The Spectral Woman

Transfemininity and the Abolition of Gender

Ciara Cremin

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Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Pluto Press
14 December 2025

Feminism & feminist theory; Gender studies, gender groups; Psychological theory & schools of thought

'A radical feminisation of the world' - McKenzie Wark, author of Reverse Cowgirl

What if the feminine holds the power to undo domination itself? In The Spectral Woman, Ciara Cremin reveals the feminine as the force which can abolish the rigid categories of sex and gender that sustain class exploitation, androcentrism and repression. With bold, incisive arguments, she explores the transformative potential of feminine jouissance, offering a radical path towards emancipation.

Rejecting the myths of diversity, difference and individualism, she confronts the illusions of liberal humanism, arguing for a utopian femininity that challenges the psychic impairments perpetuated by capitalist, colonial and patriarchal systems.

In a world haunted by the spectre of the transfeminine figure, Cremin sheds light on the profound potential to decolonise the unconscious and reimagine a future beyond oppression. The Spectral Woman is a bold manifesto for those willing to interrogate the structures that bind us, and envision their abolition.

By: Ciara Cremin
Imprint: Pluto Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 21mm
ISBN: 9780745351452
ISBN 10: 074535145X
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 14 December 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

1. Handbag and Sickle 2. Mystery Box 3. How to be a Woman, Negatively 4. Force Femininity 5. Femininity and Phantasmagoria 6. Towards a Feminine Communism

Ciara Cremin lectures in Sociology at the University of Auckland. She is a critical and cultural theorist whose work diagnoses the socio-economic, cultural, and subjective condition of late capitalism, and the author of several books, including Man-Made Woman and The Future is Feminine.

Reviews for The Spectral Woman: Transfemininity and the Abolition of Gender

'Pithy, provocative, and probing, this book charts an emancipatory path via the creative and destabilizing negativity of the trans-femme specter. An engaging and lively read, with wide reaching implications' -- Jennifer Friedlander, author of <i>Real Deceptions: The Contemporary Reinvention of Realism</i> 'Cremin brilliantly demonstrates the capitalist nature of gender identity. Her spectral woman haunts every dimension of Western self-satisfied consumerism, aggressively witty and ferociously lucid. A powerfully political contribution to trans studies, and a much-needed trans contribution to political theory' -- Mat Fournier, author of <i>Dysphoric Modernism: Undoing Gender in French Literature</i>