UC Santa Barbara

This dissertation examines how cisgender political elites work in allyship and build coalitions with transgender, non-binary, and intersex (TNBI) people, communities, and constituencies in California. Political allyship and coalition building are critical in expanding rights, which entails recognizing the disenfranchisement minorities experience in informal and formal political realms. Political recognition, especially recognizing struggle and hardship, brings value to human life and is a locus of liberal democratic processes. The concept of recognition can be hard to pin down, can be measured by its absence, and denial of recognition occurs because minority citizens become objects of political animosity. Although TNBI Americans have recently received some positive recognition through informal political processes, such as depictions in some mainstream media, TNBI Americans lack civil rights and liberties. The lack of rights is evidenced by the absence of TNBI specific and inclusive statutes at the municipal, state, and federal levels. Since state legislatures enact the bulk of TNBI inclusive and expansive legislation, this dissertation provides insight into political cisgender allyship formation among California's political elites. Moreover, California is commonly believed to be a bastion of progressive politics. Since policy and legislation formation begins outside of the statehouse, this dissertation also explores the origins of TNBI inclusive legislation and the activists, lobbyists, and bureaucrats of diverse gender sexual identities who work to enhance the political standing of TNBI Americans in California. This research ultimately spotlights solidarity, coalition building, and sustained allyship by cisgender people who seek to expand TNBI rights within formal political realms.