Shannon Fyfe Publishes Article in the Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice The article examines legislative bans of gender-affirming care and their impact on trans youth.

By Law Communications
July 25, 2025

Washington and Lee law professor Shannon Fyfe has published an article in Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice. The article, “State Legislatures and Trans* Genocide (?) in the United States,” examines how state legislatures in the United States have usurped medical decision-making related to healthcare for trans* youth, decisions traditionally left to the discretion of parents—in collaboration with their youth, at best—and medical professionals.

“Ultimately, I conclude that these legislative campaigns against gender affirming care for trans* youth are likely not genocidal in the legal sense, but rather part of larger campaigns to reify gender roles and challenge medical expertise in the United States. Both the specific harm to trans* youth and the method of removing discretion from licensed medical professionals with expertise are of a piece with other attempts to control bodies, especially by taking away the discretion of health care providers with respect to medical treatment. Yet, as I argue, it is still worth exploring the relationship between the specific harm and methods of banning gender-affirming care for trans* youth, and concepts like genocide, to highlight and condemn the suffering and to show the risks of other harms in service of the larger campaign,” writes Fyfe.

The article is available online at the W&L Scholarly Commons.

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