Transgender people face some of the highest rates of violence in the US and around the world, particularly within romantic relationships. In this talk, I will offer an intersectional queer(ing) examination of gender, power, and abuse in the lives of transgender people. Drawing on survivor interviews and written accounts, and data from the US transgender survey, I’ll shed much-needed light on the dynamics of abuse that entrap trans partners in violent relationships. This work shows how interlocking forms of violence and rigidly gendered discussions have served to marginalize and silence survivors. Ultimately, these stories of survival follow their unique journeys as they navigate—and break free—from the cycle of abuse, providing us with a better understanding of survival experiences.
... , Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Framingham State University, is an expert on violence in intimate relationships, sociological and queer criminology and victimology. He is the author of Transgressed: Intimate Partner Violence in Transgender Lives (New York University Press). His recent publications refeatured in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Critical Criminology, and the Journal of Homosexuality.
