CGF Higher Seminar with Jan Wickman

Jan Wickman (Swedish School of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland)

TRANS* IN SCANDINAVIAN QUEER ACTIVISM OF THE 00'S

Over the past 30 years, trans* research and activism has been connected and entangled with queer-theoretical thinking and queer activism in many ways. There have been different phases and permutations of this dialectic relationship, from trans* being seen as queer with a stronger emphasis on gender than on sexuality to a perceived conflict between queer-theoretical questioning of the gender binary and strategic interest of those trans* who seek gender reassignment treatments. In this paper, I will discuss how most of these variations of the trans-queer relationship could be identified/observed even in the limited context of Scandinavian queer activism of the 00s. Based on interviews with activists from Denmark, Sweden and Norway, the role of trans* in activism that was named queer in these three countries.