Last year, British author and philanthropist JK Rowling came under fire for a series of tweets explicitly targeted at trans people. In an open letter defending her position, Rowling argued that her statements were not transphobic in nature but rather an expression of her concerns over the potential erosion of women’s and girls’ rights. Following Rowling’s controversial remarks, entertainers, former fans, and organisations alike rallied to point out the numerous fallacies in her arguments. Given the global proliferation of hate crimes and transphobic abuse against trans people, Rowling’s words should not be viewed in isolation. An analysis of the current discussions on trans people reveals a larger structural problem in which gender-critical feminists are far too eager to parrot the transphobic rhetoric of far-right groups in the name of gender equality and women’s rights.
GENDER-CRITICAL FEMINISM
Self-proclaimed gender-critical feminists argue that women’s marginalisation is explicitly shaped by their biological sex and their status as physically different from men. Central to such trans-exclusionary feminism is the belief that biological sex is immutable and fixed. In other words, it cannot be changed. The term TERF, short for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, is widely used online to refer to those feminists that have incorporated anti-trans beliefs and ideas.
In a similar manner to far-right conservatives, TERFs view themselves as protecting women’s sex-based rights against alleged attacks from trans-rights activists seeking to reject biology in favour of gender identity. In defence of biological determinism and essentialist categorisations, proponents of gender-critical feminism represent trans people as sexual offenders, threats to the safety of women and girls, or reproducers of gender stereotypes.
THE FALSE DICHOTOMY BETWEEN WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND TRANS RIGHTS
While gender-critical feminists claim that their ideas are rooted in a concern for the rights of women and girls, it is clear that both transgender and cisgender women face high levels of systemic discrimination. For instance, a recent report published by Human Rights Watch revealed that trans women in Lebanon face staggering discrimination in education, employment, housing, and health care. We also know that discrimination against women from different backgrounds and experiences is pervasive and unrelenting in all corners of the globe. Yet, gender-critical feminists continue to weaponize gender equality in their attacks against trans people, creating a false dichotomy in which two equally oppressed groups are positioned against each other.
However, the attempts of gender-critical feminists to represent themselves as defenders of women’s rights fall short in the face of strong voices standing up for trans rights. As British organisation Mermaids put it in an open letter addressed to Rowling: “trans rights do not come at the expense of women’s rights”. This point is also reaffirmed in both domestic and international human rights instruments. For instance, the Equality Act 2010 is a piece of UK legislation containing provisions which prohibit discrimination on numerous grounds including both sex and gender reassignment.
THE COST OF GENDER-CRITICAL IDEOLOGY
In the process of relying on damaging stereotypes, gender-critical feminists ignore the intersecting discrimination that trans individuals face on an institutional level. In doing so, they undoubtedly risk enabling conservative and right-wing ideologies that embrace the curtailing of trans rights. Staggering online vitriol and targeted hit pieces only provide a brief snapshot into the ever-expanding web of gender-critical ideology. What emerges from recent attempts to restrict trans rights is that transphobic views are more than the fringe views of a small group of feminists.
As the gender-critical narrative continues to gain traction among feminist circles, governments and institutions alike seem equally willing to continue waging an onslaught against the rights of transgender and non-binary individuals. For example, following a high-profile court ruling which set out that children under the age of sixteen are unable to fully consent to puberty-blocking medication, dozens of UK children were unable to access their prescribed treatments. Similarly, citing the protection of biological women, recent US legislators seek to restrict trans women and girls from competing in women’s sports.
In addition, the year 2020 proved to be the deadliest year in history for trans or gender-diverse people. According to data from the advocacy organisation Transgender Europe (TGEU), 350 trans or gender-non-conforming individuals were murdered between November 2019 and November 2020. Such stark numbers paint a grim picture of the reality that trans people are forced to navigate. Most importantly, it shows that gender-critical feminists and conservative governments share the ideological standpoint that trans people must be shunned, restricted, and excluded from living their authentic selves.
Emelie is a recent graduate in International Politics and Law from Middlesex University. She is currently active as a Community Campaigner for Action Aid UK while also working as a volunteer for the non-profit, The Circle NGO. Her research interests include women in international law, humanitarian law, and gender and security.