Summary:
The admin of The Kinfolk Kollective is transphobic, abusive and refuses to fight oppression when such struggle would damage her ego. A trans woman asked her to take down a transphobic post, and instead she derailed the conversation to be about white feminism, and deleted pro-trans comments from people of color to fit that narrative. This is not her first instance of transmisogyny, and the intentional narrative manipulation signifies that this will not be her last. We call upon other intersectional and revolutionary organizations to correct this error, or failing that, disassociate with the page.
Full post:
At LFM, we understand the necessity of struggle against racism, transphobia, capitalism, sexism, ableism and more; even within
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This response has been delayed to allow for a more nuanced response and discussion among our group on how to respond to a problem like this, but we have waited too long and let the issue become forgotten.
On June 15, 2016, she, a black cis woman, shared a series of tweets, including one from a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist). TERFs hijack popular feminist posts and use them to rally against trans women (usually by wording their posts to include trans women with cis men). The only safe policy to prevent the spread of transmisogyny is to call out TERFs and to refuse to share their content (or at least strip attribution first).
A white trans woman with abuse history from TERFs commented to point this out, and request the standard takedown procedure to prevent the spread of transmisogyny. The twitter account had all the hallmarks of a TERF, which any cis feminist ally needs to be aware of, and Kinfolk Kollective 's failure in sharing this already counts as
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She then insisted that the trans woman "stay in her lane", when in fact, as a cis woman, she was outside of her lane by attempting to define what is or is not transphobic. Her first reaction was to defend her ego.
A black woman (unsure if cis or not) responded by pointing out that it wasn 't a personal attack, it was just a request to take down transphobic content and that the responsive thing to do, as a cis ally, would be to take it down.
The original white trans woman responded to Kinfolk 's comment by talking about how she has been harmed and how the presence of TERF content renders a space unsafe and triggering towards trans women. Consistent with this abuse history, she backs into an apologetic mode at the dominating tone of Kinfolk Kollective 's comment.
Then, a non-binary person of color chips in to point out how Kinfolk Kollective failed to be intersectional by hiding her transphobia behind her
We have to truly take initiative in order to express our ideas regarding our feminist movement. We must take all our concerns in order to foster personal liberation and growth. The archaic social, psychological, and economic practices that discriminate against women must be ordeals of the past. We must compose new practices in order to develop a post-revolutionary society. This movement will require strategy, organization, commitment, and devotion; it may be a long battle, but I believe that we will end in triumph.
The ethos plays into her pathos as well: she has witnessed trigger warnings being used in her classes and in syllabi. She is involved in many safe space groups, and has seen teachers and administrators offer and spearhead many safe spaces on campus—even Dean Ellison, the author of the letter in question, is listed as a “safe space ally” on the website of the LGBTQ+ organization on campus
Laverne Cox is a prominent actress and advocate for trans rights, most recently gaining attention for her role in the Netflix original show “Orange is the New Black”. Cox plays a transgender prisoner named Sofie, who throughout the course of the show faces bigotry and cissexism from her peers as well as the prison staff. The role gained attention for being one of the first prominent trans characters to be played by a trans actress in a way that accurately demonstrates the difficulties trans individuals face. Though recent years have seen an increase in trans awareness, there is still a distinct disconnect in the communicative cultures between trans and cis speakers when it comes to the subject
Jenner...shouldn't get to define us.” (Paragraph 9) It implies that she is resistant of being define by trans women and denied trans community. I think that is offensive to transgender people because their words can be wrong, but we can't ignore them from our community and hurts their feelings. However, Jill Filipovic in response to Burkett thinks Transgenders people are being discriminated. In the article, she said "...suffers the kind of violence and discrimination heaped on trans women should of course, make transgender rights a feminist issue." (Paragraph 13) That states how unfair trans people are treated and the needed support for trans women to be part of the women group. Even if trans women are not originated women, but their positive attitude and efforts should be appreciated and be recognized as the sign of society
Seidman, Steven, Nancy Fischer , and Chet Meeks. "Transsexual, transgender, and queer." New Sexuality Studies. North Carolina: Routledge, 2011. . Print.
Furthermore, the article clarifies that many transgender people experience a stage of identity development that aids in helping them better understanding their own self-image reflection, and expression. More specifically, they reach out to professional...
According to the article, transgender have changed the way we define women and it’s not fair. As Burkett says, “People who haven’t lived their whole lives as women, whether Ms. Jenner or Mr. Summers, shouldn’t get to define us. That’s something men have been doing for too much long.” In this article Kairos comes in as it was published right now in the present, when you hear more about transgender even more in popular celebrities such as in this article Bruce Jenner now known as Caitlyn Jenner.
Tumblr’s whole “cis” hate thing is really messed up. I think this because all the post I see are basically people just blasting out there opinion the same way most right wing republicans voice theirs. It’s irrational not easily backed up and is only different in that they are supporting opposite sides. You get my drift? The basis that they can keep this argument is basically that they’ve been oppressed by these people so it’s totally justified.
According to Gwendolyn Smith (2010), lesbians, gays, transgender, transsexual, cross-dressers, sissies, drags king and queens, have someone they view as freak. Smith considers this to be a human phenomenon, especially among marginalized groups. Smith expresses that those that consider themselves as gender normative finds comfort in identifying the “real” freaks, in order for them to seem closer to normal. Smith attempts to tear down the wall of gender normality as it is socially constructed as simply male and female. According to Smith (2010), “we are all someone’s freak” (p. 29). Smith asserts that there may be some type of fear in facing the self’s gender truth, “maybe I was afraid I would see things in my own being I was not ready to face, or was afraid of challenging my own assumptions” (p. 29).
Tash. "Trans and Gender Non-conforming People, Bathrooms, and Attacks on Our Community." Basic Rights Oregon RSS. N.p., 28 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 May 2014.
The eye opening article utilized for this analysis is titled, “Trans Women at Smith: The Complexities of Checking ‘Female’” ,written by contributing writer, Sarah Fraas on August 24, 2014 (pg 683-685). Fraas starts off by introducing the audience with a school that accepts trans women, Mills College, and talks about how glorious this decision is. The author then begins to talk about other schools not as accepting as Mills, especially Smiths College. She spews many facts and analysis on the issues trans women face today throughout the article including how transgender women are not gaining enough support to succeed, most transgendered women are neglected in school, and the fact that many have been accused of being a woman for the “wrong” reason. She also mindfully includes the image of a woman of color holding up a sign saying, “Support your sisters, not just your CIS-ters!”. The author utilizes this image to show people that we are all one whether we
Nicole begins by quoting Ms. Jenner’s speech about respecting transgender individuals, including herself that she gave while receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. She then proceeds to talk about how uncomfortable the presence of transgender people, both inside and outside the bathroom,
What happened? Well, in the trans man community (specifically a Facebook group), another trans man that I barely spoke to wrote an essay about me. At first, I did not know if it was about me because it did not contain my name or my pronouns yet it was a post that he was aware I had access to read.
In just a few decades The Women’s Liberation Movement has changed typical gender roles that once were never challenged or questioned. As women, those of us who identified as feminist have rebelled against the status quo and redefined what it means to be a strong and powerful woman. But at...
A problem-free world is what people desire. This newly created world would bring an end to violence, discrimination, and racism. However, at the same time society apprehends, this will never be feasible. The nation’s population is very diverse in cultures, nationalities, beliefs, and personalities. Some people might consider this diversity a weakness among our nation. However, society will attempt to mold people into what they want them to be. Instead, of letting them be what they wish to be. Among the many individuals fighting for acceptance and respected is the Transgender community. Ads for transgender men and women in the District of Columbia reinforce the Equality Law. Moreover, letting Columbian 's know, discrimination will not be tolerated no matter their past.