  Bettcher characterizes the nature of trans oppression largely in terms of a form of transphobia she in earlier work calls the Basic Denial of Authenticity (BDA) (2006b, 181) and in later work, reality enforcement (2013, 58-9; 2014, 392). In this type of transphobia, the identity invalidation of trans men and trans women is situated in discourses about appearance, reality, exposure, discovery, and deception. For example, a trans woman may be viewed as “really a man disguised as a woman.” Importantly, for Bettcher, the invalidation is connected to forms of genital verification. Explicit genital verification involves literally exposing or touching the trans person inappropriately to determined “what they are really.” Implicit genital verification involves euphemistic questions and claims (“Have you had the surgery?” “Are you male or female?”). Reality enforcement takes two forms given by the possibilities of the trans person being visibly trans or passing as non-trans. In the latter case, trans individuals may be viewed as deceptive (when “exposed”), while in the former case they may be viewed as playing at harmless make-believe. Either way, she argues, trans self-identities are invalidated (2007, 50-51).