Occhino, Molly

In my presentation, I look at the ways that trans and non-binary people creatively become in “intra-action” with legislation, medical policy, and staff at the State’s Center for Gender Identity (Sexology Clinic) in Denmark (Barad 2007). Denmark has been portrayed by international media, and has gained an international reputation of being among the most LGBTQ+ inclusive countries in the world. Despite maintaining largely positive international reputations regarding LGBTQ+ rights, Denmark has been criticized by Amnesty International and trans-studies scholars for the psychological and structural violence perpetuated against trans and non-binary people, and its cis-binary ideas of gendersex, which has been especially apparent in how the country handles the cases of trans and non-binary people seeking gender confirming procedures (Amnesty International 2014, 2016; Dietz 2016; Holm 2017; Raun 2015). In addition, my previous research has shown that queer, non-binary and other trans people in Denmark who do not live up to the State Sexology Clinic’s gender binary and heteronormative expectations have a harder time being read as an intelligible thus legitimate trans person (Occhino & Skewes forthcoming).

Drawing upon my qualitative study of trans and non-binary’s people’s experiences of trans-specific healthcare in Denmark, I draw upon Karen Barad’s theory of ‘agentic realism’ to diffractively read the work of trans studies scholars like Sandy Stone and Dean Spade through Sara Ahmed’s affective approaches to orientation. Putting these theorists in dialogue, I look at the creative ways in which trans and non-binary people ‘orient’ themselves and creatively navigate within the socio-political and socio-medical systems in Denmark.

Molly Occhino is a PhD fellow at the Department of Social Science and Business at Roskilde University. They hold Bachelor degrees in Gender & Women’s Studies, and International Studies from the University of Wisconsin, as well as a Master’s degree in International Studies from Aarhus University. Their current PhD research is rooted in trans-feminist studies, queer studies, and feminist new materialism and explores trans and non-binary people’s lived experiences of the Danish socio-medical and socio-political systems, specifically focusing on the intra-action between people with trans-specific healthcare and the socio-legal processes that regulate gendersex representations.

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