Misogyny, part three. Finn McKay recently wrote an article entitled “Don’t write off radical feminism — it’s always been ahead of its time” (The Guardian, Oct. 18, 2021).
In the 1960s, the creation of a more radical women’s movement included challenging racialized capitalism and male supremacy, while liberal feminism largely sought legal equality within the existing framework. McKay writes that “the radical feminists of the 1970s were some of the first to expand definitions of family and greater freedom of expression for gender and sexual identities that cut against the grain of heterosexuality.”
When I came of age as a lesbian feminist in the early 1980s, I remember much discussion about gender as a social construct. We saw this as part and parcel of patriarchal dominance, and we sought to stand outside of scripted gender expectations. Women are expected to follow patriarchal norms in society, and women-identified lesbians pay a price for not subscribing to the rules.
It is particularly ironic in today’s world that mainstream transgender activists often refer to radical feminists as TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists) when we continue to challenge patriarchal influences and oppression. Such pejorative name-calling lacks depth and it reflects the same dismissive attitude radical feminists experience from white hetero-patriarchy.
Radical feminist writers and leaders in the 1970s argued that transgender movement perpetuates patriarchal gender norms and is thus incompatible with radical feminism. Arguments include analyses of men appropriating female identity in insulting stereotypes of women and women transitioning to men to subscribe to patriarchy and male privilege. Trans-inclusive radical feminists, on the other hand, see transgenderism as a part of undermining patriarchal essentialism. Complicated? Indeed.
I trust transgender activists who support feminism and who do not pretend to know how it feels to be a woman-born-woman. I do not support transgender activists who use hate speech, threats and boycotts to undermine feminists. The many death and rape threats against J.K. Rowling are reprehensible and violent. The sharing of her home address for those who wish her harm are the tactics used by white Christian nationalists, anti-vaxxers and the ilk. Rowling has the audacity to believe that women-born-women are not the same as transgender women. She is a generous philanthropist who works to make the world a better place.
There is something disturbingly patriarchal and misogynist about going after feminists rather than working with feminists to dismantle systems of oppression. In 2014, the iconic Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival was attacked by transgender activists for being an event for women-born-women (WBW). Lisa Vogel, the founder and director, defended the parameters that had been in place since 1976. She stated she “rejects the assertion that creating a time and place for WBW to gather is inherently transphobic. This is a false dichotomy that prevents progress and understanding.” Damage was done on a national scale, while Vogel was more than willing to offer advice for transgender women to launch a similar event.
Why didn’t transgender women create their own festival? Insisting on usurping a different kind of event was not productive; in fact, it was misogynist and caused harm to thousands of women-identified-women who live in oppressive circumstances in their everyday lives and found support and strength at Michigan to sustain them year after year. I am an anti-racism activist and trainer, yet I cannot imagine insisting on a right to BIPOC space. My identity is valid but it is different.
In the Movement for Black Lives coalition groups (also ahead of their time), there is a plethora of Black feminist leadership, there is transgender inclusion, and there are clear statements of purpose that members are expected to question and combat patriarchy. At meetings and conferences, women such as Ella Baker, Sojourner Truth and Fannie Lou Hamer are routinely invoked to acknowledge their sacrifices and work that effected change. This is distinct from the more mainstream transgender movement.
Radical feminists are not obsolete. We have embraced complex analyses and ethics for a very long time. Until we are respected and free, misogyny wins. Me, I cast my lot with Black feminists who believe in intersectional justice with a clear eye on undoing toxic patriarchy.
Cultural humility and empathy require an understanding of entitlement and harm. It’s not easy work, yet it is absolutely necessary for progress and justice. Is it possible that each version of radical feminism has merit? Deep listening all the way around could lead to greater understanding for sure. Apparently misogynist moves by transgender activists alienate potentially important allies — radical feminists. As Audre Lorde wrote, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”
J.M. Sorrell is a social justice activist/trainer and a feminist at her core.