Psychology and cis-realism

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/tekn.105103
Keywords: capitalist realism, transphobia, feminist epistemology, cisgender, critical psychology

Abstract

This article explores the shifting landscape of psychology as a discipline, focusing on how the transphobic backlash reshapes discourses of science, identity, and realism. It critiques the resurgence of ‘cis-realism’—a pseudo-scientific stance reinforcing normative gender binaries—and links this to the historical complicity of psychology with capitalist and reactionary ideologies. The article calls for resistance to the appropriation of psychology in anti-trans discourses and reflects on emerging progressive spaces within the discipline that challenge traditional epistemologies.

Author Biography

Ian Parker, University of Manchester

I am Honorary Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, and I have other visiting positions in Education, Psychology and Psychoanalysis, these in the UK and in Belgium, Brazil, Spain and South Africa. I also work as a psychoanalyst in Manchester. I am Emeritus Professor of Management at the University of Leicester. My research and writing has been in the field of psychoanalysis, psychology and social theory, with a particular focus on discourse, critical psychology, mental health and political practice.

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Published
2026-03-26
How to Cite
Parker, I. (2026). Psychology and cis-realism. Teknokultura. Revista de Cultura Digital Y Movimientos Sociales, 23(2), 199-203. https://doi.org/10.5209/tekn.105103
Issue
Vol. 23 No. 2 (2026): El fin de la identidad
Section
Miscellany

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