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===Transphobia and Religious Social Conservatism===
===Transphobia and Religious Social Conservatism===
The [[Christian Right]] has become increasingly involved in campaigning against transgender inclusive antidiscrimination legislation. Much of this transphobia is based on conservative [[Catholic]] [[natural law]] theory, derived from the work of [[Saint Augustine]] and [[Thomas Aquinas]] and then modified by [[John Finnis]], [[Robert George]] and other conservative Catholics to posit human 'essences' that are supposedly 'immutable' (like 'biological sex' or 'genetical or chromosomal sex') to discourage government funding for reassignment surgery, or inclusion within anti-discrimination legislation, such as [[Canada]]'s contemporary [[Bill C-279]], intended to outlaw discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Transgender rights activists and [[LGB]] and other supporters question why a sectarian religious philosophy, such as "natural law" theory, should be binding on those who do not share these a priori religious conservative perceptions of gender identity and the morality of reassignment surgery or transsexuality, citing [[religious freedom]], [[freedom from religion]] and religious compulsion and faith or [[church/state seperation]] as benchmarks of healthy democratic societies.<ref>http://www.religioustolerance.org</ref>
The [[Christian Right]] has become increasingly involved in campaigning against transgender inclusive antidiscrimination legislation. Much of this transphobia is based on conservative [[Catholic]] [[natural law]] theory, derived from the work of [[Saint Augustine]] and [[Thomas Aquinas]] and then modified by [[John Finnis]], [[Robert George]] and other conservative Catholics to posit human 'essences' that are supposedly 'immutable' (like 'biological sex' or 'genetical or chromosomal sex') to discourage government funding for reassignment surgery, or inclusion within anti-discrimination legislation, such as [[Canada]]'s contemporary [[Bill C-279]], intended to outlaw discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Transgender rights activists and [[LGB]] and other supporters question why a sectarian religious philosophy, such as "natural law" theory, should be binding on those who do not share these a priori religious conservative perceptions of gender identity and the morality of reassignment surgery or transsexuality, citing [[religious freedom]], [[freedom from religion]] and religious compulsion and faith or [[church/state seperation]] as benchmarks of healthy democratic societies.<ref>http://www.religioustolerance.org/transsexu9a.html</ref><ref>http://www.religioustolerance.org/transsexu15.html<ref>




Revision as of 02:57, 17 January 2013

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Transphobia (or less commonly cissexism, transprejudice, trans-misogyny, referring to transphobia directed toward trans women and trans-misandry, referring to transphobia directed toward trans men) is a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards transsexualism and transsexual or transgender people, based on the expression of their internal gender identity (see Phobia – terms indicating prejudice or class discrimination). Whether intentional or not, transphobia can have severe consequences for the target of the negative attitude. Many trans people also experience homophobia from people who associate their gender identity with homosexuality. Attacking someone on the basis of a perception of their gender identity rather the perception of their sexual orientation is known as "trans bashing", as opposed to "gay bashing".

Etymology and use

Transphobia is a portmanteau word patterned on the term homophobia. It derives from the English neo-classical prefix trans- (meaning "across, on the far side, beyond") from transgender and the root -phobia (from the Greek: φόβος, phóbos, "fear") found in homophobia. Along with biphobia, homophobia and transphobia are members of the family of terms used when intolerance and discrimination is directed toward LGBT people.

Transphobia need not be a phobia as defined in clinical psychology (i.e., an anxiety disorder). Its meaning and use typically parallel those of xenophobia.

The adjectival form transphobic describes things or qualities related to transphobia, whereas the noun transphobe is a label for people thought to harbor transphobia.

Origins

The transsexual feminist theorist and author Julia Serano argues in her book Whipping Girl that transphobia is rooted in sexism. She locates the origins of both transphobia and homophobia in what she calls "oppositional sexism", the belief that male and female are "rigid, mutually exclusive categories, each possessing a unique and nonoverlapping set of attributes, aptitudes, abilities, and desires". Serano contrasts oppositional sexism with "traditional sexism", the belief that males and masculinity are superior to females and femininity. Furthermore, she writes that transphobia is fueled by insecurities people have about gender and gender norms.[1]

The transgender author and critic Jody Norton believes that transphobia is an extension of homophobia and misogyny. She argues that transgender people, like gays and lesbians, are hated and feared for challenging and undermining gender norms and the gender binary. Norton writes that the "male-to-female transgender incites transphobia through her implicit challenge to the binary division of gender upon which male cultural and political hegemony depends".[2]

Examples

Transgender activists point to many instances in many of its different forms and manifestations throughout society.

Difficulties encountered by transgender people

Homeless shelters, hospitals and prisons have engaged in practices that have a demeaning impact on trans women, refusing, for example, admission to women's areas and forcing them to sleep and bathe in the presence of men.[3] This situation has been changing in some areas, however. For example, on February 8, 2006, New York City's Department of Homeless Services announced an overhaul of its housing policy with the goal of specifically ending discrimination against transgender people in its shelters.[4]

Trans bashing

Trans bashing is the act of victimizing a person physically, sexually, or verbally because they are transgender or transsexual.[5] Unlike gay bashing, it is committed because of the target's actual or perceived gender identity, not sexual orientation. However, a trans person may be gay bashed if the person perceives them as gay rather than transgender. The term has also been applied to hate speech directed at transgender people[6] and at depictions of transgender people in the media that reinforce negative stereotypes about them.[7]

Notable victims of violent crimes motivated by transphobia include Brandon Teena, Gwen Araujo, Angie Zapata, Nizah Morris, and Lauren Harries.[8]

Transphobia in healthcare

See also: Healthcare and the LGBT community

Transgender people depend largely on the medical profession to receive not only hormone replacement therapy, but also vital care. In one case, Robert Eads died of ovarian cancer after being refused treatment by more than two dozen doctors.[9] In the US-based National Center For Transgender Equality's 2011 survey, 19% had been refused medical care due to their transgender or gender non-conforming status.,[10] showing that refusal of treatment due to transphobia is not uncommon. Another example of this is the case of Tyra Hunter. Ms. Hunter was involved in an automobile accident, and when rescue workers discovered she was transgender, they backed away and stopped administering treatment. She later died in hospital.[11]

In Sweden, any transgender person who wishes to change their legal gender must first be sterilized.[12]

Transphobia in employment

Transphobia also manifests itself in the workplace. Some transgender people lose their jobs when they begin to transition. A study from Willamette University stated that a transsexual person fired for following the recommended course of treatment rarely wins it back through federal or state statutes.[13]

News stories from the San Francisco Chronicle and Associated Press cite a 1999 study by the San Francisco Department of Public Health finding a 70 percent unemployment rate amongst the city's transgender population. On February 18, 1999, the San Francisco Department of Public Health issued the results of a 1997 survey of 392 trans women and 123 trans men, which found that 40 percent of those trans women surveyed had earned money from full or part-time employment over the preceding six months. For trans men, the equivalent statistic was 81 percent. The survey also found that 46 percent of trans women and 57 percent of trans men reported employment discrimination.[14]

In the hiring process, discrimination may be either open or covert, with employers finding other ostensible reasons not to hire a candidate or just not informing prospective employees at all as to why they are not being hired. Additionally, when an employer fires or otherwise discriminates against a transgender employee, it may be a "mixed motive" case, with the employer openly citing obvious wrongdoing, job performance issues or the like (such as excessive tardiness, for example) while keeping silent in regards to transphobia.[citation needed]

Employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression is illegal in some U.S. cities, towns and states. Such discrimination is outlawed by specific legislation in the State of New Jersey and might be in other states (as it is in the states of California, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico and Washington) or city ordinances; additionally, it is covered by case law in some other states. (For example, Massachusetts is covered by cases such as Lie vs. Sky Publishing Co. and Jette vs. Honey Farms.) Several other states and cities prohibit such discrimination in public employment. Sweden and the United Kingdom has also legislated against employment discrimination on the grounds of gender identity. Sometimes, however, employers discriminate against transgender employees in spite of such legal protections.[15]

There is at least one high-profile employment-related court case unfavorable to transgender people. In 2000, the southern U.S. grocery chain Winn-Dixie fired longtime employee Peter Oiler, despite a history of repeatedly earning raises and promotions, after management learned that the married, heterosexual truck driver occasionally cross-dressed off the job. Management argued that this hurt Winn-Dixie's corporate image. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Winn-Dixie on behalf of Oiler but a judge dismissed it.[16]

Sometimes transgender people facing employment discrimination turn to sex work to survive,[17] placing them at additional risk of such things as encountering troubles with the law, including arrest and criminal prosecution; enduring workplace violence; and possibly contracting sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV.[14]

Transphobia in asylum seeking

Transgender people also face the denial of right of asylum or inhuman treatment in process of asylum-seeking. For example, Fernada Milan, a transsexual woman from Guatemala was placed in an asylum center for males in Denmark and while there, was raped by several men. She is now in danger of deportation into Guatemala where transgender people have no rights and face possible execution.[18]

Transgender disenfranchisement

See also: Transgender disenfranchisement in the United States

Transgender disenfranchisement is the practice of creating or upholding barriers that keep transgender individuals from voting and therefore restrict the principles of universal suffrage.

Transphobia and Religious Social Conservatism

The Christian Right has become increasingly involved in campaigning against transgender inclusive antidiscrimination legislation. Much of this transphobia is based on conservative Catholic natural law theory, derived from the work of Saint Augustine and Thomas Aquinas and then modified by John Finnis, Robert George and other conservative Catholics to posit human 'essences' that are supposedly 'immutable' (like 'biological sex' or 'genetical or chromosomal sex') to discourage government funding for reassignment surgery, or inclusion within anti-discrimination legislation, such as Canada's contemporary Bill C-279, intended to outlaw discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Transgender rights activists and LGB and other supporters question why a sectarian religious philosophy, such as "natural law" theory, should be binding on those who do not share these a priori religious conservative perceptions of gender identity and the morality of reassignment surgery or transsexuality, citing religious freedom, freedom from religion and religious compulsion and faith or church/state seperation as benchmarks of healthy democratic societies.[19]Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Perhaps the most visible site of conflict between feminists and trans women has been the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. The festival ejected a transsexual woman, Nancy Burkholder, in the early 1990s.[20] Since then, the festival has admitted "womyn-born-womyn" only. The activist group Camp Trans formed to protest the "womyn-born-womyn" policy and to advocate for greater acceptance of trans women within the feminist community. A number of prominent transgender activists and transfeminists were involved in Camp Trans including Riki Wilchins, Jessica Xavier, and Leslie Feinberg.[citation needed] The festival considered allowing post-operative trans women to attend, however this was criticized as classist, as many trans women cannot afford sex reassignment surgery.[21]

Kimberly Nixon is a trans woman who volunteered for training as a rape crisis counselor at Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1995. When Nixon's transsexual status was determined, she was expelled. The staff decided that Nixon's status made it impossible for her to understand the experiences of their clients, and also required their clients to be genetically female. Nixon disagreed, disclosing her own history of partner abuse and sued for discrimination. Nixon's attorneys argued that there was no basis for the dismissal, citing Diana Courvant's experiences as the first publicly transsexual woman to work in a women-only domestic violence shelter. In 2007 the Canadian Supreme Court refused to hear Nixon's appeal, ending the case.[22][23][24]

Transsexual women such as Sandy Stone challenged the feminist conception of "biological woman". Stone worked as a sound engineer for Olivia Records from about 1974 to 1978, resigning as the controversy over a trans woman working for a lesbian-identified enterprise increased.[25] The debate continued in Raymond's book,[26] which devoted a chapter to criticism of "the transsexually constructed lesbian-feminist." Groups like Lesbian Organization of Toronto then voted to exclude trans lesbians.[27] Sheila Jeffreys labeled transgenderism "deeply problematic from a feminist perspective and [stated] that transsexualism should be seen as a violation of human rights."[28]

Transprejudice

Transprejudice is a similar term to transphobia, and refers to the negative valuing, stereotyping, and discriminatory treatment of individuals whose appearance and/or identity does not conform to current social expectations or conventional conceptions of gender.[29]

Transphobia in the gay, lesbian, and bisexual communities

Some members of the LGBT communities are uncomfortable with transgender individuals and issues. Authors and observers have written that "there are social and political forces that have created a split between gay/lesbian communities and bisexual/transgender communities, and these forces have consequences for civil rights and community inclusion. 'Biphobia' and 'transphobia' are a result of these social and political forces, not psychological forces causing irrational fears in aberrant individuals."[30][31][32]

Trans author Jillian Todd Weiss traces this back to social constructions created by early sexologists which split homosexuality into sexual orientation (sexual object choice) and gender identity (sexual self-identification as male or female): "This scientific rationalism and medicalization of homosexuality confirmed it as a unitary, monolithic phenomenon. This created a monosexist (exclusively same-sex) 'homosexual identity,' and a corresponding tension between identification as homosexual, on the one hand, and passing as heterosexual and/or engaging in heterosexual relationships."[30]

Historian Joanne Meyerowitz documented transphobia within the gay rights movement in the mid 20th century in response to publicity surrounding the transition of Christine Jorgensen. Jorgensen, who made frequent homophobic remarks and insisted she was not connected to or identified with gay men, was a polarizing figure among activists:

In 1953, for example, ONE magazine published a debate among its readers as to whether gay men should denounce Jorgensen. In the opening salvo, the author Jeff Winters accused Jorgensen of a "sweeping disservice" to gay men. "As far as the public knows," Winters wrote, "you were merely another unhappy homosexual who decided to get drastic about it." For Winters, Jorgensen's story simply confirmed the false belief that all men attracted to other men must be basically feminine," which, he said, "they are not." Jorgensen's precedent, he thought, encouraged the "reasoning" that led "to legal limitations upon the homosexual, mandatory injections, psychiatric treatment – and worse." In the not-so-distant past, scientists had experimented with castrating gay men.[33]

Several prominent figures in second wave feminism have also been accused of transphobic attitudes, culminating in 1979 with the publication of The Transsexual Empire by lesbian ethicist Janice Raymond, who popularized the term she-male as a slur of trans women.[34]

Trans women are sometimes denied entry to women's spaces, an attitude which many transgender people consider to be transphobic. The feminist Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, for instance, has received much criticism for limiting its attendance to "womyn-born womyn".[35] Kay Brown of transhistory.net (“Transsexual, Transgender and Intersex History” - no longer online) has set forth a long chronology of the ejection of those who we now know as transgender from gay organizations starting in the 1970s.[36]

Some trans men face ostracism and rejection from lesbian communities they had been part of prior to transition. Journalist Louise Rafkin writes, "There are those who are feeling curiously uncomfortable standing by as friends morph into men. Sometimes there is a generational flavor to this discomfort; many in the over-40 crowd feel particular unease."[37] Trans men were part of the protest at the 2000 Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, "the first time the 'womyn-born womyn only' policy has been used against trannie boys, boydykes, FTM's, Lesbian Avengers and young gender-variant women."[38]

Protesters outside the 2010 premiere of Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives, written and directed by gay filmmaker Israel Luna, objecting to what they considered to be transphobic portrayals in the camp film and its trailer, which referred to several notable real-life murders of transgender people before being taken down.[39]

While many gays and lesbians feel that transgender is simply a name for a part of their own community (i.e. the LGBT community), others actively reject the idea that transgender people are part of their community, seeing them as entirely separate and distinct.

In the early 1970s, conflicts began to emerge due to different syntheses of lesbian, feminist and transgender political movements, particularly in the United States. San Francisco trans activist and entertainer Beth Elliott became the focus of debate over whether to include transsexual lesbians in the movement, and she was eventually blacklisted by her own movement.[40][41]

The nature of the terms man and woman also become unclear in a similar way under this philosophy, and many feel that the only real recourse is to accept that the mind and feeling of a person is the only thing that gives that person identity, and so a person that has a female identity and mind is indeed a woman. According to this thinking, it becomes clear that in at least a categorical sense, transgender people should only be accepted in the LGB community if they themselves self-identify as gay. lesbian or bisexual, and the blanket assumption on the part of some gay, lesbian and bisexual people on the nature of those transgender people who are in their LGB community with a view to dis-inclusion constitutes an issue of transphobia.[36] The implacability of this question has been overcome by the rise in the 1990s of queer theory and the queer community, which defines queer as embracing all variants of sexual identity, sexual desire, and sexual acts that fall outside normative definitions of heterosexuality; thus a heterosexual man or woman as well as a transgender person of any sex can be included in the category of queer through their own choice.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ Julia Serano. Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, Seal Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-58005-154-5, ISBN 1-58005-154-5
  2. ^ Norton, Jody (1997). ""Brain Says You're a Girl, But I Think You're a Sissy Boy": Cultural Origins of Transphobia". International Journal of Sexuality and Gender Studies. 2, Number 2 (2): 139–164. doi:10.1023/A:1026320611878.
  3. ^ Beam, Cris (2008). Transparent. Harvest Books. ISBN 978-0-15-603377-0. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "NYC's Department of Homeless Services Issues a Trans-Affirmative Housing Policy". The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Center. 5 February 2006. Archived from the original on 15 June 2006. Retrieved 6 September 2006..
  5. ^ Guilty plea over transsexual bashing By Mariza O'Keefe in Herald Sun
  6. ^ Demagogues of defamation Gay: Where is the outrage when cable TV’s talking heads trash trans people?
  7. ^ McNamara, Mary (2001-02-08). "Transgender Artists, Work Gaining Acceptance". Los Angeles Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  8. ^ "Transsexual to move to 'safer' LA". BBC News. 6 September 2005.]
  9. ^ "FTM Informational Network". Retrieved 2009-11-24.
  10. ^ "Injustice at Every Turn A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey" (PDF). transequality.org.
  11. ^ "Victory in Tyra Hunter case". Retrieved 2009-11-24.
  12. ^ Houston, Andrea. "Trans people forcibly sterilized in Sweden". Retrieved Monday, January 23, 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  13. ^ JoAnna McNamara (30 August 1996). "Employment discrimination and the Transsexual". Willamette University. Retrieved 10 September 2006.
  14. ^ a b The Transgender Community Health Project (18 February 1999). "Sociodemographics". Descriptive Results. HIVInSite. Retrieved 7 September 2006. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Barbara Findlay, Q.C. (June 1999). "Transgendered people and Employment: An equality analysis" (PDF). Barbara Findlay Law Office. Retrieved 10 September 2006. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Ronald L. Wilson (23 October 2000). "Oliver v. Winn-Dixie Complaint". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  17. ^ Jacques, Juliet (Wednesday 25 August 2010). "'No wonder many transsexual people end up in sex work'". The Guardian. Retrieved Friday 30 March 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  18. ^ Transgender woman Fernada raped in a Danish centre for asylum seekers
  19. ^ http://www.religioustolerance.org/transsexu9a.html
  20. ^ Van Gelder, Lindsy; and Pamela Robin Brandt. "The Girls Next Door: Into the Heart of Lesbian America", p. 73. Simon and Schuster, ISBN 978-0-684-83957-8
  21. ^ Sreedhar, Susanne (2006). "The Ethics of Exclusion: Gender and Politics at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival". In Scott-Dixon, Krista (ed.). Trans/Forming Feminisms: Trans/Feminist Voices Speak Out. Toronto: Sumach Press. pp. 164–65. ISBN 1-894-54961-9. OCLC 70839321. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |editor[n]-last=, |authorlink[n]=, |editor[n]-first=, |laydate=, |editor[n]-link=, |separator=, |author-name-separator=, |nopp=, |laysummary=, |trans_title=, |chapterurl=, |month=, |trans_chapter=, |author-separator=, and |lastauthoramp= (help); Unknown parameter |first[n]= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |last[n]= ignored (help)
  22. ^ http://www.egale.ca/index.asp?lang=E&menu=34&item=1147
  23. ^ http://www.rapereliefshelter.bc.ca/issues/nixon/jan082001_lakeman.pdf
  24. ^ Perelle, Robin (February 14, 2007). Rape Relief wins: Supreme Court refuses to hear trans woman's appeal. Xtra
  25. ^ Sayer, Susan (1995-10-01). "From Lesbian Nation to Queer Nation". Hecate. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference Raymond 1994 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Ross, Becki (1995). The House that Jill Built: A Lesbian Nation in Formation. University of Toronto Press, ISBN 978-0-8020-7479-9
  28. ^ Jeffreys, Sheila (1997). Transgender Activism: A Lesbian Feminist Perspective. "Journal of Lesbian Studies", Vol. 1(3/4) 1997
  29. ^ King, M., Webster, B., & Winter, S. (2007). Transprejudice in Hong Kong: Chinese Attitudes Towards Transgenderism and Transgender Civil Rights (under review)
  30. ^ a b Weiss JT (2004). GL vs BT The archaeology of biphobia and transphobia within U.S. gay and lesbian community. Journal of Bisexuality, 3, 25-55.
  31. ^ Sears, J.T., and Williams, W.L. (1997). Overcoming Heterosexism and Homophobia. New York: Columbia University Press
  32. ^ Fone, B.R.S. (1998). The Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature: Readings from Western Antiquity to the Present Day. Columbia University Press, ISBN 9780231096706
  33. ^ Meyerowitz, Joanne (2002). How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States. Harvard University Press ISBN 9780674009257
  34. ^ Raymond J (1979, reprint 1994). The Transsexual Empire. Teachers College Press, p. 104, ISBN 978-0807762721
  35. ^ Taormino, Tristan (13 September 2000). "Trouble in Utopia". The Village Voice. Retrieved 7 September 2006.
  36. ^ a b Weiss, Jillian Todd. "GL vs. BT: The Archaeology of Biphobia and Transphobia Within the U.S. Gay and Lesbian Community". Retrieved 7 July 2006. Cite error: The named reference "GLBTphobia" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  37. ^ Rafkin, Louise (June 22, 2003) Straddling Sexes: Young lesbians transitioning into men are shaking the foundation of the lesbian-feminist world. San Francisco Chronicle
  38. ^ Mantilla, Karla (October 1, 2000). Michigan: transgender controversy. Off Our Backs
  39. ^ “Ticked-Off Trannies,” and detractors, take on Tribeca, Edith Honan, Reuters, April 25, 2010; accessed October 5, 2010.
  40. ^ Henry Rubin (2003). Self-made Men: Identity and Embodiment Among Transsexual Men. Vanderbilt University Press, ISBN 978-0-8265-1435-6
  41. ^ Geri Nettick, Beth Elliot (1996). "Mirrors: Portrait of a Lesbian Transexual." Badboy Books ISBN 978-1-56333-435-1
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