This project was created for RIT's Foundations in Women's and Gender Studies class
What is an ally? Roxane Gay answers this question in the article, On Making Black Lives Matter
Black people do not need allies. We need people to stand up and take on the problems borne of oppression as their own, without remove or distance. We need people to do this even if they cannot fully understand what it’s like to be oppressed for their race or ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, class, religion, or other marker of identity. We need people to use common sense to figure out how to participate in social justice. - Roxane Gay
This project serves as a guide to those wishing to become an ally to trans women.
In order to talk about issues facing trans women, it's import to have a shared common language.
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| Deadname | A transgender persons given birth name. |
| Preferred Name | The name a transgender person chooses to go by in order to align their presentation with their gender expression. |
| Preferred Pronouns | The pronouns a transgender person prefers to be called. Common examples are She/Her/Hers, He/Him/His, They/Them/Theirs. |
| Transphobia | Irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against transgender people |
| Mysogyny | Dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women. |
| Transmysogyny | The intersection of transphobia and misogyny as experienced by trans women and transfeminine people. |
| Intersectionality | The complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups. |
| Gender Critical | Feminists who believe that sex is biological and immutable, while believing gender, including both gender identity and gender roles, is inherently oppressive. They reject the concept of transgender identities. |
Disclaimer: These are my own personal opinions on allyship for trans women, take it with a grain of salt, I am not the voice of the entire transgender community.
- Respect people's preferred names and pronouns. This means advocating for people to use a trans woman's preferred name and pronouns when they deadname or misgender them.
- Understand that trans women lay at the intersection between female and trans identities and experience both mysogyny and transphobia. Interrogate your relationship with mysogyny so as not to perpetuate harmful behaviors towards trans women.
- Stay up to date with terms. Much of the language used now by trans women is very different than those who were born in the past century. Terms like transvestite are now considered derogatory and would likely offend most trans people. This will likely hold true as time progresses, so continuing your education on trans issues is critical to becoming a good ally.
- Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano. The foundational text for modern trans women. Julia Serano discusses at length transmysogyny (a term she coined) and how rigid views of sex and gender harm us all. A mandatory reading for anyone wishing to become an ally for trans women.
-
Gender Critical by Natalie Wynn. This essay deconstructs gender critical (GC) arguments while answering lay persons questions about trans femme identity. It exposes the transphobia inherent to gender critical viewpoints while also giving excellent counterpoints for allies to use when facing GC arguments.
-
Incels by Natalie Wynn. Incels gives a broad overview of involuntary celibate culture and body dysmorphia, before connecting it to the experiences of trans women early on in their transition. It gives insight into internalized transphobia that trans women experience, as well as the harmful language used by trans women against each other.