Senthorun Raj, Keele University
Introduction
The distress faced by young trans(gender) people generates varied social, medical, and legal concerns. In Australia, minors have had to appeal to the welfare jurisdiction of the Family Court of Australia if they wished to undergo medical or surgical changes to alleviate their ‘gender dysphoria’ and affirm their gender. In approving virtually every application and, most recently, dispensing with the requirement for minors to seek court approval, the Family Court has exhibited care, concern, and compassion when addressing anxieties faced by young trans people and formulated therapeutic determinations to relieve their anxieties. Building on queer, feminist, and trans legal scholarship, such as that pioneered by Alex Sharpe, I argue that scholars and activists working in this space need to foreground the emotional enactments expressed in this jurisprudence to understand the extent to which the Family Court affirms the complex identities, capacities, and wellbeing of young trans people. (more…)
Inherently Human 