les ruines de la fin'amor

"The sexually explicit subordination of women, graphically depicted, whether in pictures or in words"

A long while ago I came across a poll which revealed a huge portion of radical feminists don't consider literary pornograhy (Erotica, smut, "spicy books" etc) to be porn. I reblogged saying you clearly haven't read Dworkin if you honestly believe feminist critique of porn is exclusively toward filmed porn. That post didn't go down well, and I never properly explained my reasoning because at the time, the task was overwhelming. Majority of the time Dworkin discusses pornography in her books, she refers to written pornograhy. Majority of pornograhy at the time was written. If you look back at famous porn magazines at the time, majority of sexually violent material was written, not in pictures or cartoons.

As I always say on this topic, an industry that films the beating and raping of real women is obviously worse than one that does not. That said, porn addicts go on to beat and rape real women of their own, regardless of if they watched Pornhub or read Hustler. To exclude literary pornography from your definition, while criticising porn, is to ignore so much of the reason feminists are against it, and ignores the effect porn has on the viewer. It reduces the harms of porn exclusively to the women in the videos. It ignores the fact that pornograhy depicting abuse against women or female subordination reinforces male superiority, rape culture, beliefs that women "secretly want it", and "deserve it".

One of the crucial arguments for the concept that trans men experience male privilege is that they, as a marginalized class of men, experience privilege in relation to women of the same marginalized class - that being trans women.

So we're going to use statistical analysis to see if trans men benefit from male privilege in relation to trans women. We'll be looking at several categories that male privilege typically manifests in, such as economics, Healthcare, rates of victimization, and more.

Disclaimer that most of these statistics will be regarding the USA since that is where I'm able to find the most comprehensive studies.

Politics

Let's start with political office. Cis men still hold the vast majority of political power and are over represented in both elected and appointed public office. So we should expect trans men to be similarly over represented.

According to this list of transgender public office holders, there have been 77 trans and nonbinary people in USA public office as of 2021.

Of these 77 people, 7 of them were trans men, 9 are nonbinary, and 61 are trans women. About 10% of trans public officials are trans men - meaning trans men are actually severely underrepresented. In fact, the rate of trans men in public office is significantly lower than that of cis women.

In 2023, Cis women represent 28% of the US senate, 28.5% of the House, and 32.7% of the state legislature.

By comparison, trans men are clearly not benefiting from the political power that cis men have by being over represented in public office.

Wages

In this study, trans men make 70 cents to the dollar of the average worker. While trans women only make 60 cents to the dollar. That's a 10 cent gap.

In comparison, cis women make 85 cents to the dollar of the average cis man's wage. That's a 15 cent gap.

So there is a clear difference there! Its smaller than the gap between cis men and women, but still notable.

However, the very same study says that nonbinary and genderqueer people also make 70 cents to the dollar, same as trans men. If we're going to use this as example of trans male privilege, it would have to mean that nonbinary people in general are also experiencing male privilege in relation to trans women.

Its also important to note that the wage gap trans men experience (70 cents to the dollar) is also significantly larger than the gap cis women experience (85 cents to the dollar).

Economics

Wages aren't the only part of the story when it comes to the economic experience of trans people.

According to this study, 33.7% of trans men reported living in poverty, in comparison to 29.6% of trans women. According to the study itself, this gap is not statistically significant. The gap between gender identities is not nearly significant as the gap between transgender and cisgender people. The study finds that 15.7% of straight cisgender people live in poverty, marking a much larger disparity.

Despite the apparent wage gap between trans men and trans women, they still have very similar rates of poverty overall - indicating that the wage gap, on its own, does not present any significant benefit to trans men.

Healthcare

Cis men experience the privilege of not facing medical misogyny. They experience better Healthcare overall, have more research into their health needs, and have less fears about seeking Healthcare.

This study on Health and Well being in the trans community tracks numerous factors. Let's look at some comparisons.

53% of trans men reported negative experiences with healthcare providers, vs. 41% of trans women

32% of trans men avoided pursuing care due to fear of mistreatment, vs. 20% of trans women

Transgender women have the highest rates of living with HIV (2.4%), vs. trans men which was only 0.3%

72% of trans women reported good overall health, vs. 64% of trans men

31% of trans men reported not seeing a healthcare provider due to cost, vs. 22% of trans women

13% of trans men were denied HRT, vs. 9% of trans women

The tables regarding desired gender affirming care vs. received gender affirming care are pretty complex. The largest disparity was trans men who desired a hysterectomy, 55%, but only 10% received it. However, transgender women seemed to experience a higher frequency of disparities. For example, 48% desired vaginoplasty but only 11% received it. 58% desire voice surgery but only 19% received.

There's a lot more to go over in this study. The overall impression is that while there are some gaps, the important takeaway is that trans men and women experience very similar rates of healthcare-related issues. All trans people experience high rates of mistreatment and lack of access. There is no evidence to suggest that trans men are experiencing any male privilege in this category - especially considering there are categories where they are marginally more affected than trans women.

Discrimination

We'll be looking at the 2015 USTS report to analyze general forms of discrimination among the community.

Relationships

18% had a relationship end solely because of being trans, as opposed to 9% of trans men

28% of trans women had their children spend less time with them due to being trans, as opposed to only 6% of trans men

School / Jobs

38% of trans women were attacked in school due to being trans, vs. 20% of trans men

21% of trans women were sexually assaulted in school due to being trans, as opposed 9% of trans men

22% of trans women left school due to harassment, vs. 15% of trans men

21% of trans women left college due to harassment, vs 16% of trans men

18% of trans women lost a job due to being trans, as opposed to 9% of trans men

36% of trans men hid their transition to avoid discrimination in employment , vs. 29% of trans women

Other

62% of trans men reported never or rarely being treated with respect by law enforcement, vs. 51% of trans women

32% of trans men were denied HRT, vs. 18% of trans women

57% of trans men were denied surgery coverage, vs. 54% of trans women

42% of trans men reported negative experiences with healthcare providers, vs. 36% of trans women.

52% of trans men report issues with airport security, vs. 31% of trans women.

Trans men (54%) have the highest rate of suicide attempts with the next highest being trans women (40%).

There are some notable differences between trans women and trans men, with trans women overall facing more interpersonal discrimination, and harassment specifically on account of being trans. Trans men overall have more negative experiences in other areas, such as healthcare, and treatment from authorities.

Violence

From the USTS report:

51% of trans men reported being sexually assaulted in their life time, vs. 37% of trans women

From the National Crime Victimization Survey:

Trans men experienced slightly higher rates of violent victimization (107.5 per 1,000 people) vs. trans women (86.1 per 1000 people) though the study itself does not find this difference to be statistically significant

However, the rates are significantly higher than cisgender women and men (23.7 and 19.8 per 1,000 people, respectively)

Notably, the gap between trans men and trans women, is bigger than the gap between cis men and cis women.

From the FORGE 2011 survey:

HRC 2024 Report:

83% of victims (372 victims since 2013) of fatal violence were transgender women. This is one of the most widely cited statistics regarding trans violence. This is a horrendous injustice faced by trans women, especially Black trans women who were 61% of victims.

This statistic is often cited with regards to how trans men benefit from male privilege in comparison to trans women. However, when we compare this to global murder statistics, we find that 81% of murder victims are [cis] men.

So I don't believe that this statistic alone can be used as an indicator of trans men benefiting from male privilege, considering that cis men are the most statistically likely to be murder victims worldwide.

The murder rate of trans women is absolutely an indicator of violent transmisogyny, and should be treated very seriously.

I could not find other studies that made a distinction between trans men and trans women. Every study on violence faced by trans people, however, indicates that trans people overall face significantly higher rates of violence, regardless of specific gender identity.

Race is a much more significant factor than gender identity in determining rates of violence. Trans people of color ubiquitously face higher rates of violence and discrimination than white trans people.

Conclusion

While there are various areas in which transgender women experience more discrimination or difficulty than transgender men overall, the same can be said for the reverse. The greater conclusion is that trans people in general face much higher rates of discrimination, and that the disparity between trans men and trans women is often not as significant as one would think.

*I don't have access to the actual dataset and technically this math is not the best estimation ever, since the over 100K category could be $101K or it could be $1M, who knows, but the chances of those outliers imho would be excluded in measuring the effect size in any legitimate study anyways. I'm not publishing a paper, we're writing tumblr comments. I think it's okay if the rigor is slightly improper when you'd expect that to also be the case for the other demographics measured, assuming proper randomization. the difference between estimated results vs true results are... likely not massive enough for me to think it matters for the purpose of an internet discussion. the number of trans millionaires is miniscule. sure, they exist. but. cmon. squinting my eyes at thee. obviously I've written papers before I know how to do research this is me making educated estimates based on what's available okay get off my tail please and thank

Important to know, while the overarching Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage regulates all citizens regardless of faith, it is heavily influenced by Islamic family law templates. For Muslims, these rules were further entrenched by the Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI) in 1991. Together, these legal frameworks create a dual standard that Indonesian feminists have spent decades trying to dismantle.

The core feminist critiques of how Muslim marriage and national marriage laws operate in Indonesia center on several key issues:

1. Feminist legal scholars frequently critique Article 31(3) of the 1974 Marriage Law, which legally defines the husband as the "Head of the Family" (Kepala Keluarga) and the wife as the "Housewife" (Ibu Rumah Tangga). This locks women into a domestic sphere and gives husbands ultimate legal authority. Critics argue this systemic bias (often called "State Ibuism") weakens a woman's bargaining power in financial matters, employment, and marital disputes, while legally validating the idea that a wife must submit to the husband's wishes.

2. Under the KHI, the procedural hurdles to ending a marriage are highly unequal. A husband can initiate a divorce through Cerai Talak (asking the court to witness his declaration of divorce). A wife, however, must file for Cerai Gugat (lawsuit for divorce) and carries a heavy burden of proof to demonstrate severe legal grounds, such as abuse, desertion, or total financial neglect. Feminists argue this asymmetry forces women to stay in abusive or unhappy marriages far longer than men.

3. Unlike the Indonesian Civil Code (which bans polygamy for non-Muslims), the 1974 Marriage Law permits Muslim polygamy under strict court conditions. A husband can take multiple wives if his first wife cannot fulfill her duties, becomes severely ill, or cannot bear children. He must obtain court approval and the first wife's written consent. Indonesian feminists argue that these clauses treat women as functional commodities rather than equal human beings. Also, the requirement for a "first wife's consent" is frequently bypassed through emotional coercion or via unregistered marriages (Nikah Siri), leaving secondary wives and their children without many of the legal protections afforded to registered marriages.

4. The KHI explicitly contains the concept of Nusyuz, which occurs when a wife is deemed "disobedient" to her husband's lawful demands. If a court labels a wife nusyuz (which historically included refusing sex or leaving the house without permission), the husband is legally absolved of his duty to provide her with financial support (nafkah). Feminists argue that nusyuz functions as a tool of legal and financial coercion and, at worst, undermines the practical protection afforded by marital rape laws. It weaponises state law to punish women who assert autonomy by refusing unwanted sex or leaving abusive relationships.

5. Indonesian feminists gain legislative victory via Law No. 16 of 2019, which amended one part of the 1974 Act and successfully raised the minimum legal marriage age for girls from 16 to 19, matching the requirement for boys. But even with this reform, child marriage persists through court-granted exemptions (dispensasi nikah), which families routinely apply for at the local level.

The most celebrated female poet of Ancient Greece after Sappho, Erinna (fl. c. 350 BCE) left behind only a small body of work. Yet her surviving verses offer a rare glimpse into the emotions and experiences of a young woman in the ancient world.

Inspired by the Muses

Little is known about Erinna apart from what she reveals in her poem The Distaff. At the time she wrote it, she was nineteen years old, unmarried, and mourning her friend Baucis, who had died shortly after her wedding.

One scholar once suggested that Erinna never existed and that The Distaff had instead been written by a man impersonating an uneducated young woman. Today, this hypothesis has been largely rejected. Women did have access to education, particularly in the region of Teos, one of Erinna's possible birthplaces. Moreover, although literary forgeries certainly existed, a male author would have had little to gain from attributing his work to an otherwise unknown woman.

One notable feature of Erinna's poetry is her use of the Doric dialect, something uncommon in literary poetry. This choice makes the emotions expressed in her verses more poignant and intimate.

Although most of her writings have been lost, Erinna's poetry circulated widely throughout the ancient world. Poets and anthologists praised her work, comparing her to the greatest authors of antiquity. Meleager included her in his Garland of poets, likening her poetry to a sweet, maiden colored crocus.

Erinna's voice still echoes today. Mangaka Satou Futaba made her the heroine of the manga Utae! Erinna (Sing! Erinna), portraying her as a young woman determined to rival the greatest poets of her age.

The Distaff

Erinna's best-known work is The Distaff. Only about fifty-four lines of the original three hundred survive, preserved on a badly damaged papyrus. In this poem, Erinna mourns the death of her friend Baucis. The text offers a rare window into the life of a young woman through timeless themes of grief, friendship, family, and domestic life.

She recalls the games she played with Baucis as a child and remembers being frightened by the monster Morpho. Looking back on those memories with tenderness, she draws a parallel between marriage and death. Throughout the poem, Erinna skillfully develops the image of weaving. Weaving was not only a traditional female occupation but also a metaphor for poetry, while simultaneously evoking the thread of life spun by the Fates.

In addition to The Distaff, and three epigrams are attributed to Erinna. All are dedicated to female friends: two to Baucis and one to a woman named Agatharchis.

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Further reading: 

Karanika Andromache, Wedding, Gender, and Performance in Ancient Greece

Natoli Bartolo, Pitts Angela, Hallett Judith P. (eds.), Ancient Women Writers of Greece and Rome

Plant Ian Michael (ed.), Women Writers of Ancient Greece and Rome : An Anthology

Read Erinna's poetry below: