Silke Steidinger

Ground-breaking design (like gender confirmation surgery and cross-sex hormone treatment for gender dysphoria) can bring with it pressure and seduction to act (fast) rather than to think (requiring time). Inactivity is often no longer seen as a 'neutral option' which has led to children being given puberty blockers. In the wrong hands institutions, often still with fragile conceptual and theoretical frameworks and little research but in a position of power, can leave room for dystopian enactments. A collection of silicone genitals for children, as well as the speculative futuristic 'Reflesh' which grows genitals on to a child are intended to raise issues connected with this. A collection of interviews with key figures explores the treatment of gender dysphoria with an emphasis on respecting complexity, and on keeping dialogues open and not silenced by allegations of transphobia on the one hand, or by the shaming of difference on the other.