Being Blue: Posthuman Embodiment and Dysphoria Beyond Gender

Abstract

This study examines the ethical, social, and conceptual boundaries of bodily autonomy through the case of Sadie Liath, a transgender woman who seeks full-body blue pigmentation as a form of chromatic affirmation. Drawing on an integrated theoretical framework of transgender studies and critical posthumanism, the research explores whether the logic underpinning gender-affirming care can extend to non-normative embodiments that challenge species-typical appearance. Using qualitative case study methods, the analysis draws on Sadie’s public testimonies and social media discourse to investigate the phenomenon of “chromatic dysphoria” and its implications for identity, autonomy, and posthuman becoming. Findings reveal that Sadie’s pursuit represents a form of posthuman embodiment that destabilizes fixed notions of the human, while public reactions—marked by astonishment and implicit policing—reflect deeper cultural anxieties about bodily normativity. The study concludes that bodily autonomy remains a selectively applied right, constrained by societal and visual norms, and calls for more inclusive ethical frameworks that recognize diverse forms of embodied self-determination beyond gender and transgender, bodily autonomy, posthuman, gender dysphoria, chromatic dysphoria.