Reflections on Gender Variance

Guest post by Joanna Santos

After having ended my blog, I wanted to add one last footnote and briefly summarize my thoughts on gender variance; a topic I have reflected on most of my life. 

We can come to two primary conclusions in that firstly, it is a naturally occurring phenomenon dating back to recorded human history and secondly it comes in different iterations and severity and degree of attachment. In other words, what Harry Benjamin observed with his hundreds of patients (who largely lived secret lives)  over his lifetime turned out to be ostensibly correct. Gender variance behaves like a continuum. 

The resistance to this human variant is explanatory in that it is in contravention to a desired social and political structure which seeks predictability. People can be more easily controlled if their behaviour is slotted into a safe binary which conveniently adhered to birth sex. Even detectable anomalies of birth sex were corrected such that the infant could fall within one of only two choices. 

As we became increasingly educated in genetics we unsurprisingly found that chromosomal anomalies were part of the global picture of humanity because nature abhors uniformity and perfection. However this did little to discourage the binary model to change since it suited the power structures within societies. 

It wasn't until well into the 2000's that society began to recognize that in many instances gender dysphoria wasn't a choice and people's actions in addressing it were valid. This was because the initial numbers of people coming out didn't warrant a moral panic. The kind of people who had previously transitioned in stealth were now coming out despite not needing to. 

However once the full breadth of gender variance was exposed as being much larger than imagined, it was seized upon as a moral panic and sold as social contagion. Youth who abandoned strict social rules and flaunted originality were suddenly part of a movement to derail society. The white man who was afraid of his world order being toppled, seized on the moment encouraged by subgroups with their own agendas. 

Our problem today is that the definition of 'trans' has become so expansive that it has left much of society with confusion about how to deal with people who, for varying reasons, don't readily fit within the old definitions of man and woman. Some are emboldened by the freedom of choice while others deal with conflicts of identity dating back to early childhood. 

Many of these people are themselves confused about what actions to take regarding medical interventions which may or may not be warranted. Some want a definition to give them a path forward only they can ultimately determine. 

Sorting out what this means will take time but I feel the answer lies in a live and let live perspective which abandons discrimination along gender lines. People need to be seen as individuals who embrace authenticity in their own manner and ultimately improve life quality and balance in doing so.

Illustration photo: Getty

Queerphobia, Science and the Problem with Realism

Here's a guest post by Davida, following up our post on the causes of transphobia. Using the approach of  philosopher and computer scientist Bernardo Kastrup Davida maps the logical and rhetorical tricks used by homophobes (and by implication transphobes) in their desire to defend their own beliefs. This way of arguing is also found in science.

By Davida

In his book, Meaning in Absurdity, the Dutch philosopher Bernardo Kastrup makes an argument against a metaphysical position known as realism. Kastrup’s opening words, “This book is an experiment: an attempt to use logic to expose the absurd foundations of logic.” 

In his argument, he employs research from quantum physics to support his critique. An alternative presentation is offered here, which hopefully will illustrate his points in a less technical manner. However, it will be without the strong empirical support his argument offered. 

His critique of realism is directed at its reliance upon bivalence logic (either, or), strong objectivity (alleged facts, independent of context or conditions), hidden variables (alleged causes, outside of that which can be known) and faith (belief treated as fact). 

A dialogue with a homophobe

So, imagine the following scene. Bill is talking across a backyard fence with his neighbor, Sam, about their new neighbors down the street.

Sam: We don’t need people like them in the neighborhood.

Bill: What do you mean? What kind of people are they?

Sam: Isn’t obvious? Two men are buying a house together and claiming to be one another’s spouse.

Bill: What’s the big deal? It is pretty common these days.

Sam: I’ll tell you what the big deal is. It isn’t natural. It goes against nature. It is against the natural order of the world. (realism claim implying strong objectivity)

Bill: How so?

What Really Drives Transphobia: The Fears of the Fearful

Transphobia is fueled by the fears of the fearful, as are most kinds of bigotry. The fearful are people who want to protect themselves from the unpredictability of life by retreating into some kind of imaginary "normalcy."Any person who does not follow the rules given within this "Fortress of Normalia" is seen as a threat who must be eradicated. 

If we want to understand transphobia, we need to understand these fears.

A darkness has fallen over our democracies. The mood is very much like in Europe in the 1930s. At that time evil and cynical politicians used Jews as the scapegoats needed to take control of society. Everything bad was, according to this narrative, caused by a secret  cabal of Jews who controlled Hollywood, world banking and communism.

Racism was and is a key tool in any totalitarian handbook, since it ensures that the dominant, default, "race" remains in power. Racism is still a potent weapon wielded by those who seek control.

The current enshittfication of our societies  is, like the previous one, also powered by the desire to defend traditional gender roles, which - according to this belief - is anchored in both nature and God's will.  This sexist nonsense is an essential part of the word view of conservative extremists like Trump, Putin and Orban. Trans people are seen as a threat to this "natural" order. That is why it makes sense to persecute them.

From Hitler to Trump

This need for traditional gender conformity explains why one of the first things the Nazis did when they came  to power in Germany was to destroy  Magnus Hirschfeld'ts Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin. 

Magnus Hirschfeld's science and practice called for a humanization of gay and transgender individuals. Hirschfeld did not see queer and trans  people as mentally ill, but rather as  natural variations of humankind. His work reflected an increasing tolerance of LGBTQ people in a city like Berlin.

Magnus Hirschfeld (the one with glasses)  with friends.

The Nazis, however, believed in the gospel of strong white men dominating everyone else, and that world view required a strict adherence to traditional gender roles, where men rule and women raise children and serve men with adoration in their eyes.

Controlling science

This kind of nationalistic traditionalism was not only based on cultural norms and accepted behaviors; it was also based on pseudo-scientific ideas about the natural order of things. 

Eugenic research was seen to "prove" white superiority over people of color. A lot of researchers studying sexuality and gender let their own prejudices label everything that did not follow the vanilla script of submissive woman loving dominant man as sexual perversions. Gender variance was just a sign of such perversions.

Norwegian doctors/gatekeepers stop transgender kids from getting the treatment they need

The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten covers the challenges faced by transgender youth in Norway regarding access to gender-affirming medical treatment in a new article.

Photo of Stina's shoes from Aftenposten.
Photo: Charlotte Førde Skomsøy

It focuses on the case of "Stina," a 13-year-old who was denied puberty blockers by Rikshospitalet, Norway’s national medical institution for gender treatment. Instead, she sought treatment at the Health Station for Gender and Sexuality (Helsestasjon for kjønn og seksualitet, HKS) in Oslo, which granted her access to the medication.

Cis-normative gatekeepers

The article confirms what many trans people have argued for a long time: Public institutions for transgender health often become gatekeepers serving a cis-normative society.

Although the doctors see themselves as progressive and supportive, their internalized transphobia make them set up strict rules for who qualifies as a "real trans person".

Norwegian trans people will tell you that as far as Rikshospitalet is concerned, it helps to live up to the gender stereotypes of accepted femininity and masculinity if you want hormones and surgery.

This is ethically problematic, as these doctors - all of them cis people - have put themselves up as both judges and prisoners, claiming the power to decide whether a trans person should be living their lives as themselves or not.

Celebrating Trans+ History Week with some articles from our archives

Trans+ History Week is  dedicated to recognizing and honoring the lives, struggles, and contributions of transgender people throughout history.

The week,  from May 5 to May 11,  is to:

• Educate about historical and contemporary figures in the trans community.
• Highlight milestones in trans rights movements.
• Celebrate the cultural impact of trans individuals.
• Reflect on past and ongoing struggles against discrimination and marginalization.

This site has several articles that cover often unknown parts of the history of gender variance. You might find the following ones interesting:

Were There Transgender Vikings? The Laxdæla Saga Says So.

Yes, Ernest Hemingway was Transgender

The Transmasculine Women of Ancient Baghdad

The Kama Sutra on Transgender People

Magnus Hirschfeld's Understanding of Transgender People

The Transgender Historian Zagria, Part 1: "A Gender Variance Who's Who"

What an old edition of Encyclopedia Britannica can tell us about the erasure of trans and queer people

A Short History of the Roots of Transphobic Science

How J.K. Rowling and transphobes are forcing men into women's bathrooms

Jaxon Feeley, trans man 

One of the clear signs of bigotry is how its proponents do not  understand the unintended consequences of their own irrational hatred. They need their "solutions" to their imaginary problems to be neat and easy to handle.

J. K. Rowling and the TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists) celebrated their UK Supreme Court victory this week as a victory for women (i.e. cis women). 

They clearly believe that this means that trans women will  be excluded from women's spaces, including bathrooms, in the future.

What they have not considered is  the fact that they have now opened the doors of women's bathrooms to men. 

Indeed, if the British government follows up on this Supreme Court madness (gender reduced to "biological sex" at birth), trans men will be forced to either use the women's room or break the law.

A trans man in the restroom

Imagine this scenario: A trans man (indistinguishable from a cis man) walks into a woman's restroom to do their thing. Imagine one of the women in there alerting a male friend or the staff about this male incursion into female spaces. This may quickly escalate into something ugly.