Timely and astute, Invisible Lives is the first scholarly study of transgendered people and their everyday lives. Viviane K. Namaste analyzes two theoretical perspectives on transgendered people--queer theory and the social sciences--to illustrate each discipline's lack of efficacy in addressing pressing issues like employment, health care, and the law. She then examines some of the representations of transgendered people in cultural and social settings. By examining academic and cultural sites, Namaste effectively shows the ways transgendered people are often effaced by the very institutions and theories that claim to recognize and celebrate them. Highly recommended.