant ‘world’ normatively defines trans individuals out of existence. Toward these ends, I build on Katie Stockdale's recent work on moral shock, arguing that moral shock needs to be contextualized to ‘worlds’ of sense to understand how marginalized people affectively experience shocking events. My focus is the trans experience of moral shock due to the way trans people are positioned outside of dominant society, which creates the conditions to experience cyclical, chronic shock. These affective conditions point to a collective responsibility to ease the affective stress that the most marginalized experience.

Keywords

shocktransgenderoppressionburnoutanger
Type
Article
Information
Journal of the American Philosophical Association , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , December 2024 , pp. 761 - 779
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Philosophical Association

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Footnotes

This paper would not have been possible without my dear friend Kate Stockdale. Our discussions of moral shock during her initial writing led to the idea for this paper, giving me an incredibly useful concept for understanding part of my experience as a trans person of color. Her subsequent feedback on this paper was extremely valuable. Additionally, this paper benefited greatly from the feedback and support of Rowan Bell, Bella-Rose Grace Kelly, Jingyi Wu, and two incredibly thoughtful referees. I also would like to thank the UC President's Post-Doctoral Fellowship Program for providing me with the resources needed to explore the topic.

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