The problem is, Johnny, that this issue IS divisive.
And anyone, particularly any woman, who dares to put their head above the parapet and say that actually, biological sex does matter and women need to have a word for themselves and some single sex spaces which aren't inclusive of male people, is a modern day witch who must be burned.
The only way a woman can avoid being divisive on this particular issue, is to say nothing and simply watch as women's rights are given to men, people from the least oppressed demographic in human history who now self-identify as the most oppressed.
[...]
Elfffi, I'm going to respond in the form of an imaginary interview with an imaginary radical feminist.
(I do not identify as a radical feminist myself so this is merely my own interpretation of what I think one would say.)
- Hi, Radfem! What would you like for Christmas?
- Great question. I would like men to be able to get pregnant and have babies so that the sole burden of reproductive labour no longer falls on women and we can achieve true equality between the sexes.
- Wow, yeah, that would be cool. Not possible though unfortunately.
- Indeed not.
- So what would you like that is possible?
- I would like to abolish gender stereotypes and have a much more equal world where men and women are not defined by their reproductive roles.
- What does that mean?
- It means ending the discrimination that women face due to their female biology and treating them as men's equals.
- Does that mean you think men and women are exactly the same?
- No.
- Why not?
- Because only women can have babies and there is no way around that. So we can't treat men and women exactly the same because women need extra rights and protections to ensure that they aren't disadvantaged by the fact that we are relying on them to literally birth the entire species.
- Like paid maternity leave?
- Exactly. And the right to safe and legal abortions, as well as access to contraceptives.
- Anything else?
- Well beyond that I think we need to abolish gender. It is a set of regressive stereotypes that serves no useful purpose.
- How do we do that?
- Well we make allowances for what women actually need due to their role as the childbearing sex to make sure they aren't at a disadvantage compared to men, and then beyond that we just treat everyone the same, whether they are a man or a woman. True equality.
- Sounds sensible. What about trans women?
- What about them?
- Where do they fit into all of this?
- With the men.
- But they aren't men, are they?
- Why aren't they? What features do they have which make them women rather than men?
- They have a female gender identity.
- Female is the word for the biological sex which, in mammal species, gestates, births and breastfeeds offpring. It's the reason why women need a few special accommodations so that they aren't at a disadvantage compared to men. Trans women can't do these things, because they are men. They aren't at any disadvantage and so they don't need any special protection. Female isn't a gender identity and anyway, radical feminists think gender should be abolished.
- Trans women are among the most oppressed people in the world though.
- Are they? In what way?
- They experience oppression due to their gender identity.
- If we abolish gender then no one will experience oppression due to their gender identity and trans women can just go back to being men, the least oppressed people in human history.
- Are you saying only women can be oppressed, and that trans women can't be oppressed because they are not women?
- No, of course not. But if you look at every demographic on earth including vulnerable and marginalised ones such as ethnic and religious minorities, prisoners and drug users, the women are worse off than the men.
- Including trans women.
- Trans women are men, the least oppressed people in human history, who have created a new category of people, self-identified into it and are claiming to be the most oppressed. I'm not buying it.
- Ouch. That seems a little harsh.
- Can little girls at risk of FGM avoid it by identifying as little boys?
- No, I guess not.
- Exactly. An oppressed minority isn't something you can self-identify as.
- So you don't believe that trans women are women then?
- Clearly not.
- Isn't that kind of transphobic?
- Probably. Everything is transphobic apparently. I'm kind of out of fooks to give though. I am a feminist, which means my priority is female people, otherwise known as women.
- Not all feminists agree with you.
- That's nice.
- Lots of feminists are saying that your feminism isn't feminism if it excludes trans women.
- Feminism is for and about female people. The clue is in the word. Not being for or about male people is kind of the point.
- Is it really right to describe trans women as male people?
- It's biologically accurate. I realise this offends some people, but I'm not sure what anyone else is supposed to do about that. If people were offended by gravity, should we pretend that isn't real too? Also, they are offended by everything, so trying not to offend them seems like a rather pointless exercise. I'd rather focus on women, who are female people. Because I am a feminist.
- What would you say to the liberal feminists who say that your feminism isn't feminism unless it's intersectional, which includes trans women?
- I would say that forcing female people to share their identity and their rights with male people whether they like it or not is neither feminist nor liberal. And the women most likely to be harmed by the inclusion of male people are the vulnerable ones such as prisoners, rape survivors, victims of domestic abuse and religious minorities. They are the people intersectional feminism is actually about. Not male people.
- So you think a woman is defined by her biological sex then?
- No. But biological sex is the difference between men and women. It's the only difference between them, apart from gender, which is regressive and patriarchal and should be abolished.
- I thought you didn't believe in biological determinism.
- Not believing in biological determinism doesn't mean we don't believe in BIOLOGY. And denying biology is unhelpful to women because it makes it more difficult to put in place the accommodations women need to make sure they aren't at a disadvantage compared to men due to their biological sex. Which is the only respect in which men and women actually need to be treated differently.
- So the libfems are wrong then?
- The libfems aren't actually feminists. They are in fact an existential threat to feminism.
- Wow, isn't that a little extreme?
- No. They believe that the word "woman" should include any male person who wants to be included, despite the fact that he has an advantage over women due to his male biology. They don't think female people should be allowed to have a word for themselves which does not include male people, or any spaces from which male people can be excluded. They're teaching the next generation of young women that they are not allowed to say no to people with penises. Does that seem like feminism to you?
- Well, when you put it like that...
[...]
I don't feel the need for any particular label. Just "feminist" will do. But I agree with my fictional radical feminist that people who insist that feminism includes trans women are not actually feminists.