Toward a Queer Transfeminist Translation Practice

This introduction proposes a framework for a transfeminist queer approach to translation grounded in affect theory and activist practice. Challenging the idea that the “affective turn” is new, the authors situate affect within longstanding feminist critiques of Western rationalism and argue that emotions and relationality have always been central to feminist knowledge production. By combining theoretical reflection with insights from translation practice, including collaborative translations of queer and feminist authors, this introduction examines how translation functions as an affective, social, and political activity. The methodology is primarily conceptual and reflective, informed by translation practice, analysis of transfeminist networks in Italy, and engagement with existing scholarship in feminist, queer, and translation studies. The introduction argues that affect operates as a generative force that shapes translators’ motivations, linguistic choices, collective formations, and the creation of queer archives. At the same time, it highlights the material conditions of translation, emphasizing precarious labor and the exploitation of activist commitment within neoliberal publishing markets. The authors conclude that transfeminist queer translation is an ethical and relational practice of care and resistance.