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View submission: Trans Women, Male Privilege, and the Intersectionality of Patriarchal Oppression
I appreciate your acknowledgment of the struggles trans women face. I feel that framing our challenges as a “subset” of women’s issues risks erasing the specific struggles we encounter. I would argue this failure to acknowledge our specific struggles is why we are so marginalised. I don't think it's Oppression Olympics to point that out.
While cis women certainly experience lifelong struggles due to patriarchy, trans women face oppression from both men and cis women, who often disregard our needs (prisons, bathroom bills, or healthcare access).
For example, a cis woman in the UK was mistakenly placed in a male prison and was quickly apologised to and moved to a women's facility. She shouldn't have been in that position at all of course. But trans women wouldn’t even receive that consideration - they are banned from women's prisons even if they have had bottom surgery most of the time. An uncomfortable truth is that our safety, dignity, and well-being are often disregarded in the name of “protecting cis women" when we already face disproportionate marginalisation.
Gender non-conforming cis women share some of these struggles, and I don't deny that at all. But the experience is different when you’re denied womanhood altogether.
By subsuming our challenges into general “women’s issues,” we risk ignoring our unique needs and experiences. It's not about competing struggles, but ensuring our distinct challenges are recognised and addressed too.
There's nothing here!