Dear All,
please save the date for the next Trans*Formations Event at the
Philosophy Institute.
For those who do not know the series: This talk and workshop series
organized by a bunch of people from the Philosophy Department (BA, MA
and PhD) provides insights into recent developments in trans*
philosophizing. Thanks to the Vienna Doctoral School of Philosophy (VDP)
[1] and queer@hochschulen [2] for their financial support!
In the next talk, Luana Pesarini (Goethe Universität Frankfurt) will
discuss historical and contemporary theories of the neural basis of
transness, and the presuppositions these studies rely on, from a
trans/feminist science studies perspective.
The next Event will be in English!
When & Where: Thursday, 30.4.2026 - 18:00-19:30 at HS 3A, NIG
(Universitätsstraße 7)
The Trans Brain?
History and Current Hypotheses on the Neural Basis of Transness
Abstract:
Against the background of contemporary debates about the supposed
natural basis of sex/gender and the intersection of neurodivergence and
transness, the lecture will turn to the history and contemporary
theories of the neural basis of transness. Contemporary trans brain
hypotheses rest on a whole array of presuppositions: The assumption that
brains have a sex/gender; that this brain sex/gender can stand in
opposition to the sex assigned at birth; that brain sex/gender develops
in response to hormonal changes; that this development has a temporal
threshold; and that one can discern transness from a
trans-sexed/gendered brain - all of these conveyed through imaging
technologies.
To fan out the presuppositions that fuel contemporary theories of the
neural basis of transness, the lecture will trace its history through
the lens of trans/feminist science studies. Starting from theories about
the natural bisexuality and plasticity of mammals and their eugenic
interpretations at the beginning of the 20th century (Eugen Steinach,
Paul Kammerer), the lecture will move through the early hypotheses about
the neural basis of transness in the post-Second World War inception of
trans medicine in the US (John Money, Robert Stoller, Harry Benjamin),
to the first neuroimaging studies on transness in the 1990s and early
2000s, to finish with the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of transness in
contemporary neuroscience and a discussion of its impacts on the lives
of trans people.
Neuronal explanations of transness certainly do not carry the same
weight in the debates about the natural basis of sex/gender and
transness as chromosomal explanations. Incidents such as the
International Chess Federation's ban of trans women from the women's
category, the European Society of Endocrinology's considerations about
brain scans as "a useful tool for earlier identification of
transgenderism in young people," and calls from neuroscientists to
intervene in and prevent the development of transness in the brain
nevertheless illustrate the current and potentially future power of such
explanations over the lives of trans people.
Bio: Luana Pesarini is a philosophy-trained sociologist specializing in
feminist science and technology studies, theories of materiality, and
trans feminism. She is currently working as a doctoral researcher in the
German Research Foundation-funded RTG "Fixing Futures. Technologies of
Anticipation in Contemporary Societies" at Goethe University Frankfurt,
Germany.
There will be a Q&A after the talk, as well as snacks and drinks!
Please also save the date for the next Trans*Formations Events: A talk
on Law and Gender by UK barrister Jane Russell on 15.5., and a full-day
event with a focus on Gender Euphoria on 7.6. with, among others, talks
by Quill Kukla (Georgetown University) and Eric A. Stanley (University
of California, Berkeley).
We are thankful to our previous Trans*Formations speakers: Luce deLire
[3], Alyosxa Tudor [4], Eric Llaveria Caselles [5], Emelia Stanley, [6]
Emma Heaney [7], Juliana Gleeson, [8] Gen Eickers & Sigmond Richli [9],
Jonah I. Garde [10] and Anna Klieber [11]!
We are looking forward to seeing you at the event, and happy if you
forward this invitation and the attached poster to others who might be
interested!
With all the best,
the Trans*Formations Team
Links:
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[1] https://vd-philosophy.univie.ac.at/
[2] https://queer-at-hochschulen.org/
[3]
https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/en/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/det…
[4]
https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/detail…
[5]
https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/detail…
[6]
https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/detail…
[7]
https://lists.philo.at/hyperkitty/list/news@lists.philo.at/thread/GIUSVC6TO…
[8]
https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/detail…
[9]
https://urise.univie.ac.at/mod/booking/optionview.php?cmid=293&optionid…
[10]
https://lists.philo.at/hyperkitty/list/news@lists.philo.at/thread/ZUJBVRNM7…
[11]
https://philosophie.univie.ac.at/news-events/nachrichten-news-events/detail…
