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Beyond Personhood: An Essay in Trans Philosophy
A bold intervention in the philosophical concepts of gender, sex, and self
Beyond Personhood provides an entirely new philosophical approach to trans experience, trans oppression, gender dysphoria, and the relationship between gender and identity. Until now, trans experience has overwhelmingly been understood in terms of two reductive frameworks: trans people are either “trapped in the wrong body” or they are oppressed by the gender binary. Both accounts misgender large trans constituencies while distorting their experience, and neither can explain the presentation of trans people as make-believers and deceivers or the serious consequences thereof. In Beyond Personhood, Talia Mae Bettcher demonstrates how taking this phenomenon seriously affords a new perspective on trans oppression and trans dysphoria—one involving liminal states of “make-believe” that bear positive possibilities for self-recognition and resistance.
Undergirding this account is Bettcher’s groundbreaking theory of interpersonal spatiality—a theory of intimacy and distance that requires rejection of the philosophical concepts of person, self, and subject. She argues that only interpersonal spatiality theory can successfully explain trans oppression and gender dysphoria, thus creating new possibilities for thinking about connection and relatedness.
An essential contribution to the burgeoning field of trans philosophy, Beyond Personhood offers an intersectional trans feminism that illuminates transphobic, sexist, heterosexist, and racist oppressions, situating trans oppression and resistance within a much larger decolonial struggle. By refusing to separate theory from its application, Bettcher shows how a philosophy of depth can emerge from the everyday experiences of trans people, pointing the way to a reinvigoration of philosophy.
Beyond Personhood provides an entirely new philosophical approach to trans experience, trans oppression, gender dysphoria, and the relationship between gender and identity. Until now, trans experience has overwhelmingly been understood in terms of two reductive frameworks: trans people are either “trapped in the wrong body” or they are oppressed by the gender binary. Both accounts misgender large trans constituencies while distorting their experience, and neither can explain the presentation of trans people as make-believers and deceivers or the serious consequences thereof. In Beyond Personhood, Talia Mae Bettcher demonstrates how taking this phenomenon seriously affords a new perspective on trans oppression and trans dysphoria—one involving liminal states of “make-believe” that bear positive possibilities for self-recognition and resistance.
Undergirding this account is Bettcher’s groundbreaking theory of interpersonal spatiality—a theory of intimacy and distance that requires rejection of the philosophical concepts of person, self, and subject. She argues that only interpersonal spatiality theory can successfully explain trans oppression and gender dysphoria, thus creating new possibilities for thinking about connection and relatedness.
An essential contribution to the burgeoning field of trans philosophy, Beyond Personhood offers an intersectional trans feminism that illuminates transphobic, sexist, heterosexist, and racist oppressions, situating trans oppression and resistance within a much larger decolonial struggle. By refusing to separate theory from its application, Bettcher shows how a philosophy of depth can emerge from the everyday experiences of trans people, pointing the way to a reinvigoration of philosophy.
312 pages, Paperback
Published March 18, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 11, 2025
reread 11/8/25 -- more of a major development in philosophy than the linguistic turn, if it holds
read 18/6/25 -- Actually an incredible piece of modern philosophy that sets out to find new fruitful solutions to theoretical philosophical problems (while also sort of crushing the bridge between theoretical/practical philosophy), holy shit
read 18/6/25 -- Actually an incredible piece of modern philosophy that sets out to find new fruitful solutions to theoretical philosophical problems (while also sort of crushing the bridge between theoretical/practical philosophy), holy shit
June 23, 2025
I have one word: revolutionary.
September 1, 2025
So frickin juicy!!! Can’t wait to write essays applying this stuff to fictional characters 🥰
December 6, 2025
Beyond Personhood: An Essay in Trans Philosophy is an essay that, rather than taking transness or trans people as objects for theorizing, is “a resistant philosophizing in response to trans oppression” [5]. Bettcher challenges two dominant frameworks for understanding and contesting trans oppression – the ‘born in the wrong body’ account and the ‘beyond the binary’ account – and advances a theory that not only avoids major pitfalls of these other two but that can also illuminate experiences of gender phoria. In doing so, Bettcher advances a theory of interpersonal spatiality that necessarily involves rejecting some philosophical concepts that are almost taken for granted as vital. I won’t say that I necessarily agree with every line of argument, but I will absolutely say that Bettcher’s work is original and – on a personal level – it is thinking that I find both affirming and useful as a gender non-conforming person.
I picked up this book having taught Bettcher’s work – specifically, an article that this book expands and builds upon – in feminist philosophy courses; I am very happy to have done so + appreciate Bettcher’s liberatory and ground-bound philosophizing tremendously.
I absolutely recommend this book, though I will note that I do so as someone with a background in philosophy. I do not think that one necessarily needs to be familiar or well versed with any particular philosopher(s) or theories to read this book and understand its arguments, but I do recognize that the language will be challenging for some. The author does generate a lot of novel terminology, but only as needed to articulate her positions; a glossary is provided, as are extensive endnotes.
Content warnings: discussions of racism, slavery, transphobia, classism, misogyny, sexism
I picked up this book having taught Bettcher’s work – specifically, an article that this book expands and builds upon – in feminist philosophy courses; I am very happy to have done so + appreciate Bettcher’s liberatory and ground-bound philosophizing tremendously.
I absolutely recommend this book, though I will note that I do so as someone with a background in philosophy. I do not think that one necessarily needs to be familiar or well versed with any particular philosopher(s) or theories to read this book and understand its arguments, but I do recognize that the language will be challenging for some. The author does generate a lot of novel terminology, but only as needed to articulate her positions; a glossary is provided, as are extensive endnotes.
Content warnings: discussions of racism, slavery, transphobia, classism, misogyny, sexism
September 24, 2025
I read this book, or at least most of it, for a university philosophy seminar.
It was really helpful having a place and people to discuss the chapters with, as they can be a lot when reading it on your own.
Bettcher introduces many new concepts and words, which sometimes make the book hard to navigate, and are the reason why our prof declared the goal of the seminar to be understanding 60-80% of it, not 100. That said, the things Bettcher says are pretty cool... or maybe, not cool but rather illuminating and thought-provoking. This book truly helped me understand the world around me and see society much more clearly. It's not a nice place, but understanding why that is makes it easier.
While Beyond Perosnhood is by now means perfect and can at times be quite controversial, I would highly recommend reading it. However, ideally read and discuss it with friends.
It was really helpful having a place and people to discuss the chapters with, as they can be a lot when reading it on your own.
Bettcher introduces many new concepts and words, which sometimes make the book hard to navigate, and are the reason why our prof declared the goal of the seminar to be understanding 60-80% of it, not 100. That said, the things Bettcher says are pretty cool... or maybe, not cool but rather illuminating and thought-provoking. This book truly helped me understand the world around me and see society much more clearly. It's not a nice place, but understanding why that is makes it easier.
While Beyond Perosnhood is by now means perfect and can at times be quite controversial, I would highly recommend reading it. However, ideally read and discuss it with friends.
Read
April 23, 2025A bit too hard to understand since I haven't read critical essays in a while and have no philosophy training, though I did glean some things. DNF at 24%.
April 23, 2025
I'm bumping up my rating because of the times we're living in. I'm dedicated to supporting work by and on transgender people. But I must be frank: this was a trial and will have limited readership.
The author has written a compelling treatise (I think? keep reading ...) on trans phoria philosophy, starting from a trans perspective rather than building on other foundations. This is a laudable achievement. Bettcher has spent a lifetime thinking about this philosophy, and it shows.
But I'm left with a question: If people can't understand it, how does it really serve trans folks?
Perhaps others will fair better, but I couldn't understand half of what's here. This is deep philosophizing, filled with a lot of jargon (half of it made up by the author for this text, but none of it easy to remember) and bereft of examples for the lay reader. Maybe this isn't meant for the lay reader. By why target the academic elite in a rather particular discipline? What real good does that do?
Let me try to break down my understanding. Phoria is a general term that covers dysphoria and euphoria and everything in between. The main thesis hinges on a concept called interpersonal spatiality, which I struggle to define. I think it means that relationships are based on intimacy and distance between what the author calls interpersonal "objects" that include people (mmhmm). These relationships are mediated by boundaries. Here's some gobbledygook that you may have a better time understanding than me: "Consequently, as interpersonal objects are immanent in the organized practices of interpersonal spatiality, there are different sorts of interpersonal objects constituted in different systems." Now you know what kind of discourse you'll be dealing with going into this one.
The author attacks two supposedly trans-friendly arguments: the beyond-the-binary and wrong-body accounts. Somehow, they lay out the limitations of each and argue for this interpersonal spatiality account. Don't ask me how. Give it a try and share what you learn in plain language.
The author also argues for "folk" theories of this and that, notably for sex and gender, but again, I didn't quite get it. The author also relabels gender as "moral sex" but once more I fail to understand the distinction or reasoning here. I think these may be special terms for this folk/moral framework.
One area that I was excited by was the application of decolonial theory to understand how people construct basic categories like race and gender in pursuit of dehumanization. But this was also weighted down by a lot of philosophizing and too much Locke.
I leave this text feeling confounded but with a great desire to support the work, somehow. I just don't see how this will be useful for the grand majority of people. Can the author create a layperson version to really get the message across? Otherwise, I fear this will become yet one more dusty tome in the ivory tower.
Thank you to Edelweiss+ and University of Minnesota Press for the advance copy.
The author has written a compelling treatise (I think? keep reading ...) on trans phoria philosophy, starting from a trans perspective rather than building on other foundations. This is a laudable achievement. Bettcher has spent a lifetime thinking about this philosophy, and it shows.
But I'm left with a question: If people can't understand it, how does it really serve trans folks?
Perhaps others will fair better, but I couldn't understand half of what's here. This is deep philosophizing, filled with a lot of jargon (half of it made up by the author for this text, but none of it easy to remember) and bereft of examples for the lay reader. Maybe this isn't meant for the lay reader. By why target the academic elite in a rather particular discipline? What real good does that do?
Let me try to break down my understanding. Phoria is a general term that covers dysphoria and euphoria and everything in between. The main thesis hinges on a concept called interpersonal spatiality, which I struggle to define. I think it means that relationships are based on intimacy and distance between what the author calls interpersonal "objects" that include people (mmhmm). These relationships are mediated by boundaries. Here's some gobbledygook that you may have a better time understanding than me: "Consequently, as interpersonal objects are immanent in the organized practices of interpersonal spatiality, there are different sorts of interpersonal objects constituted in different systems." Now you know what kind of discourse you'll be dealing with going into this one.
The author attacks two supposedly trans-friendly arguments: the beyond-the-binary and wrong-body accounts. Somehow, they lay out the limitations of each and argue for this interpersonal spatiality account. Don't ask me how. Give it a try and share what you learn in plain language.
The author also argues for "folk" theories of this and that, notably for sex and gender, but again, I didn't quite get it. The author also relabels gender as "moral sex" but once more I fail to understand the distinction or reasoning here. I think these may be special terms for this folk/moral framework.
One area that I was excited by was the application of decolonial theory to understand how people construct basic categories like race and gender in pursuit of dehumanization. But this was also weighted down by a lot of philosophizing and too much Locke.
I leave this text feeling confounded but with a great desire to support the work, somehow. I just don't see how this will be useful for the grand majority of people. Can the author create a layperson version to really get the message across? Otherwise, I fear this will become yet one more dusty tome in the ivory tower.
Thank you to Edelweiss+ and University of Minnesota Press for the advance copy.
August 10, 2025
Lol @ the negative reviews that basically amount to, "This book was too hard for me and therefore it's nOt pRaXiS." No, dumdum. It's theory.
August 15, 2025
I do not think I have much to say after reading this quote below aside providing some context for why I have included my mess of thoughts in this review. As the book began, I struggled. It was like someone walking me through a really long math problem, but when looking at the equation as a whole, one forgets how one got to the step they are on. I think there is still value to including my original review below, but as I said, my real review is this quote below from the text:
"In a very real sense, one might understand this theory as, in part, my intimate elaboration of my self-identification as a woman--a sharing made possible through trans community. Of course, as this sharing occurs out in the open, those with ill-intent might overhear the conversation. That is always a risk. I hope that they at least experience themselves as unwelcome interlopers. And I take consolation that they will not truly understand what is being said anyway" (170-171).
-------------------------------------------------------------
Review from around halfway through: I want to preface this with saying that I had to read "Evil Deceivers and Make-Believers" for class and thoroughly recommend it. However, any aspiring reader should be warned that in this book Bettcher is attempting to lay out a phenomenological system complete with enough terms to fill a book on its own. It feels as if she is attempting to create an entire system that she hopes will be adopted by future thinkers without, in my opinion, doing the work required to make her system appealing to use.
Her focus on intimacy and distance are great, but a lot of her accompanying terminology feels even more cold and distant than a biology textbook. While I think there is value in reading this book, it is likely better that one finds their own way to it as opposed to it ever being recommended by another.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Definition of Interpersonal Spatiality: "If you think about it, you'll notice that some encounters between us are intimate and some are not. In fact, all encounters, through sense perception and through discourse, can be characterized in terms of degree of intimacy or lack thereof. I call this 'interpersonal spatiality.' Interpersonal spatiality is the capacity of all sensory and discursive encounters between us to admit of closeness and distance. Another way to put it is to say that all our encounters occur in interpersonal space" (38).
"In the theory that I'm proposing, intimacy and distance are supreme values, much in the way that one might tout free will or the life well lived as a supreme value" (41).
De-naturalisation of the naked body: (93-100).
On mythologising the naked body: "... does nothing more than perpetuate the myth of the naked body as the source of sexual desire in the first place" (106).
-So this part about mythologising the naked body as the source of sexual desire came up earlier but I forget where. It really clicked that this point Bettcher makes was something that I too have noticed. I started to realise and argue against a naturalistic argument for sexuality, i.e. "born gay," and noticing that it was born out for countering a naturalist view of (hetero)sexuality in the dominant culture. I could imagine myself born into alternative cultural conditions that generated different expressions of my own sexuality and perhaps too easily applied that to others as well, but it seems as if Bettcher is following the same train of thought I hold whether that is reassuring to others or not I have no idea. If anybody reads my bad take here, feel free to share your own experience in favour of naturalisation or not!
"In a very real sense, one might understand this theory as, in part, my intimate elaboration of my self-identification as a woman--a sharing made possible through trans community. Of course, as this sharing occurs out in the open, those with ill-intent might overhear the conversation. That is always a risk. I hope that they at least experience themselves as unwelcome interlopers. And I take consolation that they will not truly understand what is being said anyway" (170-171).
-------------------------------------------------------------
Review from around halfway through: I want to preface this with saying that I had to read "Evil Deceivers and Make-Believers" for class and thoroughly recommend it. However, any aspiring reader should be warned that in this book Bettcher is attempting to lay out a phenomenological system complete with enough terms to fill a book on its own. It feels as if she is attempting to create an entire system that she hopes will be adopted by future thinkers without, in my opinion, doing the work required to make her system appealing to use.
Her focus on intimacy and distance are great, but a lot of her accompanying terminology feels even more cold and distant than a biology textbook. While I think there is value in reading this book, it is likely better that one finds their own way to it as opposed to it ever being recommended by another.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Definition of Interpersonal Spatiality: "If you think about it, you'll notice that some encounters between us are intimate and some are not. In fact, all encounters, through sense perception and through discourse, can be characterized in terms of degree of intimacy or lack thereof. I call this 'interpersonal spatiality.' Interpersonal spatiality is the capacity of all sensory and discursive encounters between us to admit of closeness and distance. Another way to put it is to say that all our encounters occur in interpersonal space" (38).
"In the theory that I'm proposing, intimacy and distance are supreme values, much in the way that one might tout free will or the life well lived as a supreme value" (41).
De-naturalisation of the naked body: (93-100).
On mythologising the naked body: "... does nothing more than perpetuate the myth of the naked body as the source of sexual desire in the first place" (106).
-So this part about mythologising the naked body as the source of sexual desire came up earlier but I forget where. It really clicked that this point Bettcher makes was something that I too have noticed. I started to realise and argue against a naturalistic argument for sexuality, i.e. "born gay," and noticing that it was born out for countering a naturalist view of (hetero)sexuality in the dominant culture. I could imagine myself born into alternative cultural conditions that generated different expressions of my own sexuality and perhaps too easily applied that to others as well, but it seems as if Bettcher is following the same train of thought I hold whether that is reassuring to others or not I have no idea. If anybody reads my bad take here, feel free to share your own experience in favour of naturalisation or not!
June 20, 2025
i read this for a class and, while there were many things i found interesting and to be good contributions to the field, most of it seemed to be a sort of masturbatory nothing built off of wild misunderstandings of different theorists. sorry guys. guess i'm a judith butler bible thumper and yeah, it does kind of annoy me when someone feels the need to tell readers over and over again how their theory is going to revolutionize the world the same way phenomenology did. i guess we'll see.
June 5, 2025
some nuggets of brilliance shrouded in 100+ pages of unnecessary definitions and context. Talia spends most of her time reinventing the wheel, but little space justifying why the wheel must be reinvented.
4/10
4/10
January 16, 2025
Not written in English.
Read
June 11, 2025DNF- the mood left me :C. Will try again later.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews