Feminist views on transgender topics: Difference between revisions

Feminist views on transgender topics vary wildly. Early feminist views on trans people were often hostile, but more modern feminists view the struggle for trans rights as an important part of feminism. The National Organization for Women (the largest feminist group in the United States) and the Feminist Majority Foundation both support trans rights.

Some feminists, such as Janice Raymond and Sheila Jeffreys, believe that transgender and transsexual people uphold and reinforce sexist gender roles and the gender binary. Feminists who exclude trans women from women's spaces or do not consider trans women to be women have been referred to as "TERFs" (short for "trans-exclusionary radical feminists"), though they generally reject the term. These feminists are a minority within feminism and are often considered transphobic. While they lack influence in American feminism, they are relatively powerful in Britain. Additionally, some transgender and transsexual people, such as Emi Koyama, Julia Serano, and Jacob Anderson-Minshall, have formed a movement within feminism called transfeminism, which views the rights of trans people and trans women in particular as an integral part of the feminist struggle for all women's rights.

On differences in socialization and experience

Some feminists argue that trans women cannot fully be women because they were assigned male at birth and experienced some degree of male privilege. Radical feminists generally see gender as a social class system in which women are oppressed due to their biology, rather than a supposed innate femininity. As a result, some radical feminists are critical of the notion that "trans women are women".

In 2017, discussing whether trans women are women, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said that "trans women are trans women." She acknowledged transgender women face discrimination on the basis of being transgender and said she sees this as a serious issue, but also said that "we should not conflate the gender experiences of trans women with that of women born female."

Patricia Elliot argues that this perspective assumes that women's experiences are homogeneous, and discounts the possibility that trans and non-trans women may share the experience of being disparaged for femininity. Similarly, Transfeminist Manifesto author Emi Koyama counters that, while trans women may have experienced a degree of male privilege prior to transitioning, trans women's experiences are also marked by disadvantages resulting from being trans.

On sex reassignment surgery

Andrea Dworkin, in her 1974 book Woman Hating, stated that "every transsexual has the right to survival on his/her own terms. That means every transsexual is entitled to a sex-change operation, and it should be provided by the community as one of its functions."

In 1977, Gloria Steinem wrote that while she supported the right of individuals to identify as they choose, in many cases, transgender people "surgically mutilate their own bodies" in order to conform to a gender role that is inexorably tied to physical body parts. She concluded that "feminists are right to feel uncomfortable about the need for and uses of transsexualism." The article concluded with what became one of Steinem's most famous quotes: "If the shoe doesn't fit, must we change the foot?" Although meant in the context of transgender issues, the quote is frequently mistaken as a general statement about feminism. The same year, she also expressed disapproval that the heavily publicized transition of tennis player Renée Richards (a trans woman) had been characterized as "a frightening instance of what feminism could lead to" or as "living proof that feminism isn't necessary", and wrote, "At a minimum, it was a diversion from the widespread problems of sexual inequality." Steinem's statements led to her being characterized as transphobic for some years. In a 2013 interview with The Advocate, she repudiated the interpretation of her text as an altogether condemnation of sex reassignment surgery, stating that her position was informed by accounts of gay men choosing to transition as a way of coping with societal homophobia. She added that she sees transgender people as living "authentic lives" that should be "celebrated".

In 1979, Janice Raymond wrote a book on trans women called The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-Male, which looked at the role of transsexuality—particularly psychological and surgical approaches to it—in reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes, the ways in which the "medical-psychiatric complex" is medicalizing gender identity, and the social and political context that has helped spawn transsexual treatment and surgery as normal and therapeutic medicine. Raymond maintains that transsexualism is based on the "patriarchal myths" of "male mothering", and "making of woman according to man's image". She argued that this is done in order "to colonize feminist identification, culture, politics and sexuality". Several writers characterized these views as extremely transphobic and constituting hate speech.

In her 1987 book Gyn/Ecology, Mary Daly expressed negative views of sex change operations, writing that sex reassignment surgery cannot reproduce female chromosomes or a female life history, and that it can therefore "not produce women". Similarly, in a 2017 televised interview on BBC Newsnight, Germaine Greer said that feminizing SRS does not make trans women women.

History

Exclusion of trans women from women's spaces and organizations

In the early 1990s, the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival (MichFest) ejected a transgender woman, Nancy Burkholder. From that point on, the festival maintained it was intended for "womyn-born womyn". The group Camp Trans formed to protest this policy and to advocate for greater acceptance of trans women within the feminist community. A number of prominent trans activists and feminists were involved in Camp Trans, including Riki Wilchins, Jessica Xavier, and Leslie Feinberg. MichFest considered allowing post-operative trans women to attend; however, this was criticized as classist, as many trans women cannot afford sex reassignment surgery. Lisa Vogel, MichFest's organizer, said protesters from Camp Trans engaged in vandalism. The festival ended in 2015.

In 1995, Kimberly Nixon volunteered for training as a rape crisis counselor at Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter. When the shelter determined Nixon was trans, it expelled her, with staff saying it made it impossible for her to understand the experiences of their clients. Nixon disagreed, disclosing her own history of partner abuse and sued on the grounds of discrimination. Nixon's attorneys argued there was no basis for the dismissal, citing Diana Courvant's experiences as the first publicly trans woman to work in a women-only domestic violence shelter. In 2007 the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear Nixon's appeal, ending the case.

A 2004 piece by Julie Bindel titled "Gender Benders, beware" was printed in The Guardian concerning her anger about the Nixon dispute; the article also expressed her views about transsexuals and transsexualism. Many considered the language used to be offensive and demeaning. The Guardian received more than two hundred letters of complaint from transgender people, doctors, therapists, academics and others. Transgender activist group Press for Change cite this article as an example of 'discriminatory writing' about transsexual people in the press. Complaints focused on the title, "Gender benders, beware", the cartoon accompanying the piece, and the disparaging tone, such as "Think about a world inhabited just by transsexuals. It would look like the set of Grease" and "I don't have a problem with men disposing of their genitals, but it does not make them women, in the same way that shoving a bit of vacuum hose down your 501s [jeans] does not make you a man."

In 1996, Germaine Greer (appointed a special lecturer and fellow at Newnham College, Cambridge) unsuccessfully opposed the election to a fellowship of her transgender colleague Rachael Padman. Greer argued that Padman had been assigned male at birth, and therefore should not be admitted to Newnham, a women's college. Greer resigned in 1997 after her position attracted negative publicity.

Exclusion of trans women from LGBT spaces

In 1978, a trans woman asked to join the Lesbian Organization of Toronto (LOOT); LOOT voted to exclude trans lesbians, with members saying informally that in their view a "sex-change he-creature [had] dared to identify himself as a woman and a lesbian." LOOT publicly wrote: "A woman's voice was almost never heard as a woman's voice—it was always filtered through men's voices. So here a guy comes along saying, "I'm going to be a girl now and speak for girls." And we thought, 'No you're not.' A person cannot just join the oppressed by fiat."

In 1979, Sandy Stone, a trans woman who worked as a sound engineer for Olivia Records, was criticized in Janice Raymond's book The Transsexual Empire, which devoted a chapter to criticism of "the transsexually constructed lesbian-feminist". The Olivia Records collective publicly defended Stone, but after continued pressure, Stone resigned.

Incidents between trans activists and trans-exclusionary feminists

In 2017, 60-year-old woman was left bruised after a scuffle broke out at Speakers' Corner between pro-trans activists and a group of trans-exclusionary feminists who were protesting potential changes to the Gender Recognition Act. One pro-trans protester was later convicted of assault in relation to the incident.

There has been some conflict with regard to public speaking. In 2012, Sheila Jeffreys wrote in The Guardian that she and others who "criticised transgenderism, from any academic discipline" had been subjected to internet campaigns to ban their speaking because of alleged "transhate, transphobia, hate speech". She wrote that the "degree of vituperation and the energy expended by the activists may suggest that they fear the practice of transgenderism could justifiably be subjected to criticism, and might not stand up to rigorous research and debate, if critics were allowed to speak out." When Linda Bellos was invited to speak at Cambridge University in 2017, she told the organizers that she would be "publicly questioning some of the trans politics ... which seems to assert the power of those who were previously designated male to tell lesbians, and especially lesbian feminists, what to say and think." She was subsequently disinvited from speaking.

In 2018, the Pride in London march was disrupted by a small group of lesbians calling themselves Get the L Out. The group carried banners with the phrases "Lesbian = Female Homosexual", "Lesbian Not Queer", and "Transactivism Erases Lesbians", while distributing leaflets stating that LGBTQ politics had failed lesbians and was contributing to lesbian erasure and compulsory heterosexuality. A member of the group described their motivation as follows: "We protested the LGBT movement as a whole and Pride specifically because many lesbians feel erased and betrayed by a movement which claimed to represent us. The L in 'LGBT' is meaningless when the LGBT organisations claim that a man can identify as 'lesbian.'" The group was condemned as transphobic or "anti-trans" by several news outlets, and the organizers of Pride in London published a public apology, condemning the group for "a level of bigotry, ignorance and hate that is unacceptable." There had been a similar protest at Auckland Pride Festival a few months earlier, with a banner saying "Stop giving kids sex hormones—protect lesbian youth".

Trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERF)

Main article: TERF

The term "TERF" is an acronym for "trans-exclusionary radical feminist". It is used to describe feminists who oppose the inclusion of trans women in women's spaces and organizations, or who dispute that trans women are women. These feminists are a minority within feminism and are often considered transphobic, but they have a "high level of social, cultural, and economic capital", particularly in the United Kingdom, and have cooperated with conservative groups and politicians to deny human rights and protections of transgender people.

Feminist Viv Smythe, who is credited with coining the term, has stated its intention as a "technically neutral description ... to distinguish TERFs from other RadFems ... who were trans*-positive/neutral." Those who do not support trans inclusion refer to themselves as "gender critical", and they object to the word "TERF", calling it inaccurate and a slur.

Researcher Heron Greenesmith at Political Research Associates has stated that the latest iteration of cooperation between conservatives and anti-transgender feminists is, in part, a reaction to trans community's "incredible gains" in civil rights and visibility. Greenesmith further stated that anti-trans feminists and conservatives capitalize on a "scarcity mindset rhetoric" where civil rights are portrayed as a limited commodity and must be prioritized to cisgender women over other groups. Greenesmith compared this rhetoric to the right-wing tactic of prioritizing the rights of citizens over noncitizens and white people over people of color.

The Southern Poverty Law Center issued a report in 2017 documenting American Christian right groups' attempts to "separate the T from LGB", noting a emerging trend in depicting transgender rights as being anti-feminist and hostile to minorities and lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals. The report further stated that this trend is part of a larger strategy to weaken trans rights advocates by separating them from their allies, feminists, and other LGBT rights advocates. The report quoted Meg Kilganon, leader of an anti-transgender conservative group, as saying "Trans and gender identity are a tough sell, so focus on gender identity to divide and conquer"

Trans-inclusive feminism

Trans-inclusive feminists, such as Akwugo Emejulu and Alison Phipps, support trans people's right to self-identification. In a 2015 interview, Catharine Mackinnon cited and agreed with De Beauvoir's quotation about "becom[ing] a woman", and said that "[a]nybody who identifies as a woman, wants to be a woman, is going around being a woman, as far as I'm concerned, is a woman."

In her 1974 book Woman Hating: A Radical Look at Sexuality, radical feminist writer and activist Andrea Dworkin called for the support of transsexuals, whom she viewed as "in a state of primary emergency" due to "the culture of male–female discreteness". She writes: "every transsexual has the right to survival on his/her own terms. That means every transsexual is entitled to a sex-change operation, and it should be provided by the community as one of its functions." She also stated that the phenomenon of transsexuality might disappear within communities built on androgynous identity, as there would no longer be any gender roles to conform to.

Queer feminist philosopher Judith Butler has argued for feminist solidarity with trans and gender-nonconforming people, and has been critical of philosophers, such as Sheila Jeffreys, who she argues engage in oppressive attempts to dispute trans people's sense of identity. In a 2014 interview, Butler argued for civil rights for trans people: "[N]othing is more important for transgender people than to have access to excellent health care in trans-affirmative environments, to have the legal and institutional freedom to pursue their own lives as they wish, and to have their freedom and desire affirmed by the rest of the world." Moreover, she responded to some of Sheila Jeffreys and Janice Raymond's criticisms of trans people, calling their criticisms "prescriptivism" and "tyranny". According to Butler, trans people are not created by medical discourse but rather develop new discourses through self-determination.

Margaret Atwood has stated that when she hears the label feminist, "it is always—'What do you mean by the word?' For instance, some feminists have historically been against lipstick and letting transgender women into women's washrooms. Those are not positions I have agreed with." She said in another interview, "I'm not the kind [of feminist] that thinks that trans women are not women."

In Living a Feminist Life (2017), Sara Ahmed imagines lesbian feminism as a fundamental and necessary alliance with trans feminism. Ahmed considered that an anti-trans stance is an anti-feminist stance, and against the feminist project of creating worlds to support those for whom gender fatalism (i.e. boys will be boys, girls will be girls) is deleterious.

In March 2019, more than 70 women including Emma Thompson and members of the UK parliament cosigned an open letter stating that "trans people have played an integral role in every civil rights movement to date; from LGBT equality to women's causes", saying "as a woman and a proud feminist, I know that advancing trans rights does not threaten my womanhood or my feminism", and that "defining womanhood by conforming to strict biological and physical attributes has been fought against by strong women long before my time. To now see some advocate that trans women are denied their rights and their dignity on these very grounds, I believe would be a devastating step back for women and for feminism."

Sally Hines, University of Leeds professor of sociology and gender identities, wrote in The Economist that feminism and trans rights have been falsely portrayed as being in opposition by a minority of anti-transgender feminists, who often "reinforce the extremely offensive trope of the trans woman as a man in drag who is a danger to women". Sally criticized these feminists for fueling "rhetoric of paranoia and hyperbole" against trans people, stating that while spreading anti-trans narrative, anti-trans feminists abandon principles of feminism, such as bodily autonomy and self-determination of gender, and they employ "reductive models of biology and restrictive understandings of the distinction between sex and gender" in defense of such narrative. Sally concluded with a call for explicit recognization of anti-transgender feminism as being in violation of equality and dignity, and that it must be "held up as a doctrine that runs counter to the ability to fulfill a liveable life or, often, a life at all."

Transfeminism

Main article: Transfeminism

Transfeminism, also written trans feminism, is a category of feminism that synthesizes feminist and transgender discourse. Transfeminists argue that there are multiple forms of oppression and sexism, and that trans women and cisgender women have shared interests in combating sexism. Influential transfeminists include Julia Serano, Diana Courvant, and Emi Koyama.

See also

• Feminine essence concept of transsexuality
• Feminist movements and ideologies
• Feminist sex wars
• Feminist views on BDSM
• Feminist views on pornography
• Feminist views on prostitution
• Feminist views on sexuality
• Gender essentialism
• Misogyny
• Social construction of gender
• Transmisogyny

Further reading

• Jeffreys, Sheila. Gender Hurts: A Feminist Analysis of the Politics of Transgenderism. London : Routledge, 2013. ISBN 0-415-53940-4
• Califia, Patrick. Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism, San Francisco, Calif. : Cleis Press, 1997. ISBN 1-573-44072-8

External links

• Feminist Perspectives on Trans Issues
• Help Hindrances and the Indifference of Feminism