The High Price of Gender Noncompliance: Exploring the Economic Marginality of Trans Women in South Africa

Abstract

This study brings trans women to the forefront of global discourse on gender‐based economic inequalities. Such discussions, often lacking intersectionality and narrowly focused on cis women, have frequently overlooked the distinct economic obstacles trans women face in cisheteropatriarchal societies. Grounded in critical trans politics and intersectionality, this research explores the lives of five trans women in South Africa, examining the contextual norms, practices, and policies that shape their experiences of economic inclusion and exclusion. Findings reveal that economic marginality for trans women is upheld by social institutions prioritizing cisgender norms, reinforcing biology‐based gender binaries that render those existing outside these frameworks vulnerable, disposable, and disenfranchised. This structural economic bias is reflected in four key areas: (a) patriarchal family systems enforce conformity to cisgender expectations through abuse, financial neglect, and rejection, displacing trans women into precarious circumstances, including homelessness and survival sex work; (b) cisnormative workplace conventions demand legal gender alignment as a precondition for organizational access and employability, shutting out trans identities lacking state recognition of their gender; (c) institutionally entrenched anti‐trans stigma creates heightened scrutiny and discrimination during hiring processes; and (d) a gender‐segregated labor system undermines trans women's ability to participate in both "male" and "female" jobs due to nonadherence to traditional, biologically defined gender roles. These cisgender‐privileging norms intersect with racism and colonial‐apartheid legacies, compounding economic difficulties for trans women. By mapping the economic conditions of historically invisibilized trans women, this study deepens the scope of economic transformation theories. It calls for a trans‐inclusive, intersectional model of economic justice, advocating for institutional cultures that embrace diverse gender expressions beyond static gender classifications.