Who's Afraid of Gender?
This is not just about trans people...
There are events in the world that make it quite tricky to remain positive. Wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Syria and other places; Climate change causing our planet to react to our abusive treatment of it in a series of natural disasters, as it tries to restore balance; Donald Tr*mp and other fasc*sts gaining political power; people struggling to access basic food, water and shelter; it’s overwhelming.
So why, then, is so much attention being diverted and thrust into the existence, yes existence, of a minority of people who are trans? Why is so much time being given to, frankly, oppress a group of people? What actual impact is this having, and what resources is this draining away from driving change in poverty, wars etc? Regardless of your stance, you’re likely to have noticed an explosion of awareness of trans lives following this week’s news of the Supreme Court declaring the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex - aka a female. Why are we needing to spend so much energy justifying the need for us all to be treated equally, regardless of the bodies we happen to be in?
[Before delving in on my own monologue, I'll note that Judith Butler has written a very good book, Who’s Afraid of Gender that addresses this in depth. Butler also has a series of talks online that are a little easier to digest.]
I am writing to help me understand what is going on. I am writing to help you understand some things. I am writing with intention of exploring the grey space - to not think in “for” or “against”, “black” or “white”, “this” or “that”. We are humans, capable of a spectrum of colourful thought that is not binary. Computers are binary - functioning on a series of “on” or “off” signals - 000100100… Surely as humans, with self expression and thought, we can venture beyond such simplistic systems…
Let’s consider for a minute if this concern over the presence/existence of Trans people was to do with race. Let’s imagine that a black person is not allowed to use a public bathroom because of the colour of their skin. Let’s imagine they are not allowed to sit in a certain part of a public bus, because of their skin. Let’s imagine they are more likely to be stopped by police, because of the colour of their skin.
Have we not moved on from this? What have we learned from this? Are we mature enough to recognise the skin somebody is born in, the genetic make up of a naturally fatter or a naturally thinner person, the biological vehicle that somebody exists in, is not a definite indicator to their personality, their experience, their ability to love, to learn, to participate and contribute to society, to simply exist?
At a very basic level, I genuinely would like to know the reasons for justifying a blatant ignorance and discrimination against transpeople. And, please, before the desparate grasp of an idea that transpeople will be violent - take a breath, and consider the reality, or the frequency of this happening. Sure, there are awful people out there who will attack women. But awful people exist in all genders, races, sizes. As it stands, women are at a significant risk of being abused - this is a real threat, that includes all women, which, obviously, includes trans women. Consider the abuse that a trans woman might face, too. Picture their presence in a man’s bathroom. Picture what treatment, verbal, physical, side-glances.. imagine what treatment they may receive.
I’ll also add, the threat of being raped is far more likely to be from a man you know, than a transperson. There are more men in the UK than transpeople. Simple, right.
Transpeople suffer enough abuse. Why would they be motivated to go through the emotional, psychological, physical transition, purely to then go and attack another woman in a bathroom? What other threats are you being told that transpeople might pose to you? A friend was telling me how his colleague, who is a woman, is fearful of a transwoman who shares the changing room at their local gym. His colleague feels threatened by the idea of sharing space with a transwoman who hasn’t physically transitioned. With a deep breath, I might encourage this colleague to bring to mind the motive of the trans woman dressing in this space. The bravery it takes to come to the gym at all, knowing judgement is going to be made, regardless of the changing room chosen. I might also encourage this colleague to have the bravery to strike up a conversation with the transwoman, the sort of small talk that occurs in changing rooms. I would encourage every person, with your logical, rational, adult brain, to work through the actual ‘threat’ level of a transperson sharing this space. Personally the tensions in the changing room at a netball tournament when I was a teenager were so bloody high that I definitely felt more threatened there. Has anybody seen Blue Jean?
I would also like to consider a couple of definitions:
Sex - the biological assignment at birth, in binary terms, either male or female.
Intersex - individuals born with sex characteristics (chromosomes, genitals, hormones, internal reproductive organs) that don't fit typical male or female definitions. It's an umbrella term for a range of natural variations in sex traits.
Gender - this is a spectrum that may include “woman”, “man”, “non-binary” and other terms. In many cultures, there are more than two genders.
Gender has been made binary, linking masculinity to males and femininity to females… You may have noticed the rise of gender pronouns as a topic lately (he/him, she/her, they/them etc)… I would argue this is the surface level ‘foam’ of a topic that goes far deeper. Labels are the attempt to de-fine people, put them in boxes, (de-fine is literally linked to ‘finite’, meaning ‘with an end’, and so, definitions are actually limiting by nature)…
There is a great body of research here about the history of gender. Some key points I’ll mention, combined with my own understanding and pondering…
The growth of more connected societies in the 1800s Industrial Revolution called for the birth of cities and larger communities. Village life and how people interacted with one another began to change, and there seemed to be an increased need for ‘order’. So, the oppression of approximately 50% of the population (females) was convenient, in order to satisfy a highly structured and rigid society. Removing rights to vote, to work, to enter certain spaces, to participate as equals in society allowed biological males to dominate and keep their all-important lust-over power. An increased attention to gendered roles, in binary terms, came about - the man goes to work, the woman stays at home kinda nonsense - and this spilled over to the ‘correct’ sort of relationships. Anything outside of a heterosexual relationship was taboo: in this way, queer existence was also oppressed. This link of the oppression of women and of queer folk is significant in today’s context. The oppression is systemically linked.
The rise of feminism in the early 1900s was a response to this oppression. Ever since, feminists have been working towards restoring balance of the genders (though not always aware that there might be a gender beyond the binary man/woman, the more prominent headline is equality for all women.). Feminism stands for equality based on the fact we are all human, regardless of the bodies we are born into. As “Gender” became binary, with male denoting man, and female denoting woman, there was no acknowledgment of intersex people, they were outcasts from society, nor was their much acknowledgement of other ‘minorities’ such as disabled folk, queer folk, black or brown folk… actually, anybody who didn’t fit the category of “heterosexual white male” (a top score) or, at a push “heterosexual white female”.
Imagine! Not instantly fitting into a set societal structure! Imagine! What an imbecile you would be for not settling into a pattern of behaviour, of oppression, of control, that was set out by a group of people who (likely in fear) felt the need to absolutely conserve their made-up rules in order to keep humans functioning well. It’s this sort of thinking that was endorsed by those who actively contributed to things like.. ooh, colonialism, slave trade, rape. Bit messy, right?
I am skimming over of a lot of complex actions; but I’d like to present the idea of ‘feminism’ to you in today’s context. The Supreme Court made their decision, much to the advertised joy of ‘feminists”. It baffles me how any feminist can truly believe that oppressing a minority can liberate females. As mentioned, didn’t feminism come out of a need to regain equality among people? Haven’t we been doing so well, with the support of not only ‘females’ but also of ‘males’, to realise that actually equality needs us all to recognise each other as humans and for us each to stand up for each other?
Which brings me back to how ‘gender’ which has been simplified into a binary system of ‘him’ or ‘her', amplified in the 1800s to segregate people: the idea that ‘he’ went to work whilst ‘she’ stayed at home; the idea that ‘he’ could go and drink at the pub and shag we ever ‘he’ wanted whilst ‘she’ either stayed home as the wife, or ‘she’ had to sell herself as the lesser gender. It’s all a bloody system that channels people into oppression. It’s reductive, it’s outdated, and it’s a shameful time for the UK court. I would have (sadly) expected this more in America, where the tyrant Tr*mp is dictating his way through the legal system like a school kid given a headboy pin badge. I am shocked and concerned that the UK’s action this week is sending out a message that endorses this anti-feminist ideal, that endorses inequality, with a blind belief that it is serving our society. I’ll point out that no trans people were allowed to have a say in this decision.
When I try and consider all this from a point of empathy, of understanding… I get the feeling that those driving this Supreme Court decision is led by fear. The believed Fear is that any person acting outside of a binary system will lead to the downfall of civilisation. Transgender people are the easiest target, and quite possible queer folk won’t be far behind.
The real fear? There is so much anxiety in the world - war, poverty, fascism, climate change etc, that an easy target to appease this tension is reached for. Quick solution. Transpeople represent a scapegoat for this fear. They are the advertised perceived threat, something that is far simpler to ‘conquer’ and oppress than addressing the real long term issues that are impacting all global communities.
Through this fear, people are clinging to a rigid system that was set out by a minority of people, with the glorification of social hierarchy as a way of maintaining control. It isn’t just about who is using a bloody bathroom. It runs far deeper, it is systemic.
I genuinely pity anyone who has a mind so narrow it needs to be told what to do. I pity anyone who avoids other world issues (war, poverty etc), and pours this collective anxiety into a completely irrelevant topic to alleviate their fear. I pity them; but I am angered by the individuals who have manipulated pathways of thought for these people to fall into. Society is created by repeated behaviours, and is often led by a small group of individuals who desire power.
AGHHHHH.
FUN FACTS -
Biologists suggest that sex is actually a sprectrum. Eg a person assigned female at birth may naturally have higher natural testosterone levels than a person assigned female at birth. Think of athletes…
In many ancient and modern societies, there are more than two genders, such as “The chibados of Angola were male diviners who channeled feminine spirits by acting like women.”1 This doesn’t always translate to English (which adopts a binary system, linguistically!), but, from my distant understanding, there are some genders who act almost as ‘guardians’ and some genders even refer to a spiritual connection between the earthly body and a deity. Some more research on this here.
Okay I’m done for now.
I needed to work this out for myself.
I welcome your thoughts, opinions, criticisms, stances, I welcome a spectrum of curiosity around this, I welcome any person who has the bravery to question something they don’t understand, I welcome you all!