to me, this comment posted by thebewilderness on march 18th at @ 9:57 PM (sorry, i don’t seem to have the ability - or have the expertise - to link to the specific comment) demonstrates the heart of the issue.
Transperson are so deeply committed to gender constructs that they are willing to alter their bodies to conform with gender constructs. Personhood, ungendered, is a goal of radical feminism.
first, many transpeople are not willing to alter their bodies. some are, some are not.
second, many transpeople i know are not committed to gender constructs. some are, some are not.
third, this assumption must have been made without actually asking any transpeople if they are, or are not, committed to gender constructs. because if one did actually ask even a small number of transpeople how they felt about this, one could simply not conclude that transpeople, as a group, are committed to gender constructs.
forth, i am a transperson. many people i know, who do not know i’m a transperson, have called me a radical feminist, because they perceive that i reject gender constructs. and i do this in my daily life, in my behaviors, in my words, and in my appearance. because i am forced to function in our society and pay my bills, i will admit that in some small areas, i do conform to some gender constructs. but then again, i know of several radical feminists who also would say the same thing. we all do what we must to survive in this world.
and finally, for further reading, i offer amananta’s post here, who is clearly a talented and articulate blogger, whose work i’ve admired for years.
I am starting to think these transphobes don’t care “what we must to do survive in this world”–they simply want to shame and vilify people, period.
Comment by Daisy — March 21, 2008 @ 4:40 pm
DO NOT APPROVE THIS COMMENT and give this person hits… its for YOUR edification.
Just got finished with this, and I am…. weary.
http://sizeofacow.wordpress.com/2008/03/21/and-finally-for-now-the-trans-activist-privilege-checklist/
Comment by Daisy — March 21, 2008 @ 4:50 pm
actually, i think it’s a good reference.
Comment by nexy — March 21, 2008 @ 5:40 pm
These arguments seem to crop every few weeks, go over pretty much the same ground as the last one. I find them really tiring. Also I think the logic is a bit lacking.
From my exposure to radical feminism on blogs, and in formal education (Philosophy minor, so have read a lot of rad fem stuff), I’m not terribly fond of them. Many of the arguments are self contradictory and are entrenched in essentialism, despite the claim to be against essentialism.
Comment by Niss — March 21, 2008 @ 6:06 pm
I found Amananta’s post refreshing.
As a crossdresser, I can’t and wouldn’t call myself a feminist, and well recognize the m2f transperson’s need and desire to be recognized as female. My general rule is to obey these rules, especially if they don’t apply to necessary life actions.
For instance, I’ve never given a damn about the Michigan festival, because life doesn’t require attending it, and I’ve never had the desire to camp in a field for the weekend to hear music I’m not likely to care for. The van club I belong to requires that you own a custom van to join it: does it discriminate against Taurus and Camaro owner? Yes, but that’s legal, just as I am discriminating when I choose Samuel Adams instead of Miller Lite.
To my way of thinking, transpeople, myself included, may work for the rights required to live - freedom from assault and murder, freedom from job discrimination, freedom to void one’s bladder or colon behind a closed stall door, freedom to rent or buy housing where they wish within their means, etc. However, people of like interests of a non-necessary basis may, in my opinion, create spaces where only they are welcome to pursue their interest. It’s simple, really - a Red Sox fans club doesn’t have to let Yankees fans in, a quilting group doesn’t have to let people who don’t quilt in, nor do transgender support groups let non-T people with no reason to belong there, in.
I suspect radical feminism and transgenderism isn’t going to smoothly coexist anytime soon, any more than transgenderism is going to coexist with radical christian fundamentalism, or Palestinians with Israel. They each desire that the other perish. Perhaps we need UN peacekeepers to keep them separated?
Comment by Polar Bear — March 21, 2008 @ 11:27 pm
The Bewilderness has responded to two of my comments on two different posts by two different bloggers. In both cases, she said “This one thing you said makes you a total liar, so I didn’t pay attention to anything you wrote.”
The one thing in the first case was I started a paragraph with “to be honest.” In the other case, she told me I had participated in discussions where people said that cisgender obliviates womanhood - that is, calling a woman cisgender means that she’s not female. I think I also somehow spoke for all intersex people to, by her statement.
She doesn’t care about truth, she cares about making a big splash about whatever it is she’s angry about and not gonna take anymore. Her comments about trans people just don’t make sense, they’re pure bigotry.
And she’s too cowardly to directly engage us, hence her “You’re a liar so I won’t talk to you” in response to me.
Comment by Lisa Harney — March 22, 2008 @ 6:29 am
So very depressing to see. Makes me want to turn in my radfem card.
I guess I will add this to the other identities I have to fight for, to keep the assholes from completely taking over–American, southern, Catholic, and now….radfem!
Who’d a thunk it? ((sigh))
Comment by Daisy — March 22, 2008 @ 9:22 am
Cos you know, you can just *totally* reject gender if you’re a radical feminist. I mean, it just stops existing. You stop being gendered by institutions, random people on the street, and everyone in your life.
Especially when you’re insisting on womyn-born-womyn’s space. That’s not gender AT ALL. I’m not sure what it is, or how one exactly exempts oneself from gender beyond a rad-fem disavowal of it, or why this criticism only applies to trans people and not y’know the overwhelming majority of people who walk around identifying as men or women. But hey, at least it’s clear, she’s against gender. COS SHE SAYS SO.
Comment by queen emily — March 25, 2008 @ 8:15 pm