Authors
Alexandre Baril, Marjorie Silverman, Marie-Claire Gauthier, Maude Lévesque
Publication
September 2020
Abstract
Literature on the topic of trans older adults has documented a few anecdotal cases in which some trans people living with dementia forgot they transitioned and reidentified with their sex assigned at birth (“detransition”). Trans communities and their allies have encouraged trans people to engage in end-of-life planning, including the preparation of legal documents that state their wishes regarding gender identity and expression in the event of “incapacity” caused by dementia. While useful, we contend that end-of-life planning is often implicitly based on cisnormative and cognonormative (normative system based on cognitive abilities) assumptions. Such planning is founded on a stable notion of gender identity throughout the life course (“post-transition”) and assumes that the pre-dementia self is better equipped to make decisions than the “demented” self. We conclude by encouraging, based on an intersectional, trans-affirmative, crip-positive, and age-positive approach, respect for the agency of trans people with dementia.
Citation
Baril, A., Silverman, M., Gauthier, M., & Lévesque, M. (2020). Forgotten Wishes: End-of-Life Documents for Trans People with Dementia at the Margins of Legal Change. Canadian Journal of Law and Society / Revue Canadienne Droit Et Société, 35(2), 367-390. doi:10.1017/cls.2020.13Open Access
Yes