There has been a lot of talk on this blog lately about trans issues, and how they relate to feminism more generally. There has also been a lot of tension – should cis women get involved? What level of ignorance or knowledge should be expected? In light of this, as a trans woman I have some questions to pose, this time, specifically for the cis women here. I want to gain a better feel for what people think, and how you feel about things.
Should trans issues be an integral part of this space? Feminism more generally currently holds to the idea that promoting trans rights is an important part of the feminist movement. However, it has frequently been my experience that movements (such as feminism and GLB) frequently invite trans people in, only to then tell us to wait our turn while matters more personal to the majority of the movement get their own issues sorted out. In some ways, this is perfectly fair. My attitude towards this sort of reaction has always been “you don't have to help us, but if you're not gong to, then please, stay out of our way.”
Promising us safe space and then not providing it is getting in the way (we could be at other blogs instead). Building an expectation that certain issues can be freely discussed, and then being unwilling to discuss them, gets in the way. I appreciate that cis women are oppressed in many way, but I am not willing to sit back and ignore my own issues until these are resolved. At the same time, I don't want to be getting in the way of anyone else doing the same.
This is a feminist blog. As such, certain knowledge and views are expected (ie: a basic understanding of offensive vs respectful terms, rape, patriarchy, etc.) Obviously, this is not true of all topics. If I thought that some topic in say, thermodynamics was relevant – I would expect that most readers knew next to nothing about it.
So, should trans issues be part of the expected knowledge at this blog? Should a basic acceptance that trans women ARE women, and trans men ARE men be expected? Or do you feel that this is simply not the place for it? And, out of curiosity, do you feel that only trans women are a part of feminism, or are trans men as well? And, why?
Please, don't feel nervous about commenting anything – I want to know how people really feel.
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I'm glad people are continuing to discuss this.
To me it's a no-brainer that trans issues are feminist issues. But to me, feminism is a stance rather than an ideology, and that stance involves critiquing our culture, pointing out instances of norming and othering, working for social justice, working to be inclusive and a good listener and ally, etc. So I'm usually kind of taken aback by feminists whose words and actions don't seem to share these values.
The thing is, I think I'm going to work to temper my WTF?!? reaction, because I'm starting to see that these responses are often informed more by a lack of exposure to the issues and a bit of insensitivity than by truly anti-trans attitudes. And I think my wtf reaction does reflect privilege, in the sense that it's basically my job to study this stuff, think about it, read about it, teach it, etc. So I'm steeped in it, and the concepts and terminology seem totally straighforward and like common knowledge to me. But that isn't the situation that all participants in these discussions are coming from. It's still a big problem, but I think it indicates that we need to do more of the Feminist 101 type work, as tedious as that can be at times. And for those commenters who still insist on making it about them, or misinterpreting the issues ("I don't want teh menz in my pottyroom!!!"), I'm done wasting my energy, after a few initial responses. It just doesn't seem possible to make much headway in these kinds of discussions.
So to finally answer your questions, YES, trans issues are feminist issues, for both MTF and FTM trans people. And the fact that feminist spaces often turn out not to be safe spaces for trans folk is an issue that we all need to address. Being compassionate and inclusive are absolutely necessary to the integrity of feminism. Without it, we're no different from our historical oppressors.
Thank you for asking this question. This is what open dialog really means. Ever since the whole transgender-representation-in-feminism issue got reintroduced at Feministe, I've been thinking about this very thing, but I didn't know how or where I could articulate my feelings. Thank you for giving me the space to do so.
OK. First of all, I think that an agreement that trans women are women and that trans men are men is essential to modern feminism. (and also essential for being a good human being, but that's another issue) I believe that trans issues are feminist issues and that of course trans women should be included in feminist spaces/discourse, etc. Trans women have valuable experiences of femininity and ways of negotiating the patriarchy that cisgender women need to hear. Trans men have a place in feminism too because they also have unique experiences with gender binary and societal pressures regarding gender. Learning how people negotiate gender is essential to feminism, period. Trans people should be included in feminist discourse, period.
That said, I think that transgendered feminists need to keep in mind that many of their cisgendered feminist cohorts aren't as aware of their particular issues as they should be. Now, I understand that I'm now in dangerous territory--the whole issue of oppressed people being responsible for educating the privileged, of course. I really don't want to imply that transgendered feminists need to educate everybody.
Unfortunately, though, I do think that a little education might be necessary. I'm not talking a Trans Issues 101 or anything, but a gentle introduction might be helpful. There have been some posts lately that just sort of jump into trans issues without any kind of lead in or connection to feminism or anything, and, while I feel that trans experiences are valuable and should be shared, I feel like there should be some kind of connection made to the wider feminist discourse. For example, if I was going to post about fat acceptance, I would take a couple of sentences in the beginning of my article to connect my specific topic to feminism. I hope that makes sense.
I would agree with Rachael. Trans issues are not the only focus of this blog, but they can be a part of this blog. We also discuss racism, classism and ableism, because all of those -isms (and how I hate that suffix) form a sort of overarching privilege for the majority and inform their view of what it means to be normal or right. I see feminism as a movement that embraces egalitarianism, humanism and the fundamental notion of equality as it related to humankind. And it's no stretch then, to say that we can talk about trans issues just like we talk about racism and classism and all those other -isms. Not everyone has to participate in every discussion, and not everyone has to agree about anything.
I think the only thing that's necessary is respect, and a genuine desire to foster civil conversations.
Comments are being shut down on this post, as well as the other community posts that are addressing these issues of conversation around trans people, gender variance and feminism.
We're doing this because it's important to us to be able to moderate this conversation effectively.
We want to continue the conversation, so anyone who wants to continue commenting on this topic, please post on this round up on the home page.
Thanks to everyone for contributing to the dialogue.