BLOG 10: Misogyny in Trans-issues

This week we read a couple of chapters from Julia Serano’s book Whipping Girl: A Transexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. When I think of disadvantages I have  experienced because I am a woman, I blame the patriarchy. After reading and doing research on the experiences of others in regard to gender, I blame the patriarchy. When I write or talk about disliking the patriarchy, I do not mean that I dislike men. What I dislike and find concerning is the imbalance of power that men have over other genders in this society. Our society holds men and masculinity at a higher stance than any other gender identity, making anything else inferior. That being said, it was refreshing to read Serano’s stance on misogyny in regards to trans issues. Serano writes that in order to maintain the male-centered gender hierarchy, traditional sexism must be enforced. Traditional sexism is the belief that maleness and masculinity is superior to femaleness and femininity, oppositional  sexism is defined as the belief that males and females are exclusive categories, with each of them possessing non-overlapping attributes. ( Serano, 14). Oppositional sexism also demeans those who do not not fall into these binary gender norms. Serano continues to write that traditional and oppositional sexism work together to create and maintain the male-centered hierarchy. 

I agree with Sarano when she says that anti-trans discrimination is correlated to tradtional sexism. Since we live in a male- centered society, anything that does not fit into the ideal characteristics of masculinity is inferior. Think about how society views a woman who portrays “masculine” characteristics as opposed to a man who portrays “ feminine” characteristics. The latter is viewed in a more negative light, I think this is because of society’s view of femininity as inferior. It was interesting to see how Serano views trans activism as feminist activism.