Queering Biopolitics: Normation and Resilience of South African Trans*-gendered Citizens

I have long been intrigued by diversity, taxonomies, the (re-)configuration of socio-cultural norms, and the manifold possibilities for social organization. When, in 2005, a German trans* friend of mine faced the threat of infringements to her reproductive rights due to German biopolitics, I started to look for examples of best practices abroad. At the time, I found the most progressive legal role model to be in the Global South, specifically in South Africa. This aroused my curiosity and prompted me to carry out further research in that country. This chapter, therefore, discusses the power dynamics between global and local classificatory systems regarding trans*sexuality in South Africa – with specific interest in the politics of gender classification along the Global North / South axis. It investigates how these politics and dynamics produce normation constraints, and how South African trans* citizens challenge such constraints with recourse to local as well as global agency. Of particular interest in this regard is South Africa’s history of apartheid (racialized segregation) and its role in the generation of diverse gender concepts. Keeping the diversity of South African trans* citizens in mind and reflecting on the shifting constellations between the state and its subjects in the gender-defining process undergone and undertaken by its citizens, this chapter explores the intersection of international, national, and local influences on trans* identity-making in South Africa