I want to start of by saying that I admire and respect Anita Sarkeesian, and I think my Twitter timeline should show that. I am not in any way a hater of her. In fact it’s because I respect her that I felt I had to write this.
Totally get if she doesn’t read this, she’s got a lot on her plate after all!
I just need to vent.
Earlier today she tweeted
Transgender women are women. End of discussion.
I don’t actually know the context of it, I will find out, but for now this is my contextless response.
At the beginning of all Tropes Vs Women videos she comments that critiquing something doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy it.
So I am unimpressed with her saying “End of discussion” about the issue of trans women.
This discussion needs to be had, refusing to engage with the myriad of associated problems doesn’t make them go away.
And talking about them doesn’t make the speaker transphobic or a TERF. No more than critiquing games makes someone a game hater trying to take down the games industry.
It’s late and there are far more eloquent women than me who can talk about the specific issues in depth, but here’s my very short version of why we need to discuss whether transwomen really are women.
1. If they are just women then what does this mean for lesbians? If they are just women then do lesbians then lose the right to know that there is a penis before they invite a partner back to their bed? Is that not a little homophobic to suggest lesbians would like cock if they just tried it?
2. In the same way that TvsW talks about the greater societal issues surrounding tropes in games, we need to talk about the greater issues surrounding womanhood. Eg. how much does our socialisation as women count towards later in our lives? What kind of disadvantages will we have amassed that TW wont? Or vice versa?
3. If TW are just women, then what does it actually mean to be a woman? If it isn’t our biology then what exactly is it?
4. If TW are just women, then where does that leave areas where women want to be around other biological women? Are there no circumstances where it might be reasonable for a woman not to want to be confronted with the sight of penises?
There are obviously more. But really, we need to be able to critique this. It is important for both born women and trans women that we do.
Bella Solanum 