Since the 1990s, activists, scholars, and the media have mutually reinforced the idea that trans people face an epidemic of violence. While effective in amplifying visibility, this one-dimensional portrait reduces trans people—particularly trans women of color—to the role of victim, defined only by their vulnerability to violence. In Unlivable Lives: Violence and Identity in Transgender Activism, sociologist Laurel Westbrook explores how we arrived at this particular framework. Using an archive of over one thousand documents from the years 1990 to 2019, Westbrook analyzes the rhetorical and political strategies of thirteen national organizations working to reduce violence against trans people in the United States. Empirically, Westbrook studies the impact of combining antiviolence work and trans identity politics. Politically, they hope to reduce the violence trans people experience, arguing that current strategies do not adequately explain this ongoing violence, do not accurately represent trans lives and do not offer appropriate solutions....

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