la_vie_noire | (no subject)

Via Questioning Transphobia.

Here a long, long article, but one I think everybody should read.

Transsexual women suffer a lot of discrimination. And not only outside the feminist movement.

ETA: Some clarification. A cis-person is someone whose gender and the genitals with which they born match. A trans-person is someone whose gender and biological sex do no match. Thus, cissexism is discrimination for NOT being a cis-person.

It is also common for trans feminine spectrum individuals to be called out for "reinforcing the gender binary" more so than their counterparts on the trans masculine spectrum. This is due, in part, to the fact that female and feminine appearances are more readily and routinely judged in our society than male and masculine ones. And because concepts like "transgression" and "rebellion" tend to be coded as "masculine" in our culture, whereas "conformity" and "conventionality" are typically coded as "feminine," there is an unspoken bias that leads masculine transgender expression to be seen as more inherently transgressive than feminine transgender expression. Indeed, such unconscious presumptions about masculinity and femininity have surely contributed to the tendency exhibited by many feminists to praise women who engage in traditionally "masculine" endeavors, while expressing anywhere from apathy to antagonism toward men who engage in traditionally "feminine" endeavors. In fact, one could make the case that historically feminism has been predisposed toward "trans-masculinism" -- that is, favoring gender transgression in the masculine direction. [...]

While all transsexuals face cissexism, trans women experience this form of sexism as being especially exacerbated by traditional sexism. For example, trans women are routinely hyper-sexualized in our society, especially in the media, where we are regularly depicted as fetishists, sexual deceivers, sex workers and/or in a sexually provocative fashion (trans men, in contrast, are not typically depicted in this way). The common presumption that trans women transition to female for sexual reasons seems to be based on the premise that women as a whole have no worth beyond their ability to be sexualized. Furthermore, most of the societal consternation, ridicule and violence directed at trans people focuses on individuals on the trans feminine spectrum -- often specifically targeting our desire to be female or our feminine presentation. While trans men experience cissexism, their desire to be male/masculine is typically not mocked or derided in the same way -- to do so would bring maleness/masculinity itself into question. Thus, those of us on the trans feminine spectrum don't merely experience cissexism or "transphobia" so much as we experience trans-misogyny.

And another fantastic article (but not so long), but this time by the aforementioned blog:

A social constructionist/performative idea of gender can just as easily assume that as gender is constructed through the re-iteration of behaviours and the already-gendered body matter, trans people’s gender is as socially constructed as anyone else’s. And hence EXACTLY as real. And EXACTLY as fake.

[...] But this “gender is not real” thing is almost always used to ONLY illuminate the falseness of trans genders. And considering the notion that we are “really” a man or woman despite appearances tends to feed into transphobic discourse, legislation and eventually violence, I think it is worthy of refuting those non-trans normative biases and presumptions.

See some feminist and queer theorists approach trans women by applying different rules—a cis woman’s identification as woman is unquestionable, but a trans woman’s identification as woman is incomprehensible because gender doesn’t exist.

It is apparently not possible to identify as a woman, to live as a woman, if you’re transgendered and meet the feminist standard of anti-humanist anti-essentialist social constructionism.

Because the double-bind here is, either you meet societal expectations of a feminine gender presentation, in order to pass on a day-to-day basis without the massive amounts of harassment from the general public a non-passing trans person. In which case you’re a misogynistic man just acting out the dictates of the Patriarchy onto the entire female gender. There we go, polluting the ontology again.

Or, you do not have a traditionally feminine gender presentation, or you’re too loud, too “aggressive,” in which case, well, evidence that you’re really a man. The defense rests, your Honour.

I wish I could quote ALL of the second article, because it IS awesome. But I can't, so you'll have to read it. It's very enlightening.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Que dolor de cabeza he pillao XDDDDDDDDD y eso que no he acabado ningun link.... :P

XDDD Oh bueno, trata el segundo? Si no escuchaste tantas millones de veces los argumentos de algun sector feminista de 'transexuales NO son mujeres, y son privilegiadOS' (que es una grandiosa estupidez lo segundo), probablemente el 2do no tenga mucha resonancia. XDD Pero el 1ero, pese a su tamaño, es un must-read.

estas cosas noircita las tenes que hacer en español! yo aun no lo leo, me cuesta... no se que es cis-person y cosas asi.... ¬¬ no sigas propagando esta info en ingles... hacelo en español!
en fin... cuidate muhco, y dioses, lo que comentas... me sorprende... si sabia que las mmujeres transexuales tienen cierta presion discriminatoria dentro del grupo feminista, pero lo segundo de tener privilegio, es ridiculo....
en fin.. besotes...