To branch off of my discussion of semiology and the brief mention of the unstable signifier "woman," this column will address transfeminism. Historically, various strands of feminism, from radical separatist lesbian feminism to Marxist to cyberfeminism, have all shaped and informed today's version. Throughout the changes, critiques and tweaks, the question of what is a woman comes up and results in the exclusion of trans women and leads to the transphobic rhetoric leveled against them (And let's not forget the division along racial lines.) The late radical feminist Mary Daly described trans people as "Frankensteinian" in "Gyn/Ecology" (1978), professor Janice Raymond asserts that transwomen partake in a patriarchal intrigue to subvert feminism in "The transsexual Empire" (1979), and Germaine Greer, a prominent voice of second wave feminist discourse, characterized transwomen as a "ghastly parody" in a 2009 Guardian piece. Need I continue?
Although feminism has sought to challenge that biology is destiny, a narrow?minded perspective has colored much of mainstream feminism. In the newsmagazine In These Times, feminist historian Hanne Blank notes that "Transfolk, increasingly numerous, loud and proud, are calling our bluff." Feminism cannot ignore its own hypocrisy in perpetuating an oppressive essentialism vis?? ?vis trans folk. In response, transfeminism, following in the footsteps of the work that women of color have done with an intersectional approach, moves beyond an essential account of "woman," allowing for the inclusion of transsexual and intersexual women, and "embodies feminist coalition politics in which women from different backgrounds stand up for each other," according to social justice activist Emi Koyama's "The transfeminist Manifesto." Pointing out that "women should not be accused of reinforcing gender stereotypes for making personal decisions, even if these decisions comply with certain gender roles," the article critiques lazy transphobic thinking of feminists like Julie Bindel, who disparage transexuality as a reification of the gender binary. Those like Bindel fail to realize the importance of "passing" and that trans folk still have to operate under a system of socially constructed gender norms and that external forces do impose strictures on them. Trans women cannot be faulted for expressing stereotypical "femininity" just as cisgender women cannot be either. To do so, a feminist falls in line with the patriarchal order.
In addition, transfeminism goes one step further in contesting essentialism, considering both sex and gender as social constructs. In "Sexing the Body" (2000), feminist biologist Anne Fausto?Sterling, focusing particularly on intersexuals, demonstrates the variance that nature produces in terms of bodies. It is clear that our society lacks sex and gender signifiers for those whose anatomy screws with the "natural" characteristics of normal males and females. Transfeminism recognizes this to the full extent and concerns itself with "the right to define ourselves from medical, religious and political authorities" as Koyama notes.
Another contention leveled against trans folks revolves around them benefitting from male privilege as a result of the opposition's faulty grasp of intersectionality and their ignorance of the trans experience. To address such a criticism, Koyama points to the intersection of male privilege and transphobia, that despite certain advantages of the former, the latter certainly disadvantages a trans individual. Trying to quantify intersecting forms of oppression for comparison is a simple?minded and fruitless endeavor. Doing so divides and distracts the movement from the issues at hand
Other issues I can only briefly mention are the necessity of reframing reproductive justice to include queer people, of addressing health care options and availability, and the heightened violence and incarceration of trans folk, considering the intersection of homophobia, transphobia, socioeconomic status, homelessness, survival tactics, including robbery and sex work, etc.
It is evident then that transfeminism can widen the scope of feminism to become more inclusive and effective.
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