One of the fundamental assumptions of phenomenology is that the body is an immediately given, self-identical entity. This means that our experience of the world is primarily shaped by our own physical senses and perceptions, which are rooted in our bodies.
For those who identify as transgender, this notion can be challenged in several ways. Trans embodiment involves a process of reshaping one's body to better align with one's gender identity. It requires a profound reworking of the physical sense of self, and thus, it calls into question the assumption that the body is immediately given and self-identical.
Trans embodiment can challenge the idea that the body is a fixed entity. The process of transitioning often involves medical interventions such as hormone therapy and surgery, which alter the physical appearance and functioning of the body. These changes can fundamentally change how individuals experience their bodies and themselves, leading them to reconsider what constitutes 'self' or 'identity'.
Some trans women may choose to have top surgery to remove breast tissue, while others may choose to have bottom surgery to create a more masculine silhouette. These decisions reflect a conscious reconfiguration of the body, suggesting that the body is not always 'given' but rather constructed through social, cultural, and personal choices.
Trans embodiment can challenge the assumption that the body is unchanging. The very act of transitioning itself is a process of becoming, wherein individuals must negotiate and adapt to new sensations and experiences related to their changing bodies. This process can be difficult and painful, requiring individuals to confront their own limits and boundaries around what they think of as possible or desirable. As such, the idea of the body as static and self-identical becomes increasingly complex and multifaceted.
Trans embodiment can also challenge the notion that the body is a stable point of reference for identity. In many cases, gender dysphoria – the sense of discomfort with one's assigned sex at birth – develops in early childhood, before an individual has had time to fully explore their gender identity. This suggests that there is a fluidity to gender identity that is not necessarily tied to one's biological sex, challenging the assumption that the body is inherently linked to gender. Instead, gender identity emerges from a constellation of factors, including culture, upbringing, societal expectations, and personal experience.
Trans embodiment highlights the complexity of our physical senses and perceptions and calls into question phenomenology's assumption that the body is immediately given and self-identical. By emphasizing the malleability of the body and the construction of gender identity, it raises important questions about the relationship between subjectivity and objectivity, mind and matter, and the ways in which we understand ourselves and others.
How does trans embodiment challenge phenomenology's assumption that the body is immediately given and self-identical?
The concept of "trans embodiment" challenges phenomenology's idea that the human body is automatically understood and identical with oneself. Trans people experience their bodies as foreign, uncomfortable, and inconsistent with their gender identity, which can be dissociative, traumatic, and distressing.