The Meaning of Gender Identity and Transgender Rights in the Swedish Policy Process : A Critical Discourse Analysis of Consultation Responses for the 2024 Swedish “Trans Law” Draft

Using Critical Discourse Analysis, particularly Fairclough's (2013) framework, the purpose of this study is to critically analyse how gender identity and transgender rights are constructed within the consultation process for the Swedish “Trans Law”, to understand the basis for these constructions, and to understand how they affect and reflect policy outcomes and power dynamics in society at large. Consultation responses from 96 organisations and agencies concerning a 2024 Swedish law proposal aimed at simplifying the process for legal gender recognition were analysed. The analysis identifies four key themes: contested definitions of gender, transgender women and girls as a risk to cisgender women and girls, medical science as enabler and gatekeeper, and contested claims to human rights. Gender identity and transgender rights were constructed differently by all actors: LGBT and Human rights groups frequently emphasized self-determination as a basis for gender, grounding the advancement of transgender rights in human rights. Meanwhile women's rights groups prioritized biological sex and framed transgender women as risks towards cisgender women. Health professionals employed a medical lens, stressing medical authority over self-identification. Other experts, while varied, emphasised the importance of human rights but often deferred to or were influenced by medical authority. Medical discourse emerged as a dominant 'truth regime,' granting considerable power to health professionals and often marginalizing the experiential knowledge of transgender individuals. While rights-based arguments were utilized by multiple actors, their interpretation and application were frequently filtered through, or contested by, the lens of medical authority and dominant societal norms.