CIS AND DESIST: RECLAIMING TRANSGENDER REGRET

Abstract

This thesis sets out to reclaim the notion of regret for transgender discourse. Although the concept of regret is seen as detrimental to the fight for transgender human rights, this thesis shows how regret is not only inevitable but also beneficial to the liberal discourse on transgender issues. Due to the comparative nature of regret and its necessitation of constant negotiation (and re-negotiation), regret destabilises the finite concept of the body and disrupts the linearity of time, culminating in a questioning and rebelling against suppressive structures of heteronormative society. In embracing transgender regret, we carve out space for and from transgender individuals, a space in which the lived experiences of trans people take precedence, where transgender individuals can break free from the rigid regulation they are subjected to.