"This volume will change the way we think, talk about and work for transgender policy and justice."

The Midtown Scholar Bookstore is pleased to welcome political scientist Paisley Currah for an in-person conversation and book signing on his new work: Sex is as Sex Does: Governing Transgender Identity. In the book, Currah reveals the hidden logics that have governed sex classification policies in the United States and shows what the regulation of transgender identity can tell us about society’s approach to sex and gender.

This event is free and open to the public, with registration. This is an in-person event with a live-stream option via Zoom. Doors will open at 6:15pm, and the event will begin at 7:00pm. Virtual attendees will receive the event access link 24 hours and 1 hour before the event begins.

Vaccination Requirements:

You must show proof that you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 for entrance to this event. We will accept either a physical vaccination card, digital card, or a photo of the card on your phone. Per the CDC, people are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine.

Event Policies:

• Seating is general admission; first come, first served

• Masks are required

• Book browsing will not be permitted after 8pm

About the Book:

What the evolving fight for transgender rights reveals about government power, regulations, and the law.

Every government agency in the United States, from Homeland Security to Departments of Motor Vehicles, has the authority to make its own rules for sex classification. Many transgender people find themselves in the bizarre situation of having different sex classifications on different documents. Whether you can change your legal sex to “F” or “M” (or more recently “X”) depends on what state you live in, what jurisdiction you were born in, and what government agency you’re dealing with. In Sex Is as Sex Does, noted transgender advocate and scholar Paisley Currah explores this deeply flawed system, showing why it fails transgender and non-binary people.

Providing examples from different states, government agencies, and court cases, Currah explains how transgender people struggle to navigate this confusing and contradictory web of legal rules, definitions, and classifications. Unlike most gender scholars, who are concerned with what the concepts of sex and gender really mean, Currah is more interested in what the category of “sex” does for governments. What does “sex” do on our driver’s licenses, in how we play sports, in how we access health care, or in the bathroom we use? Why do prisons have very different rules than social service agencies? Why is there such resistance to people changing their sex designation? Or to dropping it from identity documents altogether?

In this thought-provoking and original volume, Sex Is as Sex Does reveals the hidden logics that have governed sex classification policies in the United States and shows what the regulation of transgender identity can tell us about society’s approach to sex and gender writ large. Ultimately, Currah demonstrates that, because the difficulties transgender people face are not just the result of transphobia but also stem from larger injustices, an identity-based transgender rights movement will not, by itself, be up to the task of resolving them.

About the Author:

Paisley Currah is a Professor of Political Science and Women’s & Gender Studies at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Currah has written widely on transgender issues, including on topics such as discrimination and sex reclassification, and the transgender rights movement. He is the author and editor of over 30 articles and books and co-founder of the leading journal in transgender studies, TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly. Currah’s newest book, Sex Is Sex Does: Governing Transgender Identity, will be released in the spring of 2022 by New York University Press. Currah has advocated for transgender rights at all levels of government. He was a founding board member of the Transgender Law and Policy Institute, served on the founding board of directors Global Action for Trans Equality, and sat on the advisory board of Human Rights Watch’s LGBT Program. Currah led the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies from 2003-2007. Currah co-edited Transgender Rights, the first book on the movement for transgender rights, which won the Sylvia Rivera Award in Transgender Studies and was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award.