Introduction

This course has traced the historical evolution of trans-weaponisation, demonstrating it is not a recent development but as a recurring and adaptive pattern embedded within broader systems of gender and political regulation. Across centuries, shifting cultural, scientific, and political frameworks have reshaped, but not replaced, underlying anxieties about gender, social order, and power. These anxieties have consistently been projected onto trans and gender-diverse people, producing cycles of fear, surveillance, and control that continue to reverberate today.

In the final module we review the uneven yet interconnected impact of these dynamics. Trans women have frequently been positioned as hypervisible targets, reflecting longstanding societal efforts to police femininity and women’s autonomy. At the same time, trans men have often experienced marginalisation through erasure and lack of recognition, demonstrating that invisibility can be as constraining as overt scrutiny.

Importantly, recognising these historical patterns is not an exercise in retrospection alone. It provides a critical foundation for anticipating and responding to contemporary forms of trans-weaponisation. The persistence and refinement of anti-trans strategies point to their deliberate construction, but also to the resilience and impact of the movements they seek to undermine.

By learning from the past and centring solidarity, we can better equip ourselves to challenge transphobia and contribute to a broader, more inclusive project of gender justice. We hope you will join us on this journey.