The construction of the trans character in “Other Women” by Casey Plett: a dialogic analysis

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47149/pemo.v7.e15356

Keywords:

Trans literature, Dialogism, Cisnormativity, “Other Women”, Casey Plett

Abstract

In order to understand the construction process of the trans character who stars in the short story “Other Women” (Plett, 2014), our research used Bakhtin’s theory of the novel (2015) as a theoretical contribution. Thus, establishing a dialogue between form and content, we analyzed the conflicts that afflict the story’s protagonist and the language used to represent them, thus seeking to extract the ideological value of the lexical choices made by the author. As a result, we could observe that the subjectivity of the character is constantly threatened by the authoritarian discourse of cisnormativity, which makes her seek an ideal of femininity based on submission, at the same time that it compels her to perform a gender binarism in a compulsory way.

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Author Biographies

Válber Rodrigo Ribeiro de Medeiros, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

Graduado em Letras - Inglês (2025), mestre em Engenharia Química (2020) e graduado em Engenharia Química (2017). Recentemente, realizou pesquisas em literatura trans e em literatura africana queer de língua inglesa. Atua como professor de inglês em escolas de idiomas há cerca de sete anos.

Orison Marden Bandeira de Melo Junior, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

Orison Bandeira Jr. has a degree in Literature (Bachelor's Degree in Literature - Portuguese/English), a master's degree in Literature and Literary Criticism (LCL/PUCSP) and a PhD in Applied Linguistics and Language Studies (LAEL/PUCSP). He completed a postdoctoral internship on queer English-language African literature (PPgL/UFPB). He is a professor of the English Literature Course (DLLEM/UFRN) and a permanent professor and coordinator of the Postgraduate Program in Language Studies (PPgEL/UFRN).

 

References

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BAKHTIN, Mikhail. Notas sobre literatura, cultura e ciências humanas. Tradução: Paulo Bezerra. São Paulo: Editora 34, 2017.

FARACO, Carlos Alberto. Linguagem & diálogo: as ideias linguísticas do Círculo de Bakhtin. São Paulo: Parábola Editorial, 2009.

FRANCO JUNIOR, Arnaldo. Operadores de leitura da narrativa. In: BONNICI, Thomas; ZOLIN, Lúcia Osana (org.). Teoria literária: abordagens históricas e tendências contemporâneas. 3. ed. Maringá: EDUEM, 2009. p. 33-58.

FUCHS, Jéssica Janine Bernhardt; HINING, Ana Paula Silva; TONELI, Maria Juracy Filgueiras. Psicologia e cisnormatividade. Psicologia & Sociedade, Recife, v. 33, abr. 2021. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-0310/2021v33220944. Acesso em: 16 jun. 2023.

FUNAKOSHI, Minami; RAYCHAUDHURI, Disha. The rise of anti-trans bills in the US. Reuters, [s. l.], 19 ago. 2023. Disponível em: https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-HEALTHCARE/TRANS-BILLS/zgvorreyapd/. Acesso em: 26 ago. 2023.

HALDEMAN, Peter. The Coming of Age of Transgender Literature. New York Times, New York, 24 out. 2018. Disponível em: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/books/trans-lit-transgender-novels.html. Acesso em: 10 ago. 2023.

ILGA WOLRD. Trans Legal Mapping Report 2019: Recognition before the law. Geneva, 2020. Disponível em: https://ilga.org/downloads/ILGA_World_Trans_Legal_Mapping_Report_2019_EN.pdf. Acesso em 15 ago. 2023.

NASCIMENTO, Letícia Carolina Pereira do. Transfeminismo. São Paulo: Jandaíra, 2021.

PLETT, Casey. Other Women. In: NASCIMENTO, Letícia Carolina Pereira do. A Safe Girl to Love. Topside Press: New York, 2014. p. 10-34.

TRANSGENDER no longer recognised as ‘disorder’ by WHO. BBC News, [s. l.], 29 maio 2019. Disponível em: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-48448804. Acesso em: 15 ago. 2023.

WALL, Anthony. Os personagens da teoria de Bakhtin. Tradução: Jorge Witt Mendonça Junior. Odisseia, Natal, v. 4, n. 2, p. 1-20, jul./dez. 2019. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufrn.br/odisseia/article/view/18940/12166. Acesso em: 21 mar. 2023.

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Published

2025-10-07

How to Cite

MEDEIROS, V. R. R. de; MELO JUNIOR, O. M. B. de. The construction of the trans character in “Other Women” by Casey Plett: a dialogic analysis. Educational Practices, Memories and Oralities, [S. l.], v. 7, p. e15356, 2025. DOI: 10.47149/pemo.v7.e15356. Disponível em: https://revistas.uece.br/index.php/revpemo/article/view/15356. Acesso em: 5 dec. 2025.

Issue

Vol. 7 (2025): Práticas Educativas, Memórias e Oralidades

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Articles

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Copyright (c) 2025 Válber Rodrigo Ribeiro de Medeiros, Orison Marden Bandeira de Melo Junior (Autor)

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