Trans, nonbinary, as not white.

In the ever-changing landscape of my work with university students, trans and non-binary communities are forging new paths of resistance through language and practice. This resistance goes beyond overt discrimination or a fight for rights within existing frameworks. Instead, it targets the underlying assumptions and power structures that define and limit identities, particularly those constructed through coloniality and whiteness. By doing so, the trans and non-binary experience becomes a profound critique of normative narratives around gender, identity, and the very notion of transition.

For many in the community, "trans, nonbinary" captures the quiet, persistent refusal to conform to societal norms and expectations that are often invisibly imposed by dominant power structures. However, for BIPOC trans and non-binary communities, this resistance goes even deeper. It is embodied in the rejection of traditional transition narratives that are deeply entwined with colonial and white-centric worldviews. This resistance is articulated through language and practice, and it challenges the very categories and hierarchies that have shaped our understanding of the world, including notions of gender and identity.

This resistance does not deny the realities of transition or the significance of gender affirmation for many within the community. Instead, it acknowledges that these experiences are diverse and multifaceted, and not always aligned with the trajectories imposed by dominant narratives. It's about creating space for stories rooted in different cultural, historical, and personal contexts. In rejecting these narratives, BIPOC trans and non-binary communities are not just fighting for recognition within the current system. They are imagining and enacting futures where colonial, white-centric, or binary understandings of gender do not constrain identities. This vision of the future is not an endpoint but a continuous process of becoming, where identities can evolve free from the limitations of oppressive knowledge systems.

A crucial aspect of infrapolitical resistance within the trans and non-binary communities is the rejection of futures fixed by past and present oppressions. Mainstream narratives often frame transition in terms of becoming, with a clear before and after, rooted in the assumption that the ultimate goal is to fit within existing gender binaries. This perspective not only erases non-binary identities but also ties the legitimacy of trans identities to a linear progression that mirrors cisgender norms.

When I pose the question, "What does the combination of trans and non-binary identities signify to you?" the responses often illuminate a narrative that deliberately distances itself from white-centric knowledge systems. “It means not white.” These answers underscore a critical insight: the lived experiences and identities of trans and non-binary individuals cannot be fully understood or confined within the frameworks that have historically been shaped by whiteness and coloniality. This resistance, rooted in infrapolitical strategies, challenges not just the structures that seek to define and categorize but also invites us to engage with identity and gender from a perspective that transcends these limiting narratives. It's a powerful reminder that the essence of understanding trans and non-binary identities lies not in applying pre-existing, white-dominant models of knowledge but in listening to and valuing the unique narratives that emerge from these communities. Through their language, practices, and everyday resistances, they are not only questioning the norms imposed by an oppressive status quo but are also actively constructing a world where identity is liberated from the confines of colonial and white-centric ideologies.