The aim of this article is to explore the development of theories on transsexualism with a view to advancing a typology of theories of transsexualism.This typology exposes a general shift from concerns with ‘authenticity’ (the transsexual as a ‘real’ woman or man) to issues of ‘performativity’ (the transsexual as hyperbolic enactment of gender). I will argue it is through a displacement of psyc...