Abstract
This article concerns the concept of “truth” in relation to transgender studies. Historically, transgender claims to gendered truth have been pathologized as either refusing reality or assuming it locatable. In order to listen to such claims with greater rigor, the author proposes a rethinking of the concept of truth in relation to subjective life. This article attempts as much, by charting out a psychoanalytic definition of truth not as correspondence but as translation. To do so, it follows this thread, beginning in Freud's work and then as it is elaborated in the work of Wilfred Bion. It then turns to implications for thinking gender, and transgender phenomenon more specifically, concluding with an interview with Joy Ladin, in which gender transition is proposed to facilitate a more “truthful” relation to reality.
