I really wish you'd included something from a UK trans person in the Rustin review. I appreciate the reference to Butler, but they're not from the UK, and they're not seeing first hand the damage the gender critical point of view is doing to trans people and their lives.
That’s a fair point, thank you for the comment. Given Butler wrote the most hyped book about this issue this year, it seemed right to include it in a review of these two books, especially given the specific chapter on feminists like Rustin, but I agree with you, that would have strengthened the piece
Realising it's published now (and I did overall like it), but a book it really made me think of was *Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender* by Kit Heyam (2022), which had a lot of insights into how history of gender is not a zero sum game, including some UK stuff. Abigail Thorn also did a whole video on Butler's book for her Philosophy Tube channel, and has talked a lot about the costs of gender-critical feminism and other anti-trans rhetoric on the trans community. Canadian activist Kai Cheng Thom had a great piece a couple years ago (Oh, God. It was like five years ago. WHAT!?) wondering why trans/trans allied and gender-critical feminists couldn't work together on what really mattered: how to prevent gender-based violence.
I don't mean to put an essay in your comments, but it's personally been really heartbreaking as a lesbian and a feminist to see how feminism is used as an axe against people I love. And then to see so many people (you not included) just glide past violence against trans women when talking about violence against women. Like it doesn't count.
I really appreciated your comment (and the fact that you read it!). I'll look these up, they sound really interesting, and it's astonishing to think that five years later, that tension hasn't been resolved. I think what you say is super relevant to the discussion about trans women in women's prisons. Zoe Williams had a really good piece a year or so (?) ago in the Guardian really looking at the data and making the point that the risk of violence for trans women in men's prisons is far higher than the risk of a trans women assaulting prisoners in a women's prison, but that nobody ever talks about that...
Of course, there is a backlash against feminism. It is long overdue. Consider 14 ways in which American men are maligned and shafted which feminism deigns to ignore:
Can't wait to listen to the podcast, thanks for the shout out Alona!
I couldn't believe the serendipity when I found your post...!
Witches always find each other ;)
Thanks for highlighting "geopolitical manhood," Alona. I sometimes feel like a very small pawn in a gigantic display of machismo.
I really like that phrase (and I feel the same)
I really wish you'd included something from a UK trans person in the Rustin review. I appreciate the reference to Butler, but they're not from the UK, and they're not seeing first hand the damage the gender critical point of view is doing to trans people and their lives.
That’s a fair point, thank you for the comment. Given Butler wrote the most hyped book about this issue this year, it seemed right to include it in a review of these two books, especially given the specific chapter on feminists like Rustin, but I agree with you, that would have strengthened the piece
Realising it's published now (and I did overall like it), but a book it really made me think of was *Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender* by Kit Heyam (2022), which had a lot of insights into how history of gender is not a zero sum game, including some UK stuff. Abigail Thorn also did a whole video on Butler's book for her Philosophy Tube channel, and has talked a lot about the costs of gender-critical feminism and other anti-trans rhetoric on the trans community. Canadian activist Kai Cheng Thom had a great piece a couple years ago (Oh, God. It was like five years ago. WHAT!?) wondering why trans/trans allied and gender-critical feminists couldn't work together on what really mattered: how to prevent gender-based violence.
I don't mean to put an essay in your comments, but it's personally been really heartbreaking as a lesbian and a feminist to see how feminism is used as an axe against people I love. And then to see so many people (you not included) just glide past violence against trans women when talking about violence against women. Like it doesn't count.
I really appreciated your comment (and the fact that you read it!). I'll look these up, they sound really interesting, and it's astonishing to think that five years later, that tension hasn't been resolved. I think what you say is super relevant to the discussion about trans women in women's prisons. Zoe Williams had a really good piece a year or so (?) ago in the Guardian really looking at the data and making the point that the risk of violence for trans women in men's prisons is far higher than the risk of a trans women assaulting prisoners in a women's prison, but that nobody ever talks about that...
Of course, there is a backlash against feminism. It is long overdue. Consider 14 ways in which American men are maligned and shafted which feminism deigns to ignore:
https://davidgottfried.substack.com/p/liberals-ignore-14-ways-in-which
I take it you think feminism has gone too far?!