"Bring in the Argentine Macho": Feminist Resistances to the Participation of AFAB Trans People in Sexual and Reproductive Rights Activism

Abstract

In this chapter we reconstruct the scenario and debate between feminíst sectors and groups of AFAB trans people in the context of the struggle for the legalization of abortion in Argentina. With this objective, we begin by laying out the Argentine normative framework that describes the very progressive terms of its Gender ldentity Law, along with its epistemic and political implications and the limitations of certain interpretations of it. As a result of important changes in Argentine legislation, where trans people are no longer required to be sterilized in pursuit of legal gender recognition, an increasing number of AFAB trans people are in a position of needing abortion services while being legally recognized as something other than women. We then specify the legal context regarding abortion and present an array of resources used by feminist groups to exclude AFAB trans people from discussions of the draft bill on voluntary interruption of pregnancy, which we call "the strategy of anything goes"-that is, a strategy whereby the end justifies the means, even if said means are contrary to the values that allegedly underpin the movement. A brief conclusion sums up the itinerary of the chapter and offers some final considerations about the underlying commitments of feminist positions.