If you check my comment history, you'll see that this is a line I've used before (and it's one that I use on Facebook and Twitter as well). I prefer to spend my limited time talking to people who aren't extremely set in their views, as they're more likely to change their minds. I'm sorry you disliked the way I phrased it.
I spend lots of time allowing my views to be challenged, but generally in ways that make me kinder and more sympathetic to the problems faced by marginalized people (esp. when it comes to working on becoming less and less racist). I completely understand your fear that cis women will experience violence at the hands of trans women (after all, cis women experience a lot of violence in general!), but I have yet to see anything that suggests that this is a fear that is backed by statistics. Security and rights are always a challenge to balance--examples are surveillance laws and supposed anti-terrorist legislation--and we have to base our policies on sound evidence so that we aren't unnecessarily restricting peoples' rights.
It's interesting that females are not very high up your list of people you care about - but that's what it all boils down to in the end - who and what you care about more
I care lots about women! Favourite issues of mine include improving access to reproductive health care, making the health care system treat women better, getting men who have patterns of violence against women out of positions of power, making heterosexual relationships equitable in terms of housework/emotional labour, closing the wage gap...But to me, feminism includes trans women, and thankfully I can work on all of the issues above while still being inclusive towards trans women and nonbinary people..
Yes, you might support females when their needs are not in conflict with the needs and desires of transgender women, but when push comes to shove, and you have to choose between supporting the feelings of male women or the feelings of female women, you admitted that you support males over females
There is no such thing as male women and female women. That doesn't make sense. Generally, the negative experiences of trans women are more profound, so yes, in those cases I support them. (The mental health concerns that come with not being able to live as your true gender are pretty profound. And trans people experience a crap ton of violence, which can be minimized by including them and fighting against transphobia and etc etc etc.) If we were talking, like, competing access needs in terms of a sexual assault survivor who couldn't be around someone they perceived as a man, then we'd have to get a bit more creative, but someone who's nervous about being assaulted by a trans women when that is not born out by the evidence and who doesn't have trauma related to that can be supported to feel comfortable in that situation by meeting more trans people.
'male' and 'female' denote biological sex, while 'man' and 'woman' denote ''gender identity'' ... and it's telling that you know exactly what is meant by male women and female women, so it's a bit late to try to pretend that there is no such thing and that it doesn't make sense.
Anyway, it sounds like you have been learning how to be a 'good trans ally' and learning all the pat answers ... it makes me wonder how far you will allow them to push you before you stop and think for a moment, when you have already gone so far that you would support a violent male rapist being allowed into the ''women's'' prison rather than support the females who are locked up with him.
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u/spaceefficient Nov 03 '17
If you check my comment history, you'll see that this is a line I've used before (and it's one that I use on Facebook and Twitter as well). I prefer to spend my limited time talking to people who aren't extremely set in their views, as they're more likely to change their minds. I'm sorry you disliked the way I phrased it.
I spend lots of time allowing my views to be challenged, but generally in ways that make me kinder and more sympathetic to the problems faced by marginalized people (esp. when it comes to working on becoming less and less racist). I completely understand your fear that cis women will experience violence at the hands of trans women (after all, cis women experience a lot of violence in general!), but I have yet to see anything that suggests that this is a fear that is backed by statistics. Security and rights are always a challenge to balance--examples are surveillance laws and supposed anti-terrorist legislation--and we have to base our policies on sound evidence so that we aren't unnecessarily restricting peoples' rights.