RETRACTED: The Relationship between Violence and Transgender Bodies in Urban Pakistan: Tracing the Gender Transformation Experiences

Abstract

This article has been retracted at the request of the authors.

Transgender individuals’ bodies are proficient in subverting conventional societal norms surrounding gender dichotomies. The present study employs a case study approach to examine the experiences of transgender individuals residing in Rawalpindi/Islamabad and Karachi, Pakistan. The study aims to elucidate how social violence, middle-class morality, and the nature of interactions with the state are manifested in the bodies of transgender individuals. In pre-colonial South Asia, transgender individuals held positions of power as mandarins within the empire. However, in the colonial and post-colonial eras, their status has been diminished to that of beggars. The study reveals that the conceptualizations of transgender identity among the participants are paradoxical, as they incorporate the notion of a feminine essence within a male physique while also perceiving it as an ongoing progression through actions. Toxic masculinities are enacted in urban Pakistan through violent encounters with transgender bodies in a relational manner. It is contended that transgender bodies possess the potential to liberate bodies that are confined within the constraints of toxic masculinity.