The materials in the enlarged version of the FBI file on Foucault cover the period from September 1972 to October 1977. Yet he visited the United States before and after that period. We are therefore left with the glaring question of how the FBI and other agencies concerned with his entry into the country treated him during the years of his other visits.

The frustration with Malm’s lack of clarity and the praise for his ability to bring together Marxism and environmentalism are of a piece: they both attest to the enormous expectations generated by his work, and his willingness to place himself in a position of intellectual leadership.

Without understanding the particular plight of trans women, only a blunted and partial view of gender is possible. And without a systemic view of gender, political solutions to that plight will be equally limited.