Why I'm trans … and a feminist

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Why I'm trans … and a feminist (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/18/trans-feminist-panel)


In the light of this week's row between two prominent feminists and the trans community, we asked four trans writers to reflect on what feminism means to them

[Thelonious]

"Feminism has fought no wars. It has killed no opponents. It has set up no concentration camps, starved no enemies, and practised no cruelties… Its battles have been for education, for the vote, for better working conditions, for safety on the streets, for childcare, for social welfare, for rape crisis clinics, women's refuges, reforms in the laws. If someone says, "Oh, I'm not a feminist!" I ask, 'Why? What's your problem?'"

I really liked this quote from the article you linked. I have always supported feminist movements but I never really felt comfortable calling myself a "true" feminist because, well, I am a male. I always kind of felt that I was not qualified. The above quote makes me feel a lot more comfortable labeling myself a feminist.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

"Feminism has fought no wars. It has killed no opponents. It has set up no concentration camps, starved no enemies, and practised no cruelties… Its battles have been for education, for the vote, for better working conditions, for safety on the streets, for childcare, for social welfare, for rape crisis clinics, women's refuges, reforms in the laws."

This is really beautiful.

[Beeth]

"Feminism has fought no wars. It has killed no opponents. It has set up no concentration camps, starved no enemies, and practised no cruelties… Its battles have been for education, for the vote, for better working conditions, for safety on the streets, for childcare, for social welfare, for rape crisis clinics, women's refuges, reforms in the laws. If someone says, "Oh, I'm not a feminist!" I ask, 'Why? What's your problem?'"
.

Feminism hasn't enjoyed that much power - enough power to cause damage, to start wars etc. Not attacking feminism, just saying that the logic applied here is wrong. You can't assert that A has never done anything wrong when A has never had any power to do anything wrong.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

"Feminism has fought no wars. It has killed no opponents. It has set up no concentration camps, starved no enemies, and practised no cruelties… Its battles have been for education, for the vote, for better working conditions, for safety on the streets, for childcare, for social welfare, for rape crisis clinics, women's refuges, reforms in the laws. If someone says, "Oh, I'm not a feminist!" I ask, 'Why? What's your problem?'"

I really liked this quote from the article you linked. I have always supported feminist movements but I never really felt comfortable calling myself a "true" feminist because, well, I am a male. I always kind of felt that I was not qualified. The above quote makes me feel a lot more comfortable labeling myself a feminist.

I feel like this is not true, and erases the conscious participation of feminists, as feminists in armed struggle. It erases the violent struggle of women (and queers) as women (and queers) against patriarchal struggle. Men should be uncomfortable thinking of themselves as feminist (not saying they shouldn't, only that it shouldn't be easy, or by any means comfortable).
On the other side of the spectrum, this also erases the violence of liberal feminisms, where "safety on the streets" has meant more cops to protect white women, "reforms in the law" have been used as a bludgeon against marginalized people under the auspices of (liberal) feminism, etc.
Meh.

[Thelonious]

I feel like this is not true, and erases the conscious participation of feminists, as feminists in armed struggle. It erases the violent struggle of women (and queers) as women (and queers) against patriarchal struggle. Men should be uncomfortable thinking of themselves as feminist (not saying they shouldn't, only that it shouldn't be easy, or by any means comfortable).
On the other side of the spectrum, this also erases the violence of liberal feminisms, where "safety on the streets" has meant more cops to protect white women, "reforms in the law" have been used as a bludgeon against marginalized people under the auspices of (liberal) feminism, etc.
Meh.


I am always presented with a conundrum when it comes to feminism. On one hand, I absolutely support it, but on the other hand, how can I be a feminist if I am not female. I could never really feel affected on a deep level by any discrimination that women feel. I can understand perfectly your statement that men should not feel comfortable labeling themselves as feminist. However, as a black-Latino, I do not feel that non-black or non-Latinos should feel uncomfortable labeling themselves as anti-racism. Do you see a correlation between whites being against racism and men being pro-feminism? Should non-racist whites not feel totally comfortable with labeling themselves anti-racist, as men should not feel totally comfortable labeling themselves as feminists? I don't mean to change the subject but I have often thought about the relation between the two as it manifests itself in my life.

[Quail]

I don't think there is a problem with men identifying as feminists, but I don't think that it enough just to say that you're a feminist and that you support equality; you have to show through your behaviour that you're a feminist, which I suppose is the difficult bit. As a woman, being a feminist involves not only fighting sexism in your day to day life, but also challenging the patriarchal values that you're internalised. I think that's quite difficult, and I still find myself needing to challenge my thoughts and assumptions. I obviously don't have experience of being a man, but I would think that men might find it more difficult to challenge their internalised thoughts, because they probably don't notice them. For example, men are much more likely to interrupt women than other men. This might be completely unconscious, so until it's pointed out, perhaps men don't actually realise they're doing it.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

So, I recognize that this is semantics to a degree, but . . . I think there's maybe a useful distinction to be drawn between feminist/pro-feminist. I think the latter is a useful way for men to express solidarity with, and locate their activity within, a struggle against patriarchy, without making themselves the leaders in that struggle.
I feel antiracism is useful in a similar sense - though there's not a single catchy word for people of colour playing the leading role in their struggles against white supremacy. It would be weird, for example, if a white person described themselves as a fighter for black liberation. Probably "antiracist" is more fitting, in terms of not co-opting others' struggles.

[DancingEmma]

I am always presented with a conundrum when it comes to feminism. On one hand, I absolutely support it, but on the other hand, how can I be a feminist if I am not female. I could never really feel affected on a deep level by any discrimination that women feel. I can understand perfectly your statement that men should not feel comfortable labeling themselves as feminist. However, as a black-Latino, I do not feel that non-black or non-Latinos should feel uncomfortable labeling themselves as anti-racism. Do you see a correlation between whites being against racism and men being pro-feminism? Should non-racist whites not feel totally comfortable with labeling themselves anti-racist, as men should not feel totally comfortable labeling themselves as feminists? I don't mean to change the subject but I have often thought about the relation between the two as it manifests itself in my life.

I think this is an interesting discussion, Thelonious. I'm sort of in the mirror position as you since I'm a white woman. I do identify as both a feminist and an anti-racist. And I think it's fine if men identify as feminists also, although not all feminists agree with me on that. Men definitely shouldn't try to dominate or appropriate our struggle, and some male feminists have tried to do that (see Hugo Schwyzer). But there's lot of male feminists who have made great contributions to our movement.

As a white person in an unjust, white supremacist society, I feel like I have a responsibility to not abuse my white privilege and be a committed, useful anti-racist. I still have a lot to learn in terms of how to best stand in solidarity with people of color, and it's very important I stay humble and open to truly listening to people of color. Anyway, I personally greatly appreciate men who feel the same in relation to feminism.