There is nothing new about the dynamic where some people who identify as feminists struggle with transphobia and want to exclude trans people from various spaces. We’ve been battling this out for so long! Recently this came up in a feminist group I am part of, where some of the cis women in the group wanted to have an option to have cis women-only events, even though the group, overall, has a trans inclusive policy. Some people asserted that if the group has people of color-only events (which it does) it should be able to have cis women-only events. The group is intergenerational, and there are some significant differences in experience between the members that, in some ways, track to our experiences being politicized in different times with different ideas about gender. A friend in the group who is a trans person of color wrote a very clear email to the group with resources for learning, and gave me permission to share it here. I share it in case you are struggling in a similar group and can save time by cribbing any of this. I am moved by his commitment to help people with whom he shares many values to come into alignment with solidarity and care on this issue. I am interested in the moments when we confront painful differences and decide to try to influence each other with love and clarity rather than just leaving. Sometimes leaving is the right thing to do, but sometimes, if conditions are right, we can succeed at helping each other come to new understandings and actions. I hope this is the case in this instance.
Hi friends,
Thank you for including me in this conversation. I feel so grateful for this community and the many hours and years of work that so many people in this group have dedicated to creating space for lesbian and bi women, trans women, gender queer, non binary, and trans people. This is a very special space and I cherish it deeply.
I’m not able to come to the meeting, so I compiled the following resources for our group to discern how transphobia is in play at cis-only events, and how to orient to the target/agent dynamics.
I hear in the group “I think it’s okay to have cis-women-only events because we have POC-only events,” so I want to start there by saying that having a cis-only event is equivalent to having a white-only event because it excludes the target group and uses the organizational resources to create more space for the agent group.
For a short 1-page read on understanding target/agent between trans and non-trans women, please check out: Transmisogyny Primer
(If the group wanted to have a white caucus, or a cis-women’s caucus for the purpose of processing and self reflection……that would be something different. If desired, people of color or trans people would be allowed to be present/not excluded, and the intention would be to do self work for the purpose of confronting white supremacy or cisgender privilege.)
Another way I hear justification for cis-only events is from experiences of men’s violence against women.
It is a mistake to exclude trans women from women’s spaces on the basis of prior experiences of men’s violence against women. Trans women are not men. Trans women experience death and violence at extremely high rates, specifically because they are women living in sexism, misogyny, and transphobia. The concept that trans women are “really men” is a lie perpetuated to marginalize and stigmatize trans women and to divide the collective power of women. For more depth, please visit Julia Serano’s 2017 article “Debunking ‘Trans Women Are Not Women'”.
As feminists, we are dedicated to fighting gender essentialism. That means fighting against the transphobic and sexist ideas that one’s genitals at birth, or how they were regarded by their parents or society, determine their gender.
As a group, a common value is safety, and so I want to address safety in the group, too. This article by Emi Koyama from 2002 is a useful text for examining what safety could really look like in women’s spaces.
Thank you for the group’s ongoing dedication to confronting oppression, and ongoing commitment to self reflection and living our values.
I admire the group so much, and am proud of our work together.
With love and warmth,
_____
