A Widdershins Girl

It is Not Transphobic to Treat Trans Men as Men

I have recently been hearing about multiple instances of trans men and occasionally others condemning certain women’s spaces — spaces that include and are co-organized by trans women — as transphobic and even campaigning against them because they don’t include trans men. What the fuck, guys?

It seems like most women’s spaces are falling into two categories these days. They are either conservative anti-trans spaces that actively exclude all trans people, or they are progressive trans-positive spaces that decide that the most progressive thing they could do would be to dismantle themselves as women-only and become gender neutral. With either option, trans women are denied access to women only space. Now it appears the few women-only spaces that are actively *inclusive* of trans women are facing pressure to become gender neutral.

As a trans woman raised in feminist community, I know the value that women-only spaces can hold. Growing up in such close proximity to women-only spaces without having the same kind of access gave me a special appreciation for the power they have to create community, heal misogyny’s wounds, and further female empowerment — all things trans women are often in desperate need of.

I mean, we can all hang out in our all-genders spaces. I’ll volunteer to keep them going, my partner can bring a batch of hir awesome cupcakes. But whether we are talking about a dyke march, a women’s conference, or localized feminist organizing, exerting external force to dismantle or destroy women’s spaces is never anything but misogynistic. And taking away an important resource from trans women is the truly transphobic act in this situation.