Policy Design for Non-normative Gender Identities. The Construction of the Trans Subject in Uruguay

Abstract

We analyze institutions and social constructions as constituent parts of the policymaking process. We use Ingram and Schneider’s policy design framework, which suggests that, in degenerative contexts, policymakers distribute burdens and benefits to the population based on social constructions and using instruments that maintain or exacerbate some groups’ positioning to the detriment of others. However, we take a different path; we carry out a case study of the trans people policy in Uruguay, a context that could be considered progressive. Through category analysis, we identify social constructions and both formal and informal institutions that shape the issue context and its effects on policy formulation. The results indicate shifts in the social construction of trans people driven by a political strategy for agent coordination around the notion of diversity in a context of institutional opening towards more inclusive policies.