matfem trans activists are so annoying. imagine calling yourself a materialist and being totally ignorant to the fact that by definition materialist feminism is about “seeing gender as a social construct, with society forcing gender roles, such as bearing children, onto women.”
like there is no version of true materialist feminism that considers transwomen women. because materialism contrasts idealism, which is the belief that human consciousness creates reality, the materialist conception is that that material reality creates human consciousness.
by this definition, the belief that transwomen are women is fundamentally incompatible with matfeminism. transwomen (males who face “transmisogyny”) dont exist materially as women bc women (human females) dont experience transmisogyny. the only way to experience it is to be male.
the material reality of transwomen is certainly different than the material reality of males who are not gender non-conforming, but this still doesn’t make transwomen definitionally women. consider this fact: GNC gay men often have material experiences very similar to transwomen.
the only MATERIAL difference, under capitalist patriarchy, btwn GNC men treated badly for being GNC & transwomen experiencing “transmisogyny” is that TW identify as women. the concept of “identifying as a woman” is idealistic, and therefore incompatible with materialist feminism.
materially, what makes transwomen women? the fact that many are sex workers & most sex workers are women? that’s not valid proof that theyre materially women. TW in sexwork have significant differences between their material conditions and the conditions of female ppl in sexwork.
materially, what makes TW women? the fact that men are violent to them for expressing themselves? again, not valid proof that TWAW. men are violent towards males they dislike or disagree with all the time. male violence against women and male violence against TW are not the same.
that’s not to say that TW’s safety is not important. nor is it undermining what transwomen go through. we SHOULD be working to dismantle public disdain for GNC males (TW included) & working to provide jobs/resources for TW so poor TW don’t turn to dangerous sex work to survive.
it is simply saying that, in following both the definition and beliefs of materialist feminism, there is no reality in which a transwoman experiences life materially similar enough to women (human females) that would make “transwomen are women” a valid materialist feminist take.
that does NOT mean i won’t respect the pronouns of adult transsexual males who pass consistently & move through the world being treated as women. i’m not a dickhead. but i’m also not going to accept the statement “transwomen are women, end of” as a matfem take when it’s just not.
so if you call yourself a matfem and somehow also insist that a feminist movement must center transwomen to be legitimate (like this person does), i urge you to reconsider either a. your belief that all TWAW or b. your label as a materialist feminist.
https://twitter.com/guessimafab/status/1127241557739024385?s=21
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