Talk by Prof. Talia Mae Bettcher (California State University)

The Berlin MAP chapter is delighted to present our first online talk by Prof. Talia Mae Bettcher (California State University). She gave a talk on “The Phenomenology of Illusion: Rethinking Trans Gender’ Dysphoria’”, in which she presents some core insights from her new book Intimacy, Illusion, and Personhood: An Essay in Trans Philosophy.

In this talk, she examines the question “What is the nature of trans gender dissatisfaction motivating gender transition?”. She critiques both “born that way” accounts that posit an innate sexed-body image and constructionist accounts that see the internal experience of body as culturally saturated. Both of the accounts proceed with the notion of embodiment (the experience of having a body). She proposes a shift which involves centralizing the notion of empersonment (the experience of having a person). This requires highlighting the importance of public gender presentation. While such presentation is often viewed as merely superficial, she argues that it is on par with one’s intimate appearance.