Skip Navigation
theory @hexbear.net
Carcharodonna [she/her] @hexbear.net

Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue Reading Group – Week 5, July 5th - July 12th – Chapter 5: Can't Afford to Get Sick

Welcome to the fifth week of reading Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue by Leslie Feinberg!

If you're just getting started, here's a link to the thread for

We're only doing one chapter per week and the discussion threads will be left open, so latecomers are still very much welcome to join if interested.

As mentioned before... This isn't just a book for trans people! If you're cis, please feel free to join and don't feel intimidated if you're not trans and/or new to these topics.

Here is a list of resources taken from the previous reading group session:

pdf download
epub download - Huge shout out to comrade @EugeneDebs for putting this together. I realized I didn't credit them in either post but here it is. I appreciate your efforts. ❤️
chapter 1 audiobook - Huge shout out to comrade @futomes for recording these. No words can truly express my appreciation for this. Thank you so much. ❤️
chapter 2 audiobook
chapter 3 audiobook
chapter 4 audiobook
chapter 5 audiobook
chapter 6 audiobook
chapter 7 audiobook
chapter 8 audiobook

Also here's another PDF download link and the whole book on ProleWiki.

In this thread we'll be discussing Chapter 5: Can't Afford to Get Sick

Lots of CWs this week: Mentions of transphobia and mistreatment of trans people, SA, genital mutilation.

This chapter covers a speech given by Feinberg at the 2nd Transgender Health Conference, which seems to have been made up mostly of healthcare workers who were either LGBTQ themselves or worked with LGBTQ patients. In the speech ze discusses the sad state of trans healthcare in the US and the fight to improve it.

The Portrait section in this chapter is by intersex activist Cheryl Chase and is titled, "Until five years ago, intersexuals remained silent". She describes in detail the horrific "treatment" intersex people typically receive (including genital mutilation), mainstream media ignorance on the subject, and the efforts of intersex activist to change the status quo.

I'll ping whoever has been participating so far, but please let me know if you'd like to be added (or removed).

Feel free to let me know if you have any feedback also. Thanks!

8 comments

  • Very tough to read if you're experienced transphobic medical abuse yourself. But I'm glad Les dedicated an entire chapter to it, because in the end, modern medicine is what keeps us alive, be it HRT, treatment for a heart infection or emergency care.

    The common theme throughout this chapter besides the bigotry is arrogance. On the one hand, you have the arrogance of individuals like John Money, who abused a child for his own little experiment, and the freak who dropped this marvel:

    I remembered the resident who, while examining me for strep throat, suddenly shoved his hand down my pants, shouting, "You're a freak!"

    And on the other hand, there's the arrogance of the system itself, insisting that profits are above human lives, even when countries like Cuba show the opposite. And also the whole thing about criticizing Africans for being barbaric and not banning FGM, while doing the exact same shit to intersex babies.

    This arrogance kills trans and intersex people. Tyra Hunter's death is the best example of that, which happened just 4 years before this book was published. I kinda wish Les had included her case in this chapter as well because it's just such a textbook case of medical bigotry.

  • I cried and got angry reading it, because it reminded me of an incident happened to me sometime ago where my ribs were broken by a hatecrime and I was afraid of going to the hospital for it.

    Also the part about the surgeons with intersex people was actually so fucked up

  • WEEK 5 THREAD IS UP!!!

    Again, let me know if I missed anyone!

  • This was another hard to read chapter, though again critically important. Racism, sexism, and of course queerphobia of all sorts infests the medical industry. Hearing about the mutilation of intersex individuals, it's a phenomenon I knew of but hearing about the John story really puts it right in front of you. I also appreciate that biological determinism was addressed right there and then, to avoid the reader falling into the wrong conclusions.

    Les also ties it to Cuba, which now also has a very progressive family code, not just good and free healthcare! That's something to again take to heart, absolutely none of these demands for better healthcare are outside the realm of possibility.

    Good chapter!

    • If you've never read it, Rainbow Solidarity in Defense of Cuba is a collection of Feinberg's Lavender and Red articles but just the ones about Cuba and it's really good, especially the ones that cover Cuba's response to the AIDS crisis. Compared to how the US and Europe approached AIDS it's night and day, and honestly one of the best ways I've found to get people (especially queer people and allies) really excited about Cuba (and to get them past decades-old grievances with Cuban policies regarding queer people immediately after the Revolution).

8 comments