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31 Harv. J.L. & Gender 447 (2008)
Trans Models in Prison: The Medicalization of Gender Identity and the Eighth Amendment Right to Sex Reassignment Therapy

handle is hein.journals/hwlj31 and id is 449 raw text is: TRANS MODELS IN PRISON: THE MEDICALIZATION OF GENDER IDENTITY AND THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO SEX REASSIGNMENT THERAPY ALVIN LEE* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction ............................................. 447 II. Trans M odels ............................................ 451 A. The Medical Model: Origins and Current Applications in H ealth Care ...................................... 451 B. The Medical Model and the Law ..................... 454 C. Criticisms of the Medical Model ...................... 457 D. The Self-Determinative Model ........................ 459 Il. The Eighth Amendment: Background and Application to Trans Prisoners' Right to Sex Reassignment Therapy ....... 461 IV. Defending the Medical Model in the Prison Health Care C ontext ................................................. 464 A. Refuting the Criticisms of the Medical Model .......... 465 B. Affirmative Arguments for the Medical Model in the Prison Context ...................................... 468 V. Conclusion: For Broad-Based Advocacy .................. 470 I. INTRODUCTION Donna Konitzer entered the Wisconsin prison system in 1994 and will not be eligible for parole until 2026.' A trans2 woman, she has been diag- * J.D. Candidate, Harvard Law School, Class of 2009. The author would like to thank Professor Sharon Dolovich for her guidance, Sarah Bertozzi for her editorial sup- port, and Jennifer Levi, Sharon McGowan, and Cole Thaler for their wisdom, insight, and tireless advocacy on behalf of trans people. ' Gina Barton, Prisoner Sues State over Gender Rights, MILWAUKEE J. SENTINEL, Jan. 23, 2005, at Al, available at http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=295581. 2 Throughout this Note, I use the term trans to refer to all people who feel that the sex they were assigned at birth does not accurately or adequately describe their present gender. I do not use trans as an abbreviation for any specific term, such as transgender or transsexual; rather, I use it as a broad and inclusive umbrella term that applies to the entire spectrum of people who identify or are labeled as transgender, transsexual, gender- queer, androgynous, or any other term meant to express non-conformity to sex assigned at birth. I acknowledge that, because much of this Note focuses on a medicalized con- ception of gender identity, it may seem that I am only discussing trans people who wish to receive medical treatment. I want to emphasize, therefore, that when I refer to trans people, I am referring broadly to all trans people, regardless of whether or not they seek medical intervention.

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