Description
Book SynopsisAnti-violence movements rooted in identity politics are commonplace, including those to stop violence against people of color, women, and LGBT people. Unlivable Lives reveals the unintended consequences of this approach within the transgender rights movement in the United States. It illustrates how this form of activism obscures the causes of and lasting solutions to violence and exacerbates fear among members of the identity group, running counter to the goal of making lives more livable. Analyzing over a thousand documents produced by thirteen national organizations, Westbrook charts both a history of the movement and a path forward that relies less on identity-based tactics and more on intersectionality and coalition building. Provocative and galvanizing, this book envisions new strategies for anti-violence and social justice movements and will revolutionize the way we think about this form of activism.
Trade Review"This book will appeal to all people interested in trans politics. Versatile and accessible, it will be helpful to activists and useful for graduate and undergraduate courses in social movements, sociology of gender, public policy, law, criminology, and women/gender/sexuality studies."
* Mobilization *
"
Unlivable Lives represents a splendid contribution to sociological literature as well as a useful volume for teachers and researchers working in a variety of subfields and disciplines." * Contemporary Sociology *
"Laurel Westbrook has written an invaluable analysis of the trans anti-violence movement in the United States. . . . a courageous book." * New Mexico Historical Review *
"
Unlivable Lives makes an invaluable intervention in how academics and activists discuss trans people and organize against violence." * TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly *
"Westbrook’s writing is simultaneously accessible and theoretically sophisticated. . . . This work is an important contribution to the study of anti-transgender crime, particularly with the paucity of reliable data on fatal violence against transgender persons." * American Journal of Sociology *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1. Unlivable Lives: The Origins and Outcomes of Identity-Based Anti-Violence Activism
2. Violence Matters: Producing Identity through Accounts of Murder
3. Atypical Archetypes: The Causes and Consequences of Famous Victims of Violence
4. Homogeneous Subjecthood: How Activists' Focus on Identity Obscures Patterns of Violence
5. Valuable and Vulnerable: How Activists' Tactical Repertoires Shape Subjecthood and Generate Fear
6. Shaping Solutions: How Identity Politics Influences Violence-Prevention Efforts
7. Facilitating Livable Lives: Alternative Approaches to Anti-Violence Activism
Appendix A: Transgender Anti-Violence Organizations
Appendix B: Collecting Data on Murders of Transgender People
Notes
References
Index
