france rose hartline: "Norway’s (trans)gender equality paradox”

Basert på den poststrukturalistiske rammen av «queer identity theory», undersøker frances forskning hvordan transfolks personlige erfaringer og sosiale roller er formet av lovendringen. Spesielt fokus gis til det sosio-juridiske rammeverket som former kulturelle forståelser av kjønn.

Gjennom intervjuer med transpersoner som har endret sitt juridiske kjønn etter at nye loven ble vedtatt, søker france å demonstrere hvordan subjektiviteter blir materialisert gjennom kjønnet medborgerskap. Målet hans har vært å både utforske sammenhengen mellom juridisk identitet og personlige erfaringer, samt bidra til økt kunnskap i offentlige og statlige diskusjoner om hvilke endringer som kan være de beste for den norske trans bevegelsen.

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france is researching the impact of the July 2016 Norwegian law that enables individuals in Norway to change their juridical gender without medical sterilisation or state assessment. Situated in the poststructuralist framework of queer identity theory, france’s research examines how transpeople’s personal experiences and social roles are shaped by the law reform. Special focus is given to the socio-legal framework that informs cultural understandings of gender. Through interviews with trans people who have changed their legal gender since the law reform, france has sought to demonstrate how subjectivities are materialised through gendered citizenship. Through his project, he has explored the link between legal identity and personal experiences, in an effort to better inform public and state discussions on what changes may be best for the Norwegian trans movement.

france rose hartline is a doctoral candidate at NTNU in Gender Studies. His research is on trans* experiences in Norway, with a focus on the 2016 law reform which allows for juridical gender self-declaration. Originally hailing from New Orleans, USA, france has lived abroad since 2006 and (happily) in Norway since 2013.