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I often hear it asserted that there is very little opportunity for nuance when discussing transgender topics online. I think that is true, in the sense that there are a lot of trans folks in pain, and there is also a lot of misconceptions about who and what we are. So, a thread
First, an essay I wrote about transgender rights. A lot of trans folks have different views to me on this, but one of my opinions that I outline here is that it doesn& #39;t matter if I am a "real" woman. My rights don& #39;t depend on the metaphysics of gender https://essays.djnavarro.net/post/an-ordinary-account/">https://essays.djnavarro.net/post/an-o...
Second, if you do want to think about such things a blog post that discusses the claims made by gender critical feminists. Probably one of the better things I have read that illustrates the incoherence of the underlying claims https://majesticequality.wordpress.com/2019/07/25/dear-philosophers-you-can-trust-the-feminist-consensus-gender-critical-radical-feminism-is-bogus/">https://majesticequality.wordpress.com/2019/07/2...
Third, a post by Talia Mae Bettcher that tries to highlight the hypocrisy of wanting to be taken seriously as an academic scholar on transgender subjects without actually reading the literature; and also just how painful it is to be the object of debates http://dailynous.com/2018/05/30/tables-speak-existence-trans-philosophy-guest-talia-mae-bettcher/">https://dailynous.com/2018/05/3...
Fourth, "52 pickup" is something I wrote as an oblique way of trying to highlight how difficult it is to survive in academia as a transgender woman. https://essays.djnavarro.net/post/52-pickup/ ">https://essays.djnavarro.net/post/52-p...
Pausing for a moment to make myself a cup of coffee. Will continue this thread shortly. In the meantime, some artwork!
Fifth, while #BlackTransLivesMatter 
https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> is a genuine discussion topic in the US, Australians aren& #39;t quite as familiar with it. I really liked this essay by Kai Clancy talking about life as an Aboriginal trans man in rural Queensland http://archermagazine.com.au/2020/06/trans-in-rural-queensland/">https://archermagazine.com.au/2020/06/t...
Sixth. There is a lot of variability in how transgender people think about our lives, our identities and our bodies. Some people think of transition as "becoming who I always was"; others think of themselves as having fundamentally changed. I& #39;m the latter https://essays.djnavarro.net/post/never-the-same/">https://essays.djnavarro.net/post/neve...
Seventh. If you want to get a sense of just how much variability exists (even within the category of trans women) I would highly recommend "To my trans sisters", edited by Charlie Craggs https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35290626-to-my-trans-sisters">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show...
Eighth. Sex, disclosure and dating are all complicated topics for transgender folks, but particularly for trans women because of the potential risks involved. I have always been fond of this essay by Jen Richards http://www.newnownext.com/we-had-sex-but-i-never-told-him-im-trans/08/2017/">https://www.newnownext.com/we-had-se...
Ninth. Often people are afraid to ask simple questions like "what& #39;s the difference between being intersex and being transgender?" or "what is bottom surgery?" This primer by Rachel Williams covers a lot of territory https://transphilosopher.wordpress.com/2018/03/22/the-ultimate-transgender-faq/">https://transphilosopher.wordpress.com/2018/03/2...
Another coffee break, and some more art (incidentally, a lot of my art is online at https://art.djnavarro.net/ ).">https://art.djnavarro.net/">... Back shortly!
Tenth. Detransition, desistance and gender dysphoria are complicated subjects, and much of the public discussion about these topics is less than ideal. This longer piece by Julia Serano is worth reading. https://medium.com/@juliaserano/detransition-desistance-and-disinformation-a-guide-for-understanding-transgender-children-993b7342946e">https://medium.com/@juliaser...
Eleventh. Some media outlets are (I would suggest) unreliable and you should take anything you read there with a grain of salt. Where I live, the primary concern is "The Australian" newspaper. This essay by Benjamin Law documents the pattern in detail https://www.quarterlyessay.com.au/essay/2017/09/moral-panic-101">https://www.quarterlyessay.com.au/essay/201...
Twelve. A lot of the time you& #39;ll find that transgender folks struggle to articulate messy ideas cleanly, and we often resort to metaphors as a way of communicating. It is unwise to take metaphors as literal claims, but they can be helpful. My attempt:
https://djnavarro.net/post/in-between.html">https://djnavarro.net/post/in-b...
https://djnavarro.net/post/in-between.html">https://djnavarro.net/post/in-b...
Thirteen. Sigh. JK Rowling wrote a blog post explaining why she opposes transgender rights. It looks very reasonable if you aren& #39;t aware of the context or the history. That& #39;s dangerous and her essay is misleading. This is a decent explainer I think https://medium.com/@briehanrahan/a-reasonable-persons-guide-to-the-j-k-rowling-essay-6bd9e2d638ad">https://medium.com/@briehanr...
One last art and coffee break, and then I& #39;ll wrap up
Fourteenth. Sexual violence is a particular threat to trans women of colour. This is a recent study in the Australian context that documents these experiences in detail https://www.anrows.org.au/project/crossing-the-line-lived-experience-of-sexual-violence-among-trans-women-from-culturally-and-linguistically-diverse-backgrounds-in-australia/">https://www.anrows.org.au/project/c...
Fifteenth. The US Trans Survey provides a broader overview from an American perspective http://www.ustranssurvey.org/ ">https://www.ustranssurvey.org/">...
Sixteenth is the 2018 Australian Trans and Gender Diverse Sexual Health Survey. Between this and the previous two links, I hope it is clear that there& #39;s quite a lot of empirical data our there. This isn& #39;t unknown territory https://kirby.unsw.edu.au/report/2018-australian-trans-and-gender-diverse-sexual-health-survey-report-findings">https://kirby.unsw.edu.au/report/20...
And so to the wrap up. As I said at the beginning, it is common to see people complain that "transgender activists" (like me?) are stifling important debate. I don& #39;t think that& #39;s true. Our frustration is not with people wanting to talk, it& #39;s with them not wanting to *listen*
Discussions of transgender lives are often conducted without our participation, or without any meaningful engagement with the (quite large) body of scholarship that exists to describe our lives and experiences. It& #39;s okay if you want to talk, but please try to do the reading first
It is hard to remain patience and calm when explaining something for the thousandth time, particularly when the subject is "why is it wrong to ask to see my breasts just to satisfy your curiosity?" (yes that happened) or "tell me about your genitals?" (yes that happened too)
Similarly it is difficult for me to remain calm when discussing whether I have the right to use women& #39;s bathrooms. I& #39;ve personally been threatened with violence over this subject, and it& #39;s one that affects me far more than it does any cisgender person. It& #39;s not a "calm" subject
I don& #39;t respond well when people want to talk about the "threat of sexual assault" posed by trans women (or men posing as trans women, blah blah blah). This is not because I don& #39;t care about the risks cisgender women face. On the contrary, it is because I am a rape survivor too
If you do want to talk about "trans issues" with me or other transgender people, that& #39;s okay. There& #39;s nothing wrong with talking. But you do have an obligation to approach the subject in a way that extends a bare minimum of decency and respect to us. We won& #39;t engage otherwise
And that& #39;s all I really have to say on this. Thanks for reading https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💜" title="Violettes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Violettes Herz">
