What are they really afraid of?

What is it about being transgender that scares people so much? There are so many groups out there that hate and fear our very existence, as if we upset some cosmic balance and the universe will implode if we continue to exist. Most of the arguments against us follow along the same lines as historical arguments against other marginalized groups, especially the gay community, which still has hate thrown at them. This hatred and fear is irrational because we (or any other LGBQ+ person) isn’t doing anything to the person hating us, nor are we acting in any way that provokes fight or flight (rational fear) responses. We simply exist, and that existence is enough to garner the angst and vitriol of very vocal groups.

The religious transphobes hate us because they don’t think we fit into their myth of man and woman being divinely created by God. Somehow, we seem to indicate that God made a mistake by placing us in the wrong body, and therefore, we are heresy to their doctrine. Essentially, we should shut up and assume the roles God assigned us.

The problem with this attitude is it flies in the face of science, but most religious zealots don’t accept science as fact anyway. They are stuck in the ancient world when their book was conceived as the source of explanation for all things, never mind that even then it was mostly understood to be metaphorical.

Another group of people that hate us, specifically, are trans-exclusive radical feminists, or TERFs. These people claim that because we trans women were assigned male at birth (AMAB), we can’t ever truly know what it is to be a woman. That we have all the privilege of being male, and shouldn’t be allowed to be women. And, finally, that because we can’t give birth, we will never be “real” women and so we should never be allowed in spaces reserved for women, including restrooms.

There are even trans women who believe that if you haven’t undergone physical transition (often requiring surgery), than you aren’t truly a trans women. There is a nasty name for these folks in the trans community. They are called ‘truscum’.

All of these viewpoints exist because of people buying into the dichotomous gender hierarchy put forth by religiously dominated patriarchies. This does, unfortunately, include the United States and most of Europe. Not to mention the actual Muslim theocracies out there were being trans is an actual death sentence. I’ve written a bit already about how defensive hierarchies get when attacked (See piece on Privilege). That’s what is going on here, too.

Transphobia is rooted in the desire to protect the male-dominated, dual-gender (male-female) patriarchy. Transgender individuals show that gender is a spectrum and not two endpoints, and that as an extension, neither of those endpoints should be dominant. The religious believe men should be dominant; it’s written all over their texts and spoken clearly in their evangelism. TERFs believe that women should, if not be dominant, at least be equal. If there are more than two variations on gender, then how can they get their long-awaited due, now that gender equality is finally becoming a political reality. Truscum seem to believe that one must fully buy into the hierarchy in order to be perceived as valid by everyone else in the hierarchy, and when trans women don’t, they are upsetting that delicate illusion of inclusion.

Transphobia is therefore, a fear of upsetting the patriarchy, of upsetting the deeply held institutions that have let those in power accumulate that power over time. Those who have power do not like it being challenged. Those that are close to achieving parity in power, are keen to ensure that nothing thwarts that goal. And finally, those that have managed to blend in with the power structure don’t want to lose the benefits of having blended in so well.

The loss of power is what these groups truly fear, at whatever level they have it. That is why they go so far out of their way to attack us, to derail our rights, and denigrate our humanity at every turn. We challenge their power.

As a trans woman with a voice, and for all my trans brothers and sisters, and non-binary and agender siblings, I am hear to say, “Challenge accepted!”