Trans-Race?

Angelita Manzano

The claim is often made that claiming there is a category called "woman" is a way of reinscribing sexist categories, and we should be trying to get rid of sexist categories, so let's just deny "woman" exists. I'm saying that claiming that there is no difference between someone born with a vagina and raised as a girl, and someone born with a penis and raised as a boy (that the latter may simply choose to belong to the category of woman) is analogous to saying that there is no difference between someone born and raised Black and someone born and raised white--that the latter may simply choose to belong to the category of Black.

We can say there's no such thing as race, and in a certain sense, that is true--there are no such things as discrete, biological, racial categories. However, if we deny that there is such a thing as "Black" (that we can just choose to live whatever race we want), that means that there is no such thing as "white"--i.e., there is no class of people (whites) that have unequal power and privilege over another group of people (Blacks). In other words, by denying the reality of race, you deny the reality of racism. But if I chose to live my life as a white person--I could get surgery to have a less Aztec looking nose, wear colored contacts and dye my hair blonde--that would do nothing to destroy the system of white supremacy. And destroying white supremacy is what anti-racism is all about. I would say you have to first get rid of racism in order to get rid of racial categories, not the other way around.

Similarly, we can say there's no such thing as gender, and in a certain sense, that is true--gender is not a biological fact. However, if we deny that there is such a thing as "woman" (that we can just choose to live whatever gender we want) that means that there is no such thing as "man"--i.e., there is no class of people (men) that have unequal power and privilege over another group of people (women). In other words, by denying the reality of women and men, you deny the reality of patriarchy. So if I chose to live my life as a man that would do nothing to destroy the system of male supremacy. And destroying male supremacy is what I think feminism is about: we must get rid of patriarchy in order to get rid of gender roles.

When I say that there is such a thing as "Black," I'm not reinscribing categories but simply admitting the truth about the world we live in today. When I say that there is such a thing as "woman," I'm not "reinscribing" categories--I am simply admitting the truth about the world we live in today. And as much as I would like to someday live in a world where someone with a penis would not have power over me, that's not the world that I live in today. Denying this truth, denying that someone born with penis and raised a boy has greater access to power and privilege than I do, does nothing to get rid of male dominance.