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Feminism: Sex & gender discussions

Following on from the TERF thread...

631 replies

CailinDana · 15/06/2014 21:28

Trying to get my head straight on this. Surely the whole malarkey around transwomen wanting to be recognised as women even though they have penises will eventually actually help to break down the idea of gender?

What I mean is, if a person with a penis can be labelled a woman simply because they want to be labelled in that way, surely gender becomes meaningless as it tells you nothing meaningful about a person except perhaps the clothes they like to wear?

This is a half-formed thought, feel free to develop/challenge.

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OddBoots · 15/06/2014 21:34

It does to an extent but it also cements the idea of gender too as it can't be related to biological sex, so gender must be something powerful in itself if one can be a woman without being female.

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FloraFox · 15/06/2014 21:44

I think it cements the idea of gender as an inherent aspect of a person rather than being socially determined. The UN definition of "gender" is:

"the social attributes and opportunities associated with being male and female and the relationships between women and men and girls and boys, as well as the relations between women and those between men. These attributes, opportunities and relationships are socially constructed and are learned through socialization processes. They are context/ time-specific and changeable. Gender determines what is expected, allowed and valued in a women or a man in a given context. In most societies there are differences and inequalities between women and men in responsibilities assigned, activities undertaken, access to and control over resources, as well as decision-making opportunities. Gender is part of the broader socio-cultural context."

Rather than gender becoming meaningless, I think it will be reinforced and, even worse, excused. The justification for sex discrimination has usually been variations on the theme of "lady brain". In my own profession (law), women were barred from the profession because the female nature was considered unsuited to adversarial nature of the work. Women had to argue that these ideas of a female nature were wrong in order to get into the profession. Gender theory relies on the acceptance of a female nature, brain, spirit, essence or something of that sort. I don't think gender would become meaningless but the reality of women's oppression based on their sex would become invisible. If it can't be identified, it can't be dismantled.

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CailinDana · 15/06/2014 21:45

Doesn't it detract from the power though, oddboots, ultimately? What I mean is, if a man can put on "female" clothes and then essentially be a "woman" doesn't it mean that the idea of "woman" doesn't exist, as it really doesn't refer to anything except a preference for a certain type of clothes (which changes with the times/fashion anyway).
That could either be a good or a bad thing, in the end. It could go either way - that women become even more of a nothing than they are now, or that, in the distant future, people just abandon the idea of gender, acknowledge we have different genitals and cater to that and don't associate any particular traits/ideas with those genitals.

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CailinDana · 15/06/2014 21:51

Hmmm...I see what you mean Flora. So, the idea is that the idea of being trans reinforces the notion that you can have a "female" way of thinking (without actually being female) and so contributes to the whole "men and women are different" bollocks, thus justifying discrimination?

In spite of being horrified by the crap from some transactivists around expecting to be treated as women and being allowed access to female space etc I actually think it has the potential to be a good thing. So far, governments have responded as expected, by giving males (who claim to be trans) what they want at the expense of females. But, I think over time the idea that someone with a penis can just claim to be a woman and then be treated as such will actually throw a lot of light for the general public on the issue of gender and perhaps expose it for the feeble construct it is - too optimistic?

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FloraFox · 15/06/2014 21:52

in the distant future, people just abandon the idea of gender, acknowledge we have different genitals and cater to that and don't associate any particular traits/ideas with those genitals

How would gender theory get to this point though or effect any change in power? It is embracing the idea of gender, not abandoning it. I like this image.

Following on from the TERF thread...
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CailinDana · 15/06/2014 21:55

What I mean is, if the debate around female space is pushed far enough then I think it'll come down to "if you have a vulva you can enter here, if you don't get lost -" which, over a long period, could actually do a lot to strip away ideas of gender as what you'll be saying is, ok, we have two basic types of genitals (with some variations in between) and those genitals relate to nothing else to do with a person - they can wear dresses or suits, want to be called man or woman, it's all a matter of choice, we just restrict based on anatomy not on any notion of gender" - does that make sense?

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FloraFox · 15/06/2014 21:56

sorry cross-post.

the idea that someone with a penis can just claim to be a woman and then be treated as such will actually throw a lot of light for the general public on the issue of gender and perhaps expose it for the feeble construct it is - too optimistic?

Yes, I can see what you mean here. I think the more airtime is given to the post-modern aspect of gender theory, the more people will see that it is nonsense and that might help to break down other ideas of gender? My concern is that women's rights are being eroded in the meantime and (a) this is dangerous for women and (b) will we be able to get them back again?

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CailinDana · 15/06/2014 21:57

X-post, although I think my last post sort of addresses your question? But to develop further, if a man, with xy chromosomes and a penis can legitimately claim to be a woman, then surely "woman" is a meaningless term as it could apply to literally anyone?

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FloraFox · 15/06/2014 22:05

I agree it largely becomes meaningless but how does that stop the oppression of women based on their actual or potential sexual and reproductive labour? All it does, IMO, is obscure it and make it difficult to identify and dismantle.

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CailinDana · 15/06/2014 22:08

Also, the whole thing with transwomen with penises expecting lesbians to be attracted to them and lesbians resisting this ridiculous fuckwittery - doesn't this also help to throw out the whole notion of gender? It sharply points out the fact that lesbians are not attracted to "femininity," which is a male, patriarchal notion of what women should be like, but to the actual physical bodies of biological women, their vulvas, their vaginas, their breasts. The trans idea that lesbians should be attracted to "women" with penises starkly shows up the misogynistic idea that women must like and revere penises and clearly shows men's horror at the idea that some women genuinely love a woman's body. It pushes lesbian sexuality out of the dark and into the spotlight and highlights in a very clear way that they are not "playing" at being lesbians - they do, genuinely, have no interest in a penis, no matter how much feminine costume surrounds that penis.

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CailinDana · 15/06/2014 22:13

Sorry x-post again.

I think the ultimate aim of feminism (and this is my personal take on it) is to make gender irrelevant. Currently the idea of gender is closely tied to reproduction and sex. If gender is removed then the fact becomes that half of the population reproduces and so needs that taken into account in all aspects of their life.

I admit though, that that's a longterm thing. And in the meantime women are at risk.

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FloraFox · 15/06/2014 22:19

I think we are agreeing as much as we are cross-posting Grin

Without wishing to be pedantic, I think the aim of feminism is to abolish gender and make sex irrelevant, IYSWIM. Is that the same? Probably.

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CailinDana · 15/06/2014 22:23

Yes, that's clearer, abolish gender and make sex irrelevant. And I actually think the whole TERF/trans thing is helping, without intending to. From what I've read from the TERF-accusers is that they assume that gender is a fixed, immutable thing. The whole discussion around the idea of TERFs exposes that assumption quite clearly and I think that can only be a good thing, as it slowly, slowly opens people's eyes.

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CailinDana · 15/06/2014 22:31

IME women who reject feminism buy very much into the idea that men and women are different and are very wedded to the notion of separating men and women (part of trauma bonding, I think, the need to feel "safe" among women by sending the men to the pub, keeping the kitchen as "women's space" etc.) I think if trans men threaten that, that kick a lot of women out of their fog of identification with patriarchy as the "flight or fight" reaction will come into force in a meaningful way. In other words, if their safe spaces are threatened, if they can't even have a women's toilet or changing room then they will react very viscerally to that. And that can only be a good thing.

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CailinDana · 15/06/2014 22:32

sorry that should say "that could kick"

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CailinDana · 15/06/2014 22:36

Sorry to bang on, but to clarify, those who reject feminism tend to be in favour of hen nights, spa days, changing together in shop changing rooms etc - the separation of men and women's recreation essentially. There is a need for that separation among women who reject feminism I think, they need to feel there is a space where they can get away from men as they feel no sense of equality or connection with them. If even that is taken away, if men say "actually I'm going to wear a dress and come into the changing room with you," there will be a strong reaction to that, as it challenges the idea of separation, which is fundamental to patriarchy.

Anything that gets more women onto feminism is good in my opinion.

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CailinDana · 15/06/2014 22:46

Also, if there is a visceral reaction to the idea of a man in a women's changing room, and the man whines that he's being discriminated against, the hope is that women will examine why they don't want a man in the changing room - essentially, because he's a threat. I think recognising that sense of threat, the idea that a man is always a potential source of danger, is absolutely fundamental to awakening a feminist spirit in a woman. When you recognise the power men have over you, from a purely physical point of view, everything else flows from there I think.

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grimbletart · 15/06/2014 23:10

Excuse me butting in but I see transwomen with penises wanting to be accepted as women as another way for male entitlement to try and impose itself. They want to eat their cake and have it too.

Either that, or I have entered a parallel universe.

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FloraFox · 16/06/2014 00:07

Yes, I'd agree with that grimble

CailinDana I agree it would help for people to examine why there is sex separation for certain things (including statistics). I am concerned that there is no opportunity for examination because of accusations of TERF etc.

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WhosLookingAfterCourtney · 16/06/2014 08:44

What if trans women were accepted as women in the gender sense, but not as female in the biological sense?

A lot of the trans activist rhetoric seems to be denial of biological reality.

Public toilets, changing rooms, reproductive services are separate because of biological sex, not gender identity.

I read something recently arguing that talking about periods, abortion, pregnancy etc as women's issues was 'cis sexist' because they affect men too. Surely thisis madness?

Perhaps the separating of sex and gender would be a good thing, but I would still defend born women differentiating themselves. Born men too .

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BuffytheReasonableFeminist · 16/06/2014 09:29

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BuffytheReasonableFeminist · 16/06/2014 09:33

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WhosLookingAfterCourtney · 16/06/2014 12:57

That's what the article I read was suggesting buffy, that it was cis sexist to tell your children that boys have willies and girls have vaginas, to say that women have periods, etc, etc.

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WhosLookingAfterCourtney · 16/06/2014 13:05

I can't link on my phone but the article was on Everyday Feminism and was called '3 examples of everyday cis sexism'

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BuffytheReasonableFeminist · 16/06/2014 13:06

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