Julie Bindel and the Trans vs. Feminism Tug-of War
Filed by: Mercedes Allen
November 3, 2008 10:00 AM
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/11/julie_bindel_and_the_trans_vs_feminism_t.phpFeminism and transsexuality have long pushed each others' buttons. Feminism often seeks to break gender roles and stereotypes, break gender barriers, and yet transsexuality says that "there's something inborn in me that I can't escape or deny," at which point transsexuals seem to embrace those same roles, barriers and stereotypes. Unlike natal women, transwomen have usually not had the lifetime of learning and confinement in those roles and stereotypes to reach the point of loathing them. And unlike transsexuals, natal women have sometimes experienced too much of the negative aspects of said roles and stereotypes to want to consider any middle ground on the matter.
Male-to-female transsexuals are not the only ones to push feminist buttons, either -- for many transmen, the moment one chooses to cross the line from "butch" to "male," they may be seen as joining or supporting the patriarchy, selling out women, etc. And most critically regarding transsexuality overall, the contention that there is something biological, inescapable and innate about our gender identity as suggested by transsexuals flies in the face of (much of) feminism's belief in gender as a purely socialized deception fed to people by society (and incidentally, this conflict applies whether one is a transgender advocate or an HBS seperatist).
