Transmisogynie

Vorlage:Use dmy dates Vorlage:Transgender sidebar Transmisogyny (sometimes trans-misogyny) is the intersection of transphobia and misogyny. It was coined by Julia Serano in her 2007 book Whipping Girl and used to describe the unique discrimination faced by trans women because of "the assumption that femaleness and femininity are inferior to, and exist primarily for the benefit of, maleness and masculinity", and the way that transphobia intensifies the misogyny faced by trans women (and vice versa). Transmisogyny is a central concept in transfeminism and is commonly seen in intersectional feminist theory. The suggestion that trans women's femaleness (rather than their femininity) is a source of transmisogyny is rejected by some feminists, who say trans women are not female.

Causes

Transmisogyny is generally understood to be caused by the social belief that men are superior to women. In Whipping Girl, Julia Serano writes that the existence of trans women is seen as a threat to a "male-centered gender hierarchy, where it is assumed that men are better than women and that masculinity is superior to femininity". Gender theorist Judith Butler echoes this assumption, stating that the murder of transgender women is "an act of power, a way of re-asserting domination... killing establishes the killer as sovereign in the moment that he kills".

Trans women are also viewed as threatening the heterosexuality of cisgender men. In media, "deceivers" such as Dil, a transgender woman from the 1992 film The Crying Game, have been observed to invoke outrage and male homophobia in an audience when their "true" maleness is unveiled.Vorlage:Quote

Discrimination

Julia Serano coined the term "transmisogyny."

Transgender people are already discriminated against much more than those who are cisgender. With health care, 55% of those who tried to receive coverage for transition-related surgery were denied. 77% of people who either are transgender or were perceived as transgender have received some form of mistreatment in schooling (K-12). The income level and poverty levels are both also 2-3x higher for transgender respondents. Discrimination has been found to be pervasive in many areas such as “housing, healthcare, employment, and education”.

However, due to transmisogyny, transgender women face even harsher levels of discrimination. A study on workplace experiences after people receive sex changes found that “average earnings for female-to-male transgender workers increase slightly following their gender transitions, while average earnings for male-to- female transgender workers fall by nearly 1/3. On top of this, the transition to female was found to accompany a loss of authority and an increase in harassment, whereas the opposite often brings authority and respect. Another study confirmed that, especially amongst transgender women of color, there were increased levels of discrimination on the basis of transphobia and racism. This discrimination led to an increase in coping methods, and in turn, higher rates of depression. A study on discrimination of lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, transgender and intersex women in Ecuador found similar results. Transgender women “lack protection against discrimination in both law and practice.” As a result, trans women have faced violence, sexual abuse, and discrimination in educational, health and workforce institutions.

Psychology

Vorlage:Further Julia Serano in Whipping Girl pointed out that transvestic fetishism, a disorder listed in the DSM-IV, only mentions cross dressing by men. Similarly, autogynephillia was a recognised disorder in the DSM-IV, but autoandrophillia was not. The Diagnostic  and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was revised in 2013 and transvestic fetishism was removed; gender dysphoria and transvestic disorder were the product of the revision. Gender dysphoria is defined as people with transvestic fetish do not feel discongruent with their experienced gender and their assigned gender. The other addition to DSM-V regarding the transgender community is transvestic disorder; in which a heterosexual male feels dissociation from his assigned gender because he derives pleasure from dressing in women’s apparel.

There has been debate as to whether gender transition should be included in psychology.  “Gender transition processes are classified as mental disorders in diagnostic manuals” Suess also explains how stigmatizes trans people as mentally unwell, and incapable. Communities such as STP (International Campaign Stop Trans Pathologization) argues that it has observed, “structural interrelations between dynamics of psychiatrization, discrimination, and transphobia and on acknowledgement of the negative effects that a psychiatric classification has on the citizenship of people”. Sonny Nordmarken states that, “The idea that trans people are mentally ill is institutionalized in psychiatric texts such as the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and thus also in medical and legal transition routes” Sonny believes that when transgender people are placed in a psychology text, they are stigmatized as mentally ill, and thus increasing microaggressions and discrimination.  A study by Schilt and Wiswall showed that in a workplace environment transitioning trans men were supported in incorporating them more into society; whereas transitions trans women were demoted or fired . In the study microaggressions were noted by employers to transitioning trans women.

Sexual harassment

Vorlage:See alsoJulia Serano notes that, despite transitioning, trans women are still commonly perceived as male; however, they are rarely sexualized as such. In the porn industry, whose target audience is primarily heterosexual men, largely show trans women as sexual objects rather than "predatory". Serano observes that when she is in a social environment where she is known to be transsexual, for example places where she performs spoken word poetry, she receives many more blatantly sexual comments than when in a similar setting where she is assumed to be cissexual.

Prior to leading into sexual harassment and more details about the Serano case, a few terms should be clarified. When Julia Serano touches on transitioning,  according to the National Center for Transgender equality (2011), describes transitioning as, “The time when a person begins to living as the gender with which they identify rather than the gender they were assigned at birth, which often includes changing one’s first name and dressing and grooming differently. Transitioning may or may not also include medical and legal aspects, including taking hormones, having surgery, or changing identity documents (e.g. driver’s license, Social Security record) to reflect one’s gender identity. Medical and legal steps are often difficult for people to afford.” Transgender people face many challenges in our society. What is being spoken out about now is Sexual Harassment. According to Stotzer (2009), There are currently three possible sources for information about the violence and harassment that transgender people experience: self-report surveys, hotline calls/ social service reports, and police reports. Upon clinical research, It was “reported that: 50% of transgendered persons report unwanted sexual activity. Followed by another survey which concluded 59% reported a history of forced sex or rape. The above numbers are from data in 2006” (Stotzer, 2009).

Everyday Feminism researcher Kacere (2014), says “hate crimes against trans people are disproportionately and tragically high, and the majority of this violence victimizes trans women.” According to a National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (2012), found that “transgender people across the U.S. experience three times more police violence than cisgender people. In fact, over half of all anti-LGBTQIA+ homicides were perpetrated against transgender women. Also speaking statistically, “it’s important to note that nearly three-quarters of those homicides targeted people of Color” (Kacere, 2014). According to Kacere (2014), “Transmisogyny is seen in violence as well- studies show that 1 in 5 transgender women (21%) has been incarcerated at some point in her life. This is far above the general population, and is even higher (47%) for Black transgender people.”

Causes

Part of the cause may be that transgender women, by nature of their relative rarity, are viewed as "exotic"; however, this is not wholly the situation, as Julia Serano points out "there are plenty of types of women who are relatively rare, but they are not all sexualized in the same manner that trans women are". In Whipping Girl, Serano writes on what she calls a "predator–prey dichotomy", where "men are invariably viewed as predators and women as prey". Because of this view, trans women are perceived to be luring men by transitioning and "turning [themselves] into sexual objects that no red-blooded man can resist".

However, from a different viewpoint, “Transgender people face violence because of their gender nonconformity” (Stotzer, 2009). The cause can stem from blaming victims of “Sexual Deception” according to Bettcher (2007). Sexual assault on those who are transgender have been often been the recipients of victim-blaming (i.e. making it their own fault for being assaulted). In reality, an accurate portrayal of someone who is transgender can be described as “‘Feeling like a girl trapped in a man’s body’ or vice versa” (Bettcher, 2007, p. 44). According to Bettcher (2007), the unwillingness to disclose a sexual orientation when that person resides with a different gender within themselves is not wrong on the part of the individual, but the article states “discovering the true sex, had provoked the violent response brought on.” Sexual harassment of transgender people has been fought against by activists to say that society should not excuse transphobic violence. A sample was done, of that sample 14% reported being sexually assaulted in their lifetime, according to a study done by Gender Violence (2008).  According to Stotzer (2009), studies showed that transgender people experience high levels of violence from attackers, and often the attacked face a lifetime of repeated victimization.

Relation to transphobia

Julia Serano states in Whipping Girl that "When the majority of jokes made at the expense of trans people center on 'men wearing dresses' or 'men who want their penises cut off' that is not transphobia – it is transmisogyny. When the majority of violence and sexual assaults committed against trans people is directed at trans women, that is not transphobia – it is transmisogyny."

See also

• Feminism
• Intersectionality
• Kyriarchy
• Misogyny
• Oppression
• Transfeminism
• Transphobia