Transgender oppression stems from a denial of the authenticity of self-identification and what she describes as “reality enforcement” when specific physical criteria (such as surgery) are used to “verify” one’s status (2007). As long as reality enforcement takes place (and arguably, all regulatory definitions discussed in this book are types of reality enforcement), transgender people are typically viewed as deceivers and make-believers, a status that fuels transphobia and its attendant violence
