Disposability and Survival: The Legal and Social Marginalization of Black Transwomen

Authors

• Rachel Still, Loyola University Chicago Law School

Document Type

Feature

Abstract

The criminalization of Black transwomen emerges not as an incidental consequence of law but as a deliberate, structural process intertwined with a long history of racial, gendered, and class-based oppression. From the horrors of slavery to contemporary policing, the state has consistently defined and regulated Black trans bodies through a lens of disposability. This article explores the historical and contemporary forces that contribute to the marginalization and criminalization of Black transwomen, emphasizing how race, gender, and socio-economic status intersect to create a landscape of legal violence that continues to shape their lives and deaths.

The experiences of Black transwomen reveal a unique form of state-sanctioned harm, driven by systems of control that are rooted in the racialized legacies of chattel slavery and segregation. These systems have evolved but continue to rely on a logic that seeks to erase Black transwomen from the fabric of society, reducing them to objects of exploitation, punishment, and death. Their existence disrupts the patriarchal, cisgendered, and heteronormative order that underpins much of the legal and social frameworks governing the state. The laws that criminalize sex work, public expression, and even mere existence do not merely "impact" Black transwomen, they define them as outside the protections of civil life, rendering their suffering invisible and their deaths inevitable.

This article argues that the historical construction of race and gender, particularly through the lens of slavery, continues to structure the legal and social treatment of Black transwomen today. It examines how contemporary criminal laws and policing practices not only perpetuate racial hierarchies but also enact a form of state violence that ensures Black trans lives remain vulnerable to commodification and erasure. Through a critical examination of legal structures, policies, and cultural narratives, this article seeks to reveal the intertwined forces of racialized and gendered oppression that continue to shape the lived realities of Black transwomen.

Recommended Citation

Rachel Still, Disposability and Survival: The Legal and Social Marginalization of Black Transwomen, 30 Pub. Interest L. Rptr. 207 ().
Available at: https://lawecommons.luc.edu/pilr/vol30/iss2/8