Transphobia

Talia Mae Bettcher, Ph.D.

Some Preliminary Data• approximately 50% report history

of unwanted or forced sex• approximately 50% report history

of physical violence• NCAVP reports average of 215

anti-trans hate crimes per year• Remembering our Dead has

tracked 350 trans people who were murdered

Transphobia cannot be abstracted from other forms of oppression.

specificity

• QUESTION: Is a trans woman who presents and lives as a woman “gender-bending”, or is she following gender norms?

• QUESTION: Who decides?

The idea that trans people transgress gender norms can constitute a transphobic the

identities of soinvalidation of me trans people.

Types of Transphobia

• different forms of transphobia apply to different groups of trans people

• different forms of transphobia occur in different forms of discourse and social context

Basic Denial of Authenticity

I. Identity EnforcementYou say I’m a man… I say I’m a womanYou say I’m a woman… I say I’m a manI say I’m neither – or both… you say I

have to choose.

• enforcement of the meaning of words

• enforcement of the meaning of bodies

Basic Denial of Authenticity

II. Appearance/Reality Contrast• really a so-and-so disguised as a

such-and-such• living as a woman although

“biologically male”• discovered to be “anatomically”

such-and-such• “I never would have known you’re

transgender…”

Basic Denial of Authenticity

III. Genital Verification

• Extreme cases: – inappropriate touching– Forced exposure

• Sneaky cases:– “have you had ‘the surgery’ yet?”– “are you a man or a woman?”– “discovered to be transgender”

Basic Denial of Authenticity

IV. Double Bind

• hallmark of oppression:

DAMNED IF YOU DO, DAMNED IF YOU DON’T

• evil deceivers vs. make-believers

Basic Denial of Authenticity

V. Sexual violence as punishment

• rape

• other forms of sexual humiliation

Basic Denial of Authenticity

VI. Blaming the victim

• “He (or she) tricked me”

• moral invalidation; accusations of wrong-doing

• equation of “sexual deception” with rape

Basic Denial of Authenticity

A Philosophical Story

• gender presentation is taken to communicate genital status

• gender is a mandatory system of sexual violence

• trans people resist this system.

Larger Oppressive Context

• BDA occurs within a larger system of sexist oppression and sexual violence against women

• BDA occurs within a larger system racial oppression and racialized sexual violence

Concerns• trans people may uptake harmful

behavior to “prove” their reality

• external pressure to “pass”: quadruple-binds

• transphobia within trans community: “real-er than thou”

contactDr. Talia Mae Bettcher

tbettch@calstatela.edu

Susan Forrestsforrest@bhs-inc.org