Anti-Transgender Legislation as Scapegoating

This paper examines the wave of anti-transgender legislation in Western countries as a contemporary form of scapegoating. Drawing on René Girard’s theory of mimetic violence and Talia Mae Bettcher’s analysis of transphobic violence and essentialization, it argues that trans people are culturally constructed as deceptive or dangerous, and that such narratives become institutionalized through law. By examining legislation concerning education, sports, identification, and healthcare, the paper shows how moral panic and political rhetoric redirect social anxieties onto a vulnerable group, fostering unity among those who view themselves as “protected.” A feminist extension of Girard’s model reveals scapegoating as both gendered and structural: it reinforces patriarchal and cisnormative norms while obscuring the deeper social and political causes of instability.