Transgender lives in North Macedonia: citizenship, violence, and networks of support

Abstract

In comparison to other post-Yugoslav countries, LGBT visibility in North Macedonia has a much shorter history, especially when it comes to the trans population. In this regard, there is a lack of qualitative research offering analytically sound insights into the everyday experiences and practices of trans people, their identities, needs, and diverse gender embodiments. In order to start filling this lacuna, my chapter draws upon semi-structured interviews and engages with a diversity of gender expressions within the trans community while taking into account differences pertaining to ethnicity, social status, education, and age. The chapter examines the narratives of trans people through a presentation of the major challenges they face in everyday life. This includes the spheres of intimacy, friendships, and networks through which they affirm their identities in a highly transphobic social environment. Based on the collected material, I argue that gender identity represents a creative response of trans people to the structural circumstances that condition their experience. Nascent forms of political organising in which my interviewees participate do not only constitute valuable sources of support and care but are increasingly recognised as networks for production and circulation of trans-related knowledge.