Sunday, October 7, 2012

Another Great Moment in Gender Fascist History

I have, on more than one occasion, commented on the gender fascists who become oh so upset at the idea that a transsexual might decline to be called "transgender."  These people insist that we have to adopt a label that many of us are very uncomfortable with.  As I have pointed out, "transgender" is most often associated with the concept of "transgressing gender," which is not how I see myself, how I behave, or what motivates me.  

One of the worst offenders in this regard, perhaps the single worst offenders in this regard, is "Cristan" Williams, a very disturbed man out in Texas who clearly made a mistake having SRS.  Mr.Williams is obviously unhappy being a woman, and puts a lot of effort into making sure that he is seen as actually being a man in drag.  That is, assuming that Williams has actually had surgery.  We do, after all, have others like "Autumn" Sandeen who try to lie and claim to have had surgery when they have only being castrated, and have no intentions of giving up that which marks them as male.

Well, now Mr. Williams has gone and had a hissy fit over something in Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano. Mr. Williams is beside himself over this passage:
While “MTF” may be useful as an adjective, as it describes the direction of my transition, using it as a noun – i.e., literally referring to me as a male-to-female” – completely negates the fact that I identify and live as a woman. Personally, I believe that popular use of “MTF” or “FTM” over “trans woman” or “trans man” (which are more respectful, easier to say, and less easily confused with one another) reflects either a conscious or unconscious desire on the part of many cissexuals to distinguish transsexual women and men from their cissexual counterparts.
Apparently, Mr. Williams now wishes to tell people that, not only can they not object to being labeled as transgender, they must now accept the label "MTF" even if they don't care for that either.  I bet he would really go ballistic over the fact that I also object to being labeled a "transwoman," or "trans woman."  I identify as a woman.  No qualifiers, no apologies, no excuses.  I did not go through all I have gone through to have the albatross of my past forever hung round my neck.

I am not interested in being viewed as what I came to refer to as a "Woman, but..." as in, "Oh yes she is a very nice woman, but you know she is really a man..." or, "She is a woman, but she used to be a man..." or, "I think you make a pretty good woman for someone who was a man..."

Nope, just a woman is fine with me.  If Mr. Williams wants to be a man, that is his right, but he should respect the wishes of others.  Not that he is ever likely to actually do so.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

I see and understand some of the points you've made, but I'm not sure how you've come to the conclusion that it's appropriate to call another trans woman "Mr.," regardless of her preference for terminology and/or her surgical status.

Just putting that out there.

(sorry if this posted twice, having issues with captcha)

Just Jennifer said...

Okay, first off, let me stop you right there...I am not a "trans woman." I am a woman, period. No modifiers, no qualifiers, no exceptions, no apologies...

That said, the answer to that is simple...

To me, and well, to be honest, to most of the population of the world, the word "woman" actually has meaning. Now, I don't refer to people as "Mr." because of their preference for terminology, or their surgical status. I refer to people as "Mr." because the clear, overwhelming evidence is that they are MEN.

That is, they act like men, they think like men, they identify (at least to some extent as men)...that sort of thing. Take, for example, the case of "Colleen Francis." This person, who "identifies" as a "trans woman," has, for example, no qualms about waving his penis around in the presence of a girl's high school swim team. His response, and yes, I said HE even though this person "identifies" as a "trans woman, is that the girls need to be "informed." Informed of what? That he is a pervert? That he things that saying "I am a woman..." makes it so? That he has some inalienable right to expose himself in front of them because he got tired of being just a crossdresser, and wants to be a full time "woman with a penis?" Nope, "It's a MAN, baby!!!" If he said he was a dog, I wouldn't call him Fido and throw sticks for him. If he said he was a cat, I would rub his stomach until he purrs. And I am not going to call him a woman.

Sorry, but it takes a bit more than simply a claim that one is a woman to be one. Bottom line, you act like a man, I call you "Mister."

Unknown said...

I'm assuming you've never met Cristan and are mistaking logic, strength and self-assuredness as somehow masculine.

I consider Cristan to be a friend and have always known her as a strong and passionate woman dedicated to helping others. She does have strong opinions. You are not the first person engaged in a battle of wits to be reduced to name calling.

In any case, name calling is a bit childish and unbecoming. Good luck with your life journey and I wish you emotional and spiritual growth.

Just Jennifer said...

Nope, I have never met Mr. Williams in person. I just have experienced his very male presence online. And no, I do not equate logic, strength and self-assuredness as being masculine. I know a lot of logical, strong, and self-assured women. I also know a man when I encounter one.

Oh, and please tell Mr. Williams to please not lie and claim that I am not allowing people to post here. Yes, because of a few persistent trolls who are bound and determined to invade privacy, I have reluctantly decided to moderate comments. But, if you bothered to actually read what I said on this matter, you would see that I approve new posts that do not violate the one rule here (no invasion of privacy) as quickly as I can.

Unknown said...

I made a comment on this paticular post a couple of days ago, yet it is not up yet. I don't believe that I violated anyone's privacy. If I have, though, please inform me how I did so. Thank you, Nadine Winter

Just Jennifer said...

Sorry, but no comment was received from you. At least not under the name Nadine Winter. Just to sure, I checked my mail archive, and there was no comment received. Now, if you posted as NeverOdd OrEven, your post was approved, and is up. It was approved last night. I have received only two other comments on this thread and they are both up.

Feel free to submit the comment again.

Unknown said...

In that case, I beg your pardon. Perhaps it was I, making a mistake, when I was attempting to post my comment. In either case, however, I will re-post my comment, now, with the qualification that it is not likely to be in the exact words as I had written last time.

I am acquainted with Cristan Williams, though I am not one of her close friends. I have talked with her numerous times, at the Houston Transgender Center, and she has never presented to me as being a 'male in drag'. She has always presented to me as a female.

I have never inquired as to Cristan's surgical status. It is not my business. As far as I am concerned, if she wishes me to know, she will tell me. It is the same with you, as far as I am concerned. If either of you ever wish to show me, or otherwise prove that you have had SRS, you will. I will certainly not ask to see proof of such matters.

The words 'transgender' and 'transsexual' are useful labels. That is all. As with all labels, they are not exact things, they are simply a category that seems to be appropriate, in that it describes a specific grouping.

If you don't wish to use those labels in describing yourself, don't. No one is forcing you to do so. You are not being fined, or thrown into prison because you choose not to use those labels.

If you wish to live 'stealth' and not acknowledge your past, that is your privilege. You are certainly not the only person in this world that doesn't want to acknowledge their past.

Just Jennifer said...

No problem...we all make mistakes.

I know I completely missed a comment from "Autumn" Sandeen because it wound up in my SPAM folder on here. The problem was, I didn't even know there was a SPAM folder. Found several in there, but most were actual SPAM. I had a problem for a while with the usual weird stuff in foreign languages. It finally started catching it.

Quite frankly, you have a right to your opinion. I don't share it. Mr. Williams strikes me as quite male. That was especially reinforced by one cartoon he did which implied that he was gloating, in a very male manner, over something he perceived as a victory over someone he disagreed with.

Now, I agree about "transgender." It is essentially a meaningless term, especially if taken out of the context of identity. If one does not identify as transgender, well, they are not transgender. It is really that simple. It is an artificial political/social construct that took on its current form in the mid-Nineties. It is highly subjective and has NO objective meaning other than as an identity. Again, identify as transgender, and you are. Don't, and no one has any business calling you that.

Transsexual, on the other hand, is a very objective term. It refers to someone who is born with a brain that is sexually differentiated at odds with their body. Not everyone who claims to be a transsexual actually is. And not everyone who has full SRS was a transsexual before surgery. Some become transsexual because of surgery.

Now, I don't have a problem saying that I have a medical history that includes transsexualism. I do have a problem with people knowing when it is not their business. In another words, I would not withhold that information from my primary care doctor. On the other hand, nine years ago, when I had eye surgery, I said nothing and well, I had to take a pregnancy test. Kind of amusing, and granted, a wasted of both time, and the insurance company's money, but I also did not have to endure the usual round of questions I was not in a mood to answer.

I appreciate your tolerance for my views. Some people, Mr. Williams being a perfect example, don't share that tolerance.

Unknown said...

I can agree with your definition of the term: 'transsexual'.

However, I rather doubt that there are many people that become transsexual because they had SRS. It is not beyond the realm of possibility; but I rather suspect that it is rare, considering all the hoops that one has to jump through to obtain SRS.

I would think that there are more people that become transsexual because they were born intersexed and the medical authorities involved in the birth of that child chose to 'rectify the situation' and performed surgery on that child to give them a definite gender. This has definitely happened in the past, though hopefully, that practice is no longer in existence.

As for the term 'transgender', it is a related but different subject. Perhaps, if you would like, we can discuss that subject via emails, sometime.

Just Jennifer said...

No, I will grant, there are not that many. I can think of a few that I am aware, but no, I am certainly not claiming huge numbers.

Several very well know "transgender activists" are such, I can think of at least three off of the top of my head. And there is one very well known net-kook I could name...as well, as a few others.

It is probably far less common that it was a few years back because now it is more common to just claim to be transsexual, and insist that one is a "non-op" transsexual (a term I consider to be an oxymoron" or to just lie and claim to have had surgery when one hasn't.

Now, what you describe concerning those who are intersex did occur and sometimes still does. The worst example was the infamous "John/Joan" case made famous by John Money, where a young boys life was destroyed so Money could mess around with his theories about gender and sex.

The simple bottom line is that true or classic transsexuals are extremely rare. The vast majority of people out there are some variation of crossdresser. They seek, as Robert Stoller put it, to be "women with penises." For years, I really though Stoller was truly wrong, until I realized just how right he actually was.

Of course, if you have a penis, and you really, really want to keep your penis...or if you had it removed, and you really really miss it, then no, you are not a woman.

Now, why these people can't just accept what they really are, and be proud, is...well, I admit it is not really beyond me, but their behavior does seem to fly in the face of everything they purport to claim. Instead of owning up to what they are (men who want to pretend, perhaps full time, to be women) they try to co-opt the experiences, pain, and realities of true transsexuals. They want to hide, so to speak, behind our skirts. And they demand that we let them. Sorry, but no...

And I prefer to keep my email private. Sorry, we can discuss it here, but I really do value my privacy, even if some are too nasty to respect that.

Tara Rizzatto said...

Hey, Jenn, hon, I got a few things I can tell you.

I have met Cristan in person. You see, when I came to Houston, I was desperate. I was homeless and penniless (due in no small part to the fact that most of my family and friends abandoned me upon announcing I'm transitioning). She was able to help me get a stable roof over my head. As of now, I've got my life back together, I'm doing something I've wanted to do for a very long time, I'm in a stable relationship with a partner who I adore and you know what else? If not for the help that Cristan helped me get, I never would have been able to accomplish that.

So you can call her a man all you want, she's done a fuck of a lot more to help me than an irritating troll of a blogger who manages to bad-mouth anyone who isn't as trans as her.

Just Jennifer said...

ROTFL! Well, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. Now, since I am not "trans" at all, your comment is more than a bit absurd. And, well, my opinion of Mr. Williams is not changed.

But thanks for playing....

Anonymous said...

You have to have Harry Benjamin Syndrome and/or be Intersex to even have a chance at genuine Womanhood upon Correction.

As for me I know it is gross to some but at a maximum of 8 years old, I dreamt that my testicles fell right out from in between my legs.

Keep it up, Jennifer and keep blogging for true Harry Benjamin Syndrome Rights and freedom from LGBTyranny.