Why Do Trans Women Face so Much Violence?

“There is no shortage of voices demanding everyone pay attention to the violence trans women suffer. But one frighteningly basic question seems never to be answered: why does it happen? If men are not inherently evil and trans women do not intrinsically invite reprisal—which would make violence unstoppable—then the psychology of that violence had to arise at a certain place and time. The trans panic had to be invented.”

This is the description for historian and gender scholar Dr. Jules Gill-Peterson’s new book, “The Short History of Trans Misogyny,” a work that seeks to answer why trans misogyny is such a ubiquitous reality. Without this understanding, Jules says, we can never move beyond awareness into liberation for trans femme people.

At a time when legislative attacks on trans people are at an all-time high and a pernicious focus on their lives and healthcare dominates public discourse, this question and exploration provides an important path forward. Today, Jules, an associate professor of history at Johns Hopkins University and author of the 2018 book, “Histories of the Transgender Child,” joins us to discuss.