The best book for explaining “trans” politics was the worst book I’ve ever read

peaktransmoment:

When I first got into feminism I didn’t see that people being “trans” was such a big deal, so it seemed logical for me to side with the pro-“trans” crowd against these mean-seeming radical feminists who appeared to just want to attack the rights of an already-marginalised group of people. However I was aware that if radical feminists felt so strongly about the issue then they must have their reasons, and as I listened to what women had to say I started to see where they were coming from.

Still, I didn’t know much about “trans” theory so I figured, if I look into it properly then maybe I’ll also be able to see where “trans” activists are coming from and I can develop a balanced perspective. In online discussions I had been instructed by a pro-“trans” feminist to read Whipping Girl by Julia Serano to convince myself of pro-“trans” activism, and some online reviewers said that the book was brilliant, that they highlighted most passages in agreement while they were reading it, and that it was the best book on “trans” politics that they’d ever read. So I figured, why don’t I start with that one?

At first I found Serano’s tone odd and difficult to connect with. By chapter 2 I started noticing that many of his arguments were difficult to comprehend and didn’t make sense. By chapter 4 I felt annoyed by his declarations of authority on the subject (I guess you have to resort to that when your arguments don’t hold up on their own) and his blatant reliance upon and promotion of sex stereotypes – for example, “[M]y skin has become much softer … heavy objects seem to have become much heavier, and room temperature seems to have dropped about two or three degrees. The changes in the shape of my body have significantly altered the way I walk, run, dance, hold my body, and move in general. Simply put, my body no longer feels male to me; rather, it feels female.”

I felt angry at his attempted manipulation and incitement of divisions among women in chapter 12: “[W]hat saddens me even more than the irrational transmisogynistic fear and hatred displayed by the vocal minority who most adamantly oppose our inclusion is the apathy of the silent majority of queer women and feminists who enable that prejudice: those who continue to attend women’s events that exclude trans women; those who excuse or choose not to confront antifeminist/anti-trans-woman comments and actions made by members of their own community; those who tacitly give credence to antifeminist/anti-trans-woman rhetoric by referring to the issue of trans-woman-exclusion as a ‘controversy’ or a ‘debate’.” This manipulation included veiled threats should women opt not to fight with other women for his and other men’s benefit: “I entreat all feminists and all queer women to recognize that the divisive issue of trans-woman-exclusion will continue to be with us as long as we fail to directly confront and repudiate antifeminist/anti-trans-woman policies and rhetoric wherever they exist.”

Finally, I was flabbergasted that any feminist could support or promote this book when Serano makes it very clear that (1) he has no idea what feminism means: “[A]t its core, feminism is based on the conviction that women are far more than the sex of the bodies that we are born into…”; (2) he’s fighting for male rights, not female rights: “Feminists’ past privileging of femaleness over femininity has also enabled misogynistic acts that target men who have feminine traits to remain unnoticed and unarticulated”; and (3) he agrees with the politics of men’s rights activism: “[S]traight women who regularly pair up with macho guys who treat them poorly, yet won’t consider dating a ‘nice guy,’ might be described as harboring ‘internalized misogyny.’ Again, isn’t this better described as a form of externalized misogyny directed at men who display qualities that are considered feminine?”

I could go on. This book really is crap.

There was no going back after that. I’d put the effort in to try to understand where “trans” activists and their supporters were coming from by reading what a lot of them said was a brilliant book that explained “trans” politics perfectly, and what I discovered was that everything that radical feminists were saying was true.

Needless to say, I’ve studied the subject more since then and remain convinced that this is a misogynistic, pro-male politics that is absolutely not compatible with feminism.