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Janelle Hartley
2021 Ruth Murray Essay Prize Winner
"Houses, Individuals, and Generations: A Transfeminist Theory of Chosen Family"
Faculty Advisor: Kaneesha Parsard
Janelle Hartley’s thesis examines the alternative forms of kinship that arise from the unique experience of trans feminine people, focusing in particular on the moniker of ‘chosen family.’ Drawing on scholarship in queer theory, transfeminist and feminist theory, and historical studies of trans life in the U.S., Janelle develops a political theory of the chosen family that is rooted in the lived experience and agency of trans women. They identify key elements of transfeminist chosen family politics as they are foregrounded and celebrated in the work of trans artist Glori Tuitt.
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