Self-perception, laws and identities: restricting the relevance of psy knowledge among sex-dissident minorities in Argentina

Abstract

This article problematises self-perception as a notion that structures and legitimises the Gender Identity Law in Argentina, through the analysis of the changing relationships between psy disciplines and gender issues. On the one hand, the Gender identity law enacted in 2012 regulates name changes and registry updates and access to medical interventions (surgical and hormonal). On the other hand, as a result of long-term national and international sex-dissident movements, this law also allows changing legal identities without the need for psychological/ psychiatry consultations. Based on the analysis of theoretical perspectives on perception, this article argues that selfperception reinforces the role of the sex-dissident collectives, by questioning and restricting the interventions from psy disciplines in the assessment and legitimisation of certain existences and identities. The unique features of the Argentine context, with its advancements in acquired rights through sexual dissident activism, make this analysis relevant in the light of the changing government discourses and policies. We argue that selfperception and the Gender Identity Law encompasses the relationships between perception and bodily experiences with gendered discourses, processes of subjectivation and social and political recognition.