Trans* citizens Challenging Equality and Universality Claims of the Social Democratic Welfare State – The Case of Norway

This paper challenges the claim of universality in the praxis of a social democratic welfare state with regard to access to health services and considering legal gender status, where specific groups of citizens, in casu gender non-conforming individuals, experience lack of recognition as equal and full citizens of this welfare state. The paper discusses possible explanations for this marginalization to non- or partial citizenship status, using different approaches to the various dimensions of citizenship – political, social and cultural. The paper suggests combining certain aspects of sexual, intimate and embodied citizenship to incorporate gender non-conforming individuals in the state-citizen contract, without claiming adjustment to a heteronormative binary gendered model of citizenship.