No Conundrum About It (the Oppression Olympics)
This is very well written and easy to read. The article explains
Trans Feminism: Theres No Conundrum About It
April 18, 2012 by Julia Serano
Aviva Dove-Viebahns recent Ms. blog post, Transfeminism and Its Conundrums, framed trans feminism* as a controversial and debatable submovement within feminism. I strongly disagree, as did a number of commenters, and heres why:
Trans feminismthat is, transgender perspectives on feminism, or feminist perspectives on transgender issuesis one of many so-called third-wave feminisms. Its origins are closely linked with other feminist submovementsspecifically, sex-positive feminism, postmodern/poststructuralist feminism, queer theory and intersectionality. These strands of feminism represent a move away from viewing sexism as an overly simplistic, unilateral form of oppression, where men are the oppressors and women are the oppressed, end of story.
Instead, these feminisms recognize that there are numerous forms of sexismthat is, numerous double standards based on a persons sex, gender, or sexuality. In addition to traditional sexism (where men are viewed as more legitimate than women), there is heterosexism (where heterosexuals are viewed as more legitimate than homosexuals), monosexism (where people who are exclusively attracted to members of a single sex are viewed as more legitimate than bisexuals/pansexuals), masculine-centrism (where masculine gender expression is viewed as more legitimate than feminine gender expression) and so on.
There are also other forms of marginalization prevalent in our society, such as racism, classism and ableism.As feminists of color have articulated, these do not act independently of one another but intersect with and exacerbate one another. A woman of color doesnt face racism and sexism separately; the sexism she faces is often racialized, and the racism she faces is often sexualized. This concept of intersectionality is now very well accepted among many contemporary feminists (albeit not by those who continue to adhere to a unilateral men-oppress-women-end-of-story approach to feminism).
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http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2012/04/18/trans-feminism-theres-no-conundrum-about-it/