Transing trans: a queer response to the field of transgender studies

Sydney 1920. Eugenia Falleni was accused of the murder of Annie Birkett, whom she was married to while living as a man named Harry Crawford. This thesis examines the ways in which Falleni and their gendered actions have been described in the literature about the case since the trial. I will position this case in the field of transgender studies, and suggest that how Falleni has variously been represented echoes the ways in which trans has been conceptualised in the literature in this field. In deploying the notion of somatechnics, I will argue that trans is often assumed to be a self-evident and pre-discursive identity category that applies to specific individuals and groups. As a result, I suggest, there is a lack of questioning of the very notion of trans, and how such perception of trans materialises that which it merely assumes to perceive. This thesis is therefore interested in developing a critical vocabulary through which to assess trans and how it is applied to individuals such as Falleni.