Recently I came across an interesting story in my newsfeed. It seems Sir Richard Branson, of Virgin Air lost a wager to Air Asia Group CEO Tony Fernandes. Sir Branson bet Mr Fernandes over whose Formula 1 team would be ranked higher in the 2010 Championships. Branson lost the contest and as a result, he must serve as flight attendant on AirAsia’s Perth to Kuala Lumpur flight. It all seems a bit of fun. The proceeds from the flight go… Read more.
Be a Trans Advocate
Tag: misogyny
Tag: misogyny
One of the things that has irked me about the renewed “debates” about women-only space is that the defenders of “womyn-born-womyn” (WBW) policies keep utilizing specious counter-examples to try to defend their position. For example, those of us who are criticizing a non-inclusive women’s space are asked: “would you critique a transgender-only space? No??? You’re a hypocrite!” Apparently those who espouse this position need a reminder of Social Justice 101. Women-only space is necessary. Women are oppressed under the patriarchy,… Read more.
When Ticked Off Gay Men Attack: Misogyny As A Knife
March 29, 2010 · Marti Abernathey
Last week when I posted Tribeca Film Festival Promotes Exploitation of Transgender People, I never thought that the call to action would cause controversy within the GLBT community. As gudbuytjane said about the movie on her blog: I felt sick. I have seen the lives and even the deaths of trans people appropriated by cis LGB culture before, but I didn’t think anyone would be so crass as to describe in lurid detail the deaths of two trans people (ironic… Read more.
Privileged and Pretty Equals Success
September 2, 2009 · Marti Abernathey
This morning I received an email talking about a website called "The Pink Butterfly Network". It claims to be a knockoff of Lynn Conway's Transsexual Women's Successes, pointing to transsexual women who should inspire us. I like Lynn Conway, and her Transsexual Women's Successes page has become more than just pretty faces. But this knockoff site and others like it bother me. A success to who? What qualifies as a success? Someone that is feminine? Someone that is pretty? To… Read more.
Science and Ideology: The Blanchard-Bailey-Lawrence Model of Transsexuality
August 30, 2007 · Marti Abernathey
By Élise Hendrick (reprinted with permission) Autogynaephiles, Homosexuals, and Fabricators: The Blanchard-Bailey-Lawrence Taxonomy of Trans Women I. A Hypothetical Let us suppose that someone claimed to have found that rape is primarily a function of the sexuality and presentation of the victim, and proposed a binary taxonomy of rape victims: (1) The provoker: Provoker-type rape victims are heterosexual women no older than their mid-to-late twenties at the time of the incident. They are generally sexually active, and are characterized by general attractiveness and a preference for attractive, even provocative modes of dress and behavior. In these women, the rape is the subconsciously desired result of their behavior and presentation. (2) The confabulator: The confabulator, like the provoker, is heterosexual, but homely and unattractive, and at least in her late twenties or thirties. She is not sexually active, nor does she dress in a particularly attractive or provocative manner. She is most likely to have convinced herself that she was raped in order to deceive herself into believing that she is sexually desirable despite her age and appearance. Let us further suppose that the person who has “discovered” these categories also claims that there are no categories outside of the two above, and that any woman who claims not to fit within these categories in any particular is either lying or delusional. In dealing with these claims, rational people will likely do as suggested by Noam Chomsky in The Case Against B.F. Skinner, and ask: ”What is the scientific status of the claims? What social or ideological needs do they serve? The questions are logically independent, but the second type of question naturally comes to the fore as scientific pretensions are undermined.” Read more.
Not A Feminist By Birth Or Biology
August 3, 2007 · Marti Abernathey
I've been over at Feministing all day, writing responses to "You learn something new every day." The post is a response to The BBC's recent coverage of a debate with Julie Bindel. Julie believes that sex reassignment surgery is a "mutilation." The debate over there is one of the best I've ever encountered. There's a whole lot of cross talk and listening, and very few personal attacks. This is the first time I've ever posted about this in a forum where I didn't feel like I was talking to a wall. I've included some of the comments, and my responses, under the cut. Read more.
Randi Rhodes’ Transphobic Moment
July 3, 2007 · Marti Abernathey
Listening to "progressive radio," you don't really hear to many examples of out and out transphobia. Listening to Randi Rhodes on Air America Radio I heard her mock Ann Coulter, insinuating she was a transsexual. This is insulting to Ann Coulter on a purely personal level, and it's demeaning of anyone trans because of the stereotypes. Just goes to show you that ignorance, bigotry, and transphobia isn't exclusive to right wing Republicans. http://podcasts.transactivists.com/TAR/media/2007-07-03_tacoulterrhodes.mp3 Read more.
You Pretty Little Housewife
February 23, 2007 · Marti Abernathey
"Mayor Pat Gerard says she doesn't believe Stanton will have any problems when he walks in wearing a dress, lipstick and heels." - Mike Deeson (Tampabays1o.com) Call me a Marxist Radical Feminist Nazi, but I don't think Ms. Stanton has to wear a dress, lipstick, and heels to present as a woman. Why is it that when people think of transwomen they think of something close to a Stepford wife or June Cleaver? Where's my lighter, I have bra to… Read more.
I Ain’t Got No-Body
February 11, 2007 · Marti Abernathey
(I wrote this post a while ago, but forgot to put it up.) Call it synchronicity or blind luck, but at times multiple posts converge into one line of thinking for me. The Kim Nixon case is one such intersection. Ms. Nixon was rejected from the Vancouver Rape Relief Society training program when they found out that she was transgender. Ms. Nixon brought a suit against the center. You can read more about that here and here. I found the… Read more.
Makeup Is A Tool Of The Devil
January 4, 2007 · Marti Abernathey
"'It is important for transsexuals to look beautiful as they consider themselves female,' said Sulastri Ariffin, co-ordinator of the transsexual programme at PT Foundation, an organisation that provides support, education and counselling to transsexuals, drug users and sex workers. She said transsexuals would go straight for branded cosmetics, such as Elizabeth Arden and Christian Dior. 'We do not care about the price of make-up as we want to look great, just like normal women,' she said." - New Straits Times… Read more.