
Transgender Philosophy: The Basics
The Basics
Matthew J. Cull(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 28. October 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
198 pages
978-1-032-80657-0 (ISBN)
Description
Transgender Philosophy: The Basics is an introduction to the exciting and rapidly growing world of trans philosophy.
The book covers a wide range of central themes in transgender philosophy, bringing the reader up to speed with both foundational texts and new ideas from this increasingly global tradition. It addresses key questions, including:
* What is gender? How is it related to gender identity?
* Why are we justified in believing someone when they identify as a member of a gender?
* Why do trans people transition, and how should we think about the desire to transition?
* What is the relationship between transness and colonialism, and how is it related to race?
* Should we get rid of gender? What would we look like if we didn't have genders?
* How should society be changed to improve the lives of trans people?
Accessibly written, this book offers a rigorous overview of the arguments in transgender philosophy, from abstract concerns of philosophical method to grounded and applied political issues.
Transgender Philosophy is designed for beginners with no prior knowledge of philosophy, but it also serves a source of new insights and perspectives for students and scholars of philosophy and gender studies.
The book covers a wide range of central themes in transgender philosophy, bringing the reader up to speed with both foundational texts and new ideas from this increasingly global tradition. It addresses key questions, including:
* What is gender? How is it related to gender identity?
* Why are we justified in believing someone when they identify as a member of a gender?
* Why do trans people transition, and how should we think about the desire to transition?
* What is the relationship between transness and colonialism, and how is it related to race?
* Should we get rid of gender? What would we look like if we didn't have genders?
* How should society be changed to improve the lives of trans people?
Accessibly written, this book offers a rigorous overview of the arguments in transgender philosophy, from abstract concerns of philosophical method to grounded and applied political issues.
Transgender Philosophy is designed for beginners with no prior knowledge of philosophy, but it also serves a source of new insights and perspectives for students and scholars of philosophy and gender studies.
Reviews / Votes
"Transgender Philosophy: The Basics is a pioneering book that is accessible, engaging, and fun. It successfully draws connections between questions of social significance that students are already interested in, and questions in metaphysics and epistemology, emphasizing why philosophy can be useful and illuminating for students and general readers alike."- Esa Diaz-Leon, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Barcelona, Spain.
"Transgender Philosophy: The Basics is the perfect book to put in the hands of anyone who wants to understand transgender philosophy, and to understand it from the viewpoint of those who actually are transgender. It's exciting, engaging, accessible, careful, gentle, and deep. Don't miss it."
- Sophie Grace Chappell, Professor of Philosophy at The Open University, UK.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Postgraduate, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-032-80657-0 (9781032806570)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
approx. 10/2026
1st Edition
Routledge
€191.50
Not yet published
Matthew J. Cull
Transgender Philosophy: The Basics
E-Book
approx. 10/2026
Routledge
€27.49
Not yet available
Matthew J. Cull
Transgender Philosophy: The Basics
E-Book
approx. 10/2026
Routledge
€27.49
Not yet available
Person
Matthew J. Cull is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Their work covers a variety of topics in transgender and feminist philosophy, social and political philosophy, philosophy of language, and social ontology.
Content
Introduction 1. What is Gender? 2. Gender Identity 3. Knowledge and Justification 4. Desire and Transformative Experience 5. Colonialism, Race, and the History of Gender 6. Gender Abolition 7. The Trans Theory Tradition 8. Political Philosophy Glossary