Doing Things with the Language of Law and Gender: Using Speech Act Theory to Understand the Meaning and Effect of the Gender Identity Backlash

Abstract: A significant legal backlash against transgender individuals is currently under way. This movement--which includes state legislation, state executive action, and federal cases--seeks to limit access and participation by transgender individuals in school sports, use of bathrooms, access to appropriate care, and even the right to be addressed appropriately in the classroom. Properly understood as a political backlash in response to previous political gains by transgender individuals, this movement is composed of a series of speech acts: language that makes change in the world and alters human relations. This article identifies the features of the backlash and the power dynamics that fuel it. Applying Speech Act Theory, the article undertakes a close examination of the language of the legislation and cases to reveal the many cloaked performative speech acts that animate the backlash. Understanding the way that the language of law and the language of gender operate to promote and normalize this backlash is a key first step to undermining the deleterious effects of these speech acts.