“Never Let Anyone Say That a Good Fight for the Fight for Good Wasn’t a Good Fight Indeed”: The Enactment of Agency Through Military Metaphor by One Australian Incarcerated Trans Woman

Around the world, incarcerated trans women experience substantial victimisation and mistreatment equating to increased risk of suffering and self-harm compared to the general incarcerated population. This case study shares the story of Natasha Keating, a trans woman incarcerated in two male settings in Australia between 2000 and 2007. We examine 121 letters of complaint and self-advocacy authored by Natasha and provide an analysis of the discursive strategies Natasha employed to construct an affirming self-identity, and effect social change within a system designed to curtail self-determination. Through an impassioned letter-writing approach leveraging military metaphors, evidence of Natasha’s cognitive transformation is found. The letters showcase the significant implications Natasha’s activism, self-agentism, and self-determination had in naming and seeking to dismantle the systems of oppression that incarcerated trans women experience.