Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-65f69f4695-s676w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-06-27T23:22:58.363Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

36 - The Right to Transgender Identity

from Part III - Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2025

Kevin Tobia
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
Get access

Summary

In this chapter we ask if people have rights to their social identities – in particular, their gender identities. We cash out what such gender identity rights entail by discussing the appropriate level of constitutional scrutiny to apply to laws that target transgender people.

Information

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Agiesta, J. (2016). Poll: 6-in-10 Oppose Bills Like the North Carolina Transgender Bathroom Law. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/09/politics/poll-transgender-bathroom-law-north-carolina/index.htmlGoogle Scholar
Alcoff, L. M. (2007). Epistemologies of Ignorance: Three Types. In Sullivan, S. and Tuana, N. (eds.), Race and Epistemologies of Ignorance. Albany NY: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
Almazan, A. N., & Keuroghlian, A. S. (2021). Association between Gender-Affirming Surgeries and Mental Health Outcomes. JAMA Surgery, 156(7), 611–618.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.Google Scholar
American Psychological Association. (2023). Answers to Your Questions about Transgender People, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression. www.apa.org/topics/lgbtq/transgender-people-gender-identity-gender-expressionGoogle Scholar
Araiza, W. D. (2017). Was Cleburne an Accident? University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, 19, 444.Google Scholar
Bernhardt, A. L. (2016). The Profound and Intimate Power of the Obergefell Decision: Equal Dignity as a Suspect Class. Tulane Journal of Law and Sexuality, 25, 2–42.Google Scholar
Bibi, E. (2020). On National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, Human Rights Campaign Foundation Announces Partnership with Power the Polls to Increase LGBTQ Representation at Polling Places. Human Rights Campaign. www.hrc.org/press-releases/on-national-poll-worker-recruitment-day-human-rights-campaign-foundation-announces-partnership-with-power-the-polls-to-increase-lgbtq-representation-at-polling-placesGoogle Scholar
Bustos, V. P. et al. (2022). Regret after Gender-Affirmation Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prevalence. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open, 9(3), e3477.Google Scholar
Chinni, D. (2023). Most Americans Want Societal Change but Are Divided over Specifics, Poll Finds. NBC News Poll, April 14–18. www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/data-download/americans-want-societal-change-are-divided-specifics-rcna82135Google Scholar
Clark, J. A. (2015). Against Immutability. Yale Law Journal, 125, 2.Google Scholar
Cox, L. (2014). I Absolutely Consider Myself a Feminist. Dame Magazine. www.damemagazine.com/2014/06/01/laverne-cox-i-absolutely-consider-myself-feminist/Google Scholar
Davy, Z. (2015). The DSM-5 and the Politics of Diagnosing Transpeople. Archive of Sex Behavior, 44(5), 1165–1176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eskridge, W. N. (2002). Equality Practice: Civil Unions and the Future of Gay Rights. Milton Park: Routledge.Google Scholar
Eyer, K. R. (2022). Transgender Constitutional Law. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 171, 1405–1514.Google Scholar
Harding, S. (1993). Rethinking Standpoint Epistemology: What Is Strong Objectivity? In Alcoff, L. and Potter, E. (eds.), Feminist Epistemologies. New York/London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Herman, J. L., Flores, A. R., & O’Neill, K. K. (2022). How Many Adults and Youth Identify as Transgender in the United States? Los Angeles: Williams Institute UCLA School of Law.Google Scholar
Hutchinson, D. L., (2014). “Not without Political Power”: Gays and Lesbians, Equal Protection and the Suspect Class Doctrine. Alabama Law Review, 65, 975.Google Scholar
Jackson, J. D. (2011). Putting Rationality Back into the Rational Basis Test: Saving Substantive Due Process and Redeeming the Promise of the Ninth Amendment. University of Richmond Law Review, 45, 491–548.Google Scholar
James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). The Report of the 2015 US Transgender Survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality.Google Scholar
Kearl, H. (2018). The Facts behind the #MeToo Movement: A National Study on Sexual Harassment and Assault. Stop Street Harassment, Reston, VA.Google Scholar
Kilduff, L. (2022). How Poverty in the United States Is Measured and Why It Matters. Population Reference Bureau. www.prb.org/resources/how-poverty-in-the-united-states-is-measured-and-why-it-matters/Google Scholar
Kirzinger, A., Kates, J., Dawson, C., Muñana, C., & Brodie, M. (2020). Majorities Support Policies Banning Discrimination against LGBTQ Individuals’ Health Care Access. KFF Poll: Rights and Health Care (conducted June 16–21, 2020).Google Scholar
Kramer, Z. A. (2014). The New Sex Discrimination. Duke Law Journal, 63, 891, 949.Google Scholar
Leitman, M. F. (1994). A Proposed Standard of Equal Protection Review for Classifications within the Criminal Justice System That Have a Racially Disparate Impact: A Case Study of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines’ Classification between Crack and Powder Cocaine. University of Toledo Law Review, 25, 215.Google Scholar
McKinnon, R. (2015). Trans*formative Experiences. Res Philosophica, 92(2), 419–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murchison, G. R., Agénor, M., Reisner, S. L., & Watson, R. J. (2019). School Restroom and Locker Room Restrictions and Sexual Assault Risk among Transgender Youth. Pediatrics, 143(6), e20182902.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olson, K. R., Durwood, L., Horton, R., Gallagher, N. M., & Devor, A. (2022). Gender Identity 5 Years after Social Transition. Pediatrics, 150(2), e2021056082.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peters, J., Becker, J., & Hirschfeld Davis, J. (February 22, 2017). Trump Rescinds Rules on Bathrooms for Transgender Students. New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/us/politics/devos-sessions-transgender-students-rights.htmlGoogle Scholar
Pew Research Center, (2022). US Adults Have Complex Views on Gender Identity and Transgender Issues. www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/06/28/americans-complex-views-on-gender-identity-and-transgender-issues/Google Scholar
Powell, G. N. (1986). Effects of Sex Role Identity and Sex on Definitions of Sexual Harassment. Sex Roles, 14, 9–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Radi, B. (2019). On Trans* Epistemology: Critiques, Contributions, and Challenges. Transgender Studies Quarterly, 6(1), 42–63.Google Scholar
Russell, S. T., Pollitt, A. M., Li, G., & Grossman, A. H. (2018). Chosen Name Use Is Linked to Reduced Depressive Symptoms, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicidal Behavior among Transgender Youth. The Journal of Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 63(4), 503–505.Google ScholarPubMed
Stone, S. (1992). The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttranssexual Manifest. Camera Obscura, 2(29), 150–176.Google Scholar
Strauss, D. (2010). Is Carolene Products Obsolete? University of Illinois Law Review, 2151, 1251.Google Scholar
Tobia, K. (2022). Experimental Jurisprudence. University of Chicago Law Review, 3(3), 735–802.Google Scholar
Toole, B. (2019). From Standpoint Epistemology to Epistemic Oppression. Hypatia, 34(4), 598–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Transgender Legislation Tracker. (2023). https://translegislation.com/Google Scholar
Turban, J. L., King, D., Carswell, J. M., & Keuroghlian, A. S. (2020). Pubertal Suppression for Transgender Youth and Risk of Suicidal Ideation. Pediatrics, 145(2), e20191725.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Turban, J. L., Loo, S. S., Almazan, A. N., & Keuroghlian, A. S. (2021). Factors Leading to “Detransition” among Transgender and Gender Diverse People in the United States: A Mixed-Methods Analysis. LGBT Health, 8(4), 273–280.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
University of Illinois Springfield Survey Research Office. (2015). Examining Attitudes towards the “T” in LGBT: Public Support for Transgender Rights and Supportive Policies.Google Scholar
Wu, J. (2022). Epistemic Advantage on the Margin: A Network Standpoint Epistemology. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 106(3), 1–23.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×