Liminal Transitions: Rethinking Transgender Journeys over Time

The fundamental role of life transitions is undeniable both in terms of empirical evidence and theoretical understanding. Lives undergo multiple changes over time, which accumulate and compound in different ways, and which have been a key object of study in the field of life course theory. The sequence of positions (related to employment, demographic ageing, parenthood or other) of a given person over time allows us to examine the interplay between individual lives and social change. Life course analysis is concerned with the frequency and timing of changes in these positions (Kok, 2007), and each change or event is therefore a transition, the key element that unifies the temporal and biographical fabric of lives.

Transitions are often understood as normative stages or milestones that occur for most people from birth to death, following a linear, age-structured life course that must overcome deficits and risks to achieve stability. For transgender people, gender transitions have generally been perceived as heightened disruptions - significant shifts that can be resolved by moving from one binary gender to the other, thus restoring the proper order of gender (Connell, 1987). However, recent societal changes and the unprecedented rise of gender non-conforming identities call for different analytical lenses and a differentiated perspective on what is meant by gender transitions.

Using data on gender transitions in Portugal and the United Kingdom, this paper discusses six exemplary cases that illustrate the temporal dynamics of non-linearity that are poorly captured by current life course tools. By revisiting and rethinking the notion of gender transition in tandem with that of liminality, following van Gennep and subsequent developments, we address the limitations of sequential models and demonstrate the need for tools that capture the ambiguity, temporal asynchrony, continuous and often never-ending transformations in the lives of trans and gender non-conforming people.