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On non-binary gender legal recognition: let& #39;s avoid a binary framework for understanding it. There are broadly 2 positions showing up on my timeline: Trans Rights and Trans Liberation: posited as mutually exclusive, binary postitions. They are not. /1
Trans Rights agendas are concerned with lack of representation, equal rights & legal recognition. When people experience exclusion, it feels logical to ask for inclusion. In and of itself this is a political dead-end (see: Caitlyn Jenner). This is often called trans-liberalism /2
Trans Liberation is concerned w/ understanding the systems of transphobia, misogyny, racism, classism, borders etc & how they are intwined. That legal gender recognition reinforces policies of policing, control & racism. It aims for removing legal gender entirely /3
It is right to critique trans liberalism as an end goal, and to be critically aware of the ways that it colludes with wider systems of oppression. I did this very thing recently when trans folks celebrated MI6& #39;s trans flag https://twitter.com/NMRLPH/status/1379042400224604164?s=20">https://twitter.com/NMRLPH/st... /4
But, we should also understand that (a) it& #39;s not "bad" that people want to be included in a system in which they deal day to day with violences because of their exclusion and pragmatically, we are going to bring people with us by shaming or denouncing that desire. /5
(b) rights are also a by-product of liberatory politics. They are won on the way and at their best act as harm reduction, at worst result in splintering of a movement by picking off people via self-interest. Liberationists need to be smart not to let this divide&rule win. /6
I& #39;m not suggesting it& #39;s easy to balance; we win rights as harm reduction on the way towards liberation, but they are used to co-opt/divide and rule. The only way I know through is by having rigorous and accountable political frameworks to organise from. /7
Much like we understand the idea of reformist reform & abolitionist reform in abolitionist movements: when do rights lead to a political dead-end, when do they remove power from oppressive structures, and when does how we respond to them collude with oppressive structures /8
So back to legal non-binary recognition: there are real parts of my life this will impact - healthcare, employment, relationships etc. But it& #39;s not my political end goal because I understand that there are real parts of my life it will harm; policing, hate crime, racism etc. /9
One of my biggest learnings from taking the position "I won& #39;t be part of the movement that wants to expand legalised marriage for LGBT+ people because it& #39;s a form of control and I want to abolish legal marriage" is that by so many of our voices not being at the table they... /10
... put us on the menu e.g. adding in the spousal veto which requires a married trans person to have their spouses legal consent to legally transition. We didn& #39;t stop the expansion of marriage, we let the rest of the movement use us to gain easy wins /11
So I think we need to widen the rhetoric on the discourse here to be oriented to bringing more of the movement with us & understand that for lots of non-binary people (most specifically, gender non-conforming, racialised, working class, disabled and trans fem/me NB people)... /12
... there are material & valid reasons for recognition & inclusion. The questions I& #39;m asking myself at the moment are less about how to stop people campaigning for it, and more about how we utilise the movement energy towards a liberatory framework and away from a liberal one /13
In conclusion; I think we need to move away from a binary argument based on shaming each other, to a non-binary understanding of how rights & liberation work together in practice and in service of those most harmed by the structures that a trans liberation is concerned with. /14
I& #39;m curious what other people think about this, what strategies people are using and how we use our political frameworks for building power? /15
@vicparsons_ says it with more nuance and detail here: https://twitter.com/pinknews/status/1389909489651003393">https://twitter.com/pinknews/...
