notes on my personal use of 'transsexism'
transandrophobia is a useful and important word specifically for discussing how hatred and fear of cis men is negatively affecting trans men and those with proximity to trans manhood, as a gender minority. it also serves as a necessary communication and discussion hub on this website about greater anti transmasculine oppression and discrimination.
anti transmasculinity as well is fantastic as an overall uniting sort of umbrella term for anyone on the very diverse transmasculine spectrum to use to speak about their experiences.
transmisandry i am personally uninterested in for a plethora of reasons and suspect it may do more harm than good overall, but even still i do not judge trans men who use it, because i know exactly what they mean and that is more important to me than squabbling over semantics.
and still yet, none of that language specifically addresses the intersection between misogyny and transphobia that trans people born with or coercively assigned a vulva deal with on a systemic and social level*.
now, of course, the most immediate language that comes to mind would be transmisogyny, but seeing as that was coined in 2007 by julia serano to describe the specific intersection of being a woman and being trans, the rest of us who face our own intersection with misogyny and transphobia are left scrambling to find a word that intuitively communicates our positioning, both structurally and socially.
which brought me to transsexism, a word that has obviously been used before, how could it not have been? but not popularly, and with no set definition i could find. which opened up an opportunity for me.
transsexism as defined by me is: the intersection of misogyny/sexism experienced by those born with or coercively assigned a vulva who simultaneously have a trans identity.
though i am personally okay with transsexual women using this language when talking about their experiences, that is filed in my mind right next to the other belief i hold which is it is okay when trans people born with or coercively assigned a vulva use transmisogyny to speak about our experiences. so it's one or the other, either both is okay, or neither is.
in a perfect world the language around oppression used in the queer/lgbt+ population would be based in material experiences and not identity. transmisogyny would have always been used to describe the oppression experienced by trans people who are women or who have proximity to womanhood, transandrophobia would be about how the fear and hatred of cis men negatively effects trans people as a whole, and transsexism would include the oppression of any trans person with a vulva and/or reproductive organs classed as female.
but that is not the world we got, and we need language for this crossroads of identity. we have to be able to talk about our bodies, our healthcare, our lives, our histories, our disadvantages and experiences. nonbinary trans people born with or coercively assigned a vulva have the worst health outcomes out of the trans community, with trans men not too far behind. trans men are less likely to have safe sex. we have comparable rates of violent victimization to trans women. we are more likely to be denied hormones by medical professionals. testosterone is a controlled schedule III substance that can result in criminal charges without a prescription. we are more likely to have insurance deny coverage for our hrt. trans men are more likely to have to educate health care providers on our existence as a population. we struggle accessing gynecological care. doctors are reported to be denying birth control to those on testosterone hrt. abortion bans drastically impact us. trans men in prison experience sexual assault in both men and women’s prisons from both guards and inmates. we are more likely to avoid going to a medical professional for fear of discrimination. trans people born with or coercively assigned vulvas have the highest rates of sexual assault in the queer/lgbt+ community. trans men are more likely to be discriminated against and harassed when we have incongruent identification documents [F marker]. we are estimated to earn less money overall due to anti female bias based on perceived sex. this is a pressing and serious issue that needs language to be able to bind the conversations all together into a whole that can actually be understood, and once it is understood it can be dismantled.
this is how i am using 'transsexism', and i encourage others to join me if you are feeling like you want to. be brave, there is strength in numbers, and i feel a transmasculine feminist consciousness coming into focus. please join us and our transfeminine allies, we need you!
(*i am aware of the term isomisogyny and i do not like it nor personally find it useful. the etymology does not make sense to me, it does not roll off the tongue easily and it is not intuitive in it's meaning. it is not language i will personally use, so i needed something else, and i think i am not the only one. mascsexism is another word in a similar vein, but (though i think it is a useful word) is not useful for my particular purpose as it is more defined by the intersection of masculinity and being born with or coercively assigned a vulva, which includes cis gender nonconforming women, not exclusively on a trans level.)
