Transfiguring desire: Divining the origin of species

Area of Science:

• Queer Studies
• Gender Studies
• Sociology

Background:

• Explores the intersection of transmasculine identities and complex sexual histories.
• Examines an intergenerational queer relationship dynamic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the personal evolution of desire and identity within a queer, transmasculine context.
• To challenge cisnormative and biologized assumptions about gender, sexuality, and kinship.

Main Methods:

• Autoethnography and poetic methods are employed.
• Personal histories spanning decades are traced to examine shifting desire and embodiment.
• The study investigates the influence of illness, disability, and age difference on relational meaning-making.

Main Results:

• Illustrates complex positionalities and embodied "dyke legacies."
• Demonstrates the constant formation and personal evolution of desire and identity.
• Locates individual experiences within broader lesbian, gay, trans, and queer histories.

Conclusions:

• Embodied trans-trans intimate lives offer a unique perspective to challenge dominant notions of gender, heterosexuality, and identity.
• The study reframes understanding of relationality, kinship, and selfhood from a queer, transmasculine standpoint.