Available From UC Press

Anti-violence movements rooted in identity politics are commonplace, including those to stop violence against people of color, women, and LGBT people. Unlivable Lives reveals the unintended consequences of this approach within the transgender rights movement in the United States. It illustrates how this form of activism obscures the causes of and lasting solutions to violence and exacerbates fear among members of the identity group, running counter to the goal of making lives more livable. Analyzing over a thousand documents produced by thirteen national organizations, Westbrook charts both a history of the movement and a path forward that relies less on identity-based tactics and more on intersectionality and coalition building. Provocative and galvanizing, this book envisions new strategies for anti-violence and social justice movements and will revolutionize the way we think about this form of activism.

"A timely, compelling, and provocative read that balances abstract ideas about identity politics, social movements, and violence with interesting empirical findings about the workings of anti-violence projects focused on the safety, health, and welfare of people who are transgender."—Valerie Jenness, author of Appealing to Justice: Prisoner Grievances, Rights, and Carceral Logic

"An outstanding study of how activists’ rhetoric shapes our thinking about social problems. Its careful analysis is both convincing and unsettling, and deserves to be widely read."—Joel Best, author of American Nightmares: Social Problems in an Anxious World

"In this grounded-theory analysis, Westbrook critiques the unintended consequences of identity politics, arguing that anti-violence narratives centered on spectacular individual stories of deadly violence create a false sense of homogeneity regarding trans identities and the kinds of vulnerabilities a heterogeneous trans population actually faces. Westbrook's proposal to delink identity politics from anti-violence activism in favor a more structural and intersectional analysis is a welcome contribution to this important topic."—Susan Stryker, author of Transgender History: The Roots of Today's Revolution

"Unlivable Lives provides a grounded, useful account of the limits of trans anti-violence activism that is insufficiently intersectional and centers law enforcement responses to violence. This thoughtful book will be a resource to scholars and activists alike."—Dean Spade, author of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics and the Limits of Law