Invisible futures: trans men and representations of ageing

Trans studies has often emphasised the importance of trans people reclaiming their own narrative.(1) Lifecourse approaches to ageing studies similarly seek to recognise the ongoing and cumulative effects of interactions between sociocultural context, lifestage, interactions with others and agency.(2) It has elsewhere been suggested that integrating these perspectives offers opportunities to conceptualise trans ageing.(3) Concepts of narrative and of lifecourse are rooted in time, and the movement between past, present and future. However, there is currently little popular or academic visibility of mature trans men beyond transition. As a consequence, both trans men and society as a whole may have relatively little opportunity to ‘see’ trans men’s experiences as a complete lifecourse. This paper explores the implications of this absence of visibility for community and sense of identity, highlights potential areas of intersections between masculinity, trans status and ageing and points to the importance of nuanced recognition of diverse trans lifecourses. (1) Sandy Stone, 'The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttranssexual Manifesto', in Body Guards: The Cultural Politics of Gender Ambiguity, ed. by Julia Epstein and Kristina Straub (New York: Routledge, 1991). (2) Glen H Elder, 'Time, Human Agency, and Social Change: Perspectives on the Life Course', Social Psychology Quarterly, (1994). (3) Michael Toze, 'Developing a Critical Trans Gerontology', The British Journal of Sociology, 70.4 (2019) 1490-1509.