on the privilege to laugh
2013-01-17
I’ve not said much about the recent stuff happening in the uk with feminists being feminist (re: transmisogynist). Monica at TransGriot expressed my sentiments perfectly today:
Are we going to see this year and from now on serious efforts to root out the cancer of transphobia in feminism, or is feminism just going to go back to business as usual, decry it in private and allow the radical feminists around the world to continue pushing trans hatred in their name?
Monica does a great job of pointing out and highlighting that what happened last week occurs within a long history (at its very beginnings) of feminism being transmisogynist. One might be inclined to think that feminism requires transmisogyny to actually function (hint: it totally does).
I will, however, say something about this white cis dude’s incredulity that people are surprised by julie burchill. I mean, i do agree, i don’t get the surprise. i fully expect feminists to write stuff like that. just as i fully expect them to be given platforms at large media outlets: for… it cannot be stressed enough that both feminism and capitalism operate within the same oppressive structure and re-enforce each other.
So. yeah. not surprised. but you also know what I didn’t have the luxury of doing?
So editors surely know the risks. Despite that, it appears that John Mulholland, the likeable and experienced editor of the Observer, was blindsided by Burchill’s latest over-the-top rant against transsexuals. I don’t blame him because I read it on Sunday, laughed a little, shook my head a lot, imagined it would upset some people and thought that would be that. (bolding mine)
beyond the ridiculousness of this d00d trying to absolve the complicity that the editor had with oppressing trans feminine people, this guy just read and laughed.
i didn’t react much when i read the article because it isn’t anything new to me. i’ve read dozens of posts/articles/etc saying the same thing. and i also make it a general habit not to engage hate speech.
but of course this fucking guy can sit that and laugh it off. because, to him, the article is hyperbolic. and it was written to be incendiary. except, and this is what he doesn’t fucking get, is that
feminists really do feel this way about trans feminine people. and this hate they have has translated to real world consequences.
fuck you and your cissplaining