Trans Feminism: There’s No Conundrum About It

[Shana A]

Trans Feminism: There's No Conundrum About It

April 18, 2012 by Julia Serano

http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2012/04/18/trans-feminism-theres-no-conundrum-about-it/

Aviva Dove-Viebahn's recent Ms. blog post, "Transfeminism and Its Conundrums," framed trans feminism* as a controversial and debatable submovement within feminism. I strongly disagree, as did a number of commenters, and here's why:

Trans feminism—that is, transgender perspectives on feminism, or feminist perspectives on transgender issues—is one of many so-called "third-wave" feminisms. Its origins are closely linked with other feminist submovements—specifically, sex-positive feminism, postmodern/poststructuralist feminism, queer theory and intersectionality. These strands of feminism  represent a move away from viewing sexism as an overly simplistic, unilateral form of oppression, where men are the oppressors and women are the oppressed, end of story.

Instead, these feminisms recognize that there are numerous forms of sexism—that is, numerous double standards based on a person's sex, gender, or sexuality. In addition to traditional sexism (where men are viewed as more legitimate than women), there is heterosexism (where heterosexuals are viewed as more legitimate than homosexuals), monosexism (where people who are exclusively attracted to members of a single sex are viewed as more legitimate than bisexuals/pansexuals), masculine-centrism (where masculine gender expression is viewed as more legitimate than feminine gender expression) and so on.

[justmeinoz]

As we all have different life experiences that have shaped our point of view, I would go so far as to say there are as many versions of Feminism as there are women who consider themselves Feminists. 
One thing I have noticed is that a lot of Transwomen seem to have very strong Feminist views due to their experiences, at the hands of men. 
I personally could never see men as inherently superior to women, and along with others judged insufficiently masculine was bullied for it.  The scars from that took a long time to heal, in fact it took my transition to finally negate them.

Karen.

[Shana A]

Future of Feminism: Transfeminism and Its Conundrums

March 20, 2012 by Aviva Dove-Viebahn

http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2012/03/20/future-of-feminism-transfeminism-and-its-conundrums

How to address transgender issues has long been a sticking point in feminist circles. Trans women, especially, often find themselves with a conundrum: Not always welcomed into the women's movement with open arms, they are nevertheless confronted with many of the same sexist and misogynist institutions all women face–sometimes more so because of the extra layer of stereotyping that goes along with identifying as trans.

The issue of transfeminism and what it might mean really sparked during the 1991 controversy over the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival's "womyn-born-womyn"-only policy. But the debate over the inclusion of transgender women in the feminist movement goes back to the early 1970s and has been waged in both academic theory and all over the blogosphere. While there's no hope that I can resolve this debate in a few hundred words, there's no doubt that defining transfeminism and, more generally, articulating how trans and queer issues fit into the movement, should be central concerns of our feminist future.