Why trans rights are our business but trans identities are not
There is a narrative currently being played out in some parts of the mainstream media painting trans people as bullies and aggressors – a narrative which reinforces transphobia and that must be challenged so that feminism can move forward.
The mainstream media’s response to an open letter, published in the Observer on 15 February, focused mainly on the hurt experienced by signatories who received an angry reaction online and not the stories of trans people (who are rarer than hen's teeth in our national media and academia than many of the high profile supporters of the letter) and crucially far more often the targets of abuse and silencing.
Signed by many prominent and respected feminists and gay rights activists, it spoke of “a worrying pattern of intimidation and silencing of individuals whose views are deemed transphobic or whorephobic and cited incidents, involving Germaine Greer, Julie Bindel and Kate Smurthwaite, some of which have since been discredited.
Following an emotional and tense week, a response letter – signed by many who vociferously objected to the arguments in the original – was published this weekend, stating that “being 'no platformed' by student groups does not equate to being persecuted” and we’re inclined to agree.
The first letter claimed that free speech was under attack from the “demands” of trans activists – those who aren't willing to have cis-gendered people tell them what gender they are. But given that this is what most trans people have to endure from non-trans people pretty much every day, this seems like a reasonable demand, particularly so from young trans people at college or university who are at a transitional life-stage in more ways than cis students.
We’re glad the response letter was published, though it says something that it has not had nearly the same level of attention the original did. No wonder, when trans people have long been excluded from mainstream media – an experience shared by lesbians until relatively recently – the result of a prejudice that sees the lived experience of trans people as illegitimate and contingent.
One of the many problems with the first letter was that it made an assumption that the current situation between “TERFs” and “trans extremists” is a disagreement between two equal parties – a disagreement that can we can shrug off as one might if one group preferred Coke and other Pepsi. But this isn’t a minor quarrel and it’s not a fair fight.
When that “disagreement” is whether or not one group believes it's ok that another group – already marginalised – should be subjected to repeated accusations that they are not who they say they are, and when the other group are not allowed to defend themselves without being accused of bullying and harassment, that conversation is not a conversation. That is silencing. That is oppression. That way madness lies.
“Transphobia and anti-trans statements should not just be treated as just another viewpoint,” says Sara Ahmed on her blog, feministkilljoys.com. “There cannot be a dialogue when some at the table are in effect or intent arguing for the elimination of others at the table.” Trans detractors might argue that they have no desire to eliminate trans people, but this is certainly what has been enacted within some feminist spaces over the decades, and the implicit message from those who insist on "problematising" trans identity is that trans lives are not valid in and of themselves.
A result of this transphobia is that trans people are eight times more likely to commit suicide than the general population.
A similar tactic was used by heterosexual feminists against lesbians – yet another marginalised group – when we were considered a "lavender menace" making demands that mainstream hetero feminists believed were not worthy of striving for together against a patriarchal system that denied us all equality and opportunity.
Let's consider, then, a parallel situation for a lesbian visiting her homophobic family. At home, mum and dad and sister and brother all tell her it's not a good idea to be a lesbian, she can't possibly be a lesbian because she doesn't look like one, and besides – it's not normal. For the entire visit they release a fusillade of comments about her not having a boyfriend, about not really being a proper woman because she doesn't fancy men, and to top it off, they tell her they’re not homophobic and are offended at the accusation. This narrative drives her nuts and makes her feel utterly invalidated and she yearns for a place where she is accepted on her terms.
Let’s also look at the oppression faced by cis women and then let’s see how it compares to that faced by trans women. Let’s look at a place where women are disadvantaged – by their sexual partners for example. A survey by Mumsnet in 2012 found that out of 1609 women, 10% had been raped. We understand this as a consequence of living in a culture where women are a subordinate sex class. In contrast, we know that 50% of transgender women have been sexually assaulted by their partners. We cite this example to illustrate the consequence of living in a culture that subordinates trans women further still than cis women. Contemporary feminism requires an intersectional approach that considers relative social power discrepancies.
In the aftermath of the first letter, Peter Tatchell wrote about being attacked by a Twitter mob who vowed to kill him. Except the mob in question was one person and the vast majority of this "mob" contacted him to try and start a dialogue and in another piece in the Spectator, Brendan O'Neill augmented the lone Twitter "activist" Neet into an "army of vicious narcissistic cowards".
Of course, being on the receiving end of abusive comments on Twitter is deeply unpleasant and in extreme cases can pose a serious threat to a person’s mental wellbeing. We sympathise with Tatchell, Mary Beard, and others who’ve been left emotionally bruised in the fallout since the original letter and its response were published, but to try and equate this with the decades-long systematic silencing, oppression, mental torture, rape and murder of trans people – trans women, in particular – implies that trans people have a lot more power than they actually do and distracts from actually doing something to tackle the systems that punish both cis and trans women.
The collective emotional hurt is deeply depressing and reminds us that there is much learning and healing required between the various people who call themselves feminists. To this end we are heartened to hear that dialogue has begun in earnest between some of the co-signatories as a result of the ensuing debate on social networks, and an acknowledgment made that freedom of speech works both ways. If some want a platform to spout views considered transphobic, they must accept the freedom of people on Twitter to disagree with them. It is disingenuous to use it as a political tool, as has been the case with this incident.
Some, like trans actress and comedian Bethany Black, have noted that right for trans people – rights we might add that we cis lesbians take for granted – are 30 or 40 years behind the gay liberation movement. Now, finally, over a decade after the Gender Recognition Act, this struggle is gathering momentum, and this is a crucial time. Our actions now will define the paths of feminism and of the LGBT community for many years to come.
We must support the trans liberation movement. We must support, as Ahmed said at the Lesbian Lives conference, side with the "Boys who will not be boys," and the "girls who will not be girls". Thirty and forty years ago to be a lesbian was to be questioned. Today things are much better for us (for the cis lesbians, that is) but there are still places where to be a lesbian is impossible. So it is for transmen and women, many of whom have been or are lesbian or bi-identified. We know something of these struggles. And just as others have supported us, so we must support those among us who are trans or risk ending up on the wrong side of history. The sooner we stop focussing on what divides us and instead focus on our commonalities, the stronger we will be to confront the other injustices imposed on us by our government.
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