Read This
I have been mulling over the issues of transphobia, cis-privilege, and radical feminism for awhile. I wanted to write a rebuttal to the idea that “Transwoman is the patriarchy”, but I can’t really get past the stabbing pain behind my eyes. Yes, I’m sure that people who are subjected to high levels of violence, rape, and abuse are just transitioning genders to infiltrate women-only spaces, and to reinforce gender binary. Pfft.
I encourage you to read some posts on this issue; basically, I think it boils down to this:
“Transgenderism” is not an ideology. There are, only, transgendered people, and what is being targeted as an abstract ideology is in fact trans peoples’ rights to be transgendered . . .
That some feminists have chosen to periodically constitute us as a threat to feminism is beyond appalling.
ETA: Femmessay was somehow able to get past the stabbing pain and write a post.
August 1st, 2008 at 7:12 pm
I look at it this way: Some feminists declare their commitment to attacking male sexism and patriarchy, but they act it out by attacking trans people and women in sex work - that is, targets that they probably consider “safe” or “harmless” due to being marginalized.
But this sucks up so much of the conversation about trans people that real, live issues that trans people have to deal with get swept under the carpet under repeated iterations of “justify your right to exist, to be who you are.”
August 4th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I think that the ‘easy target’ idea plays into it; I have also been struck by the fact that the anti-trans radfems are usually talking about theories, whereas they should be thinking about people.
It also seems to come from folks who have little or no actual experience with trans people - they seem to think that transwomen are all mainly interested in shopping and clothes. First of all, even if that were true, so what? Lots of cis-women are interested in those things, but they still have a right to exist, they are not the enemy. Second, that does not square with most of the trans people I have actually met - a lot of them are very committed to fucking up ideas of gender, and thought about gender issues in a much deeper way than most folks.
But, it’s easy to bash away, so away they go. And like you said, the focus becomes justifying being transgendered, and not on the real issues that trans folk face.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Lisa, you are exactly right. You’ve summed up the whole thing. It is a shameful part of the human condition that we tend to react to oppression by paying it forward to whoever is safest to kick. It is unethical and strategically stupid.
I don’t like having this conversation, because I know it is wrong from the first principle. It’s like arguing with a creationist. I’m hoping that if we go ahead and have this whole damned thing out in a space that isn’t invading trans spaces — then we (feminists) can get past it. I think this whole transgendered/feminist fissure is a huge mistake that we are going to — and ought to — regret as a movement. I regret it right now, because I know that this bodes very ill for us all.