Cissexism: Difference between revisions

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'''Cissexism''' is a form of [[sexism]], specifically, a way of thought in which only [[cisgender]] people are seen as normal or right. Cissexism is harmful to all kinds of [[transgender]] people, including [[Nonbinary gender|non-binary]] people.
[[File:Trans Pride 2014 Unlearn Transphobia.jpg|thumb|"Unlearn Transphobia" banner at Trans Pride 2014.]]
'''Cissexism''', commonly called '''transphobia''' or '''cisnormativity''', is a form of [[sexism]]. It is the belief that only [[cisgender]] people are seen as normal or right, and that transgender people are unnatural or dangerous. In action, cissexism opposes the legal rights of transgender people to transition or exist in society. Cissexism results in medical malpractice against trans people, and violence against trans people. Cissexism is harmful to all kinds of [[transgender]] people, including [[nonbinary]] people.


==Casual cissexism==
==Casual cissexism==


One form of this prejudice is casual cissexism, which often takes the form of an apparent "honest mistake," forgetting that anybody other than cisgender people exist. For example, resources on sexual health often give the idea that all women only have one kind of private parts, and men another. The resource fails to talk about the exceptions to this rule: transgender and [[Intersex|intersex]] people, and in cisgender people with medical conditions. The people who wrote the resources didn't mean to leave people out. They just didn't know any better, or they forgot. It was an honest mistake, with no ill intentions. However, it was a mistake nonetheless, which can make trouble and do harm. For trans people, that resource might be no good, or worse than nothing.
One form of this prejudice is casual cissexism, which often takes the form of an apparent "honest mistake," forgetting that anybody other than cisgender people exist. For example, resources on sexual health often give the idea that all women only have one kind of private parts, and men another. The resource fails to talk about the exceptions to this rule: transgender and [[intersex]] people, and in cisgender people with medical conditions. The people who wrote the resources didn't mean to leave people out. They just didn't know any better, or they forgot. It was an honest mistake, with no ill intentions. However, it was a mistake nonetheless, which can make trouble and do harm. For trans people, that resource might be no good, or worse than nothing.


Casual cissexism is common in language, and one way to address it is by taking up [[Gender neutral language|gender-neutral language]].
Casual cissexism is common in language, and one way to address it is by taking up [[gender neutral language]].


==Micro-aggressions==
==Micro-aggressions==
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==Nonbinary erasure==
==Nonbinary erasure==


''See main article: [[Nonbinary Erasure|Nonbinary erasure]].''
''See main article: [[Nonbinary erasure]].''


Another specific form of cissexism is [[Nonbinary Erasure|Nonbinary erasure]], the common but wrong idea that there are only two genders. This comes with the expectation that everyone should fit into only one of the two parts of the [[gender binary]]. This can result in discrimination against people with non-binary gender identities. One way this problem can be addressed is by working for [[Visibility|visibility]] and [[Recognition|recognition]] of non-binary people.
Another specific form of cissexism is [[nonbinary erasure]], the common but wrong idea that there are only two genders. This comes with the expectation that everyone should fit into only one of the two parts of the [[gender binary]]. This can result in discrimination against people with nonbinary gender identities. One way this problem can be addressed is by working for [[visibility]] and [[recognition]] of nonbinary people.


Nonbinary erasure is connected to [[Intersex#Dyadism|dyadism]], the belief that there are only two sexes, and [[biological essentialism]], the belief that one's body is what permanently makes somebody who they are.
Nonbinary erasure is connected to [[Intersex#Dyadism|dyadism]], the belief that there are only two sexes, and [[biological essentialism]], the belief that one's body is what permanently makes somebody who they are.
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[[Binarism]] is a form of [[Ethnicity and culture#Racism and cultural discrimination|racist]] discrimination based in nonbinary erasure. Western culture typically erases nonbinary and transgender identities. As a result, Western colonialism puts pressure on other cultures to conform to its own form of the [[gender binary]], based in white norms. This includes discrimination against [[gender-variant identities worldwide|gender roles unique to other ethnicities]].
[[Binarism]] is a form of [[Ethnicity and culture#Racism and cultural discrimination|racist]] discrimination based in nonbinary erasure. Western culture typically erases nonbinary and transgender identities. As a result, Western colonialism puts pressure on other cultures to conform to its own form of the [[gender binary]], based in white norms. This includes discrimination against [[gender-variant identities worldwide|gender roles unique to other ethnicities]].


==Misdirected misogyny==
==Transmisogyny==
'''Transmisogyny''' or '''trans-misogyny''' is transphobia directly specifically at trans women. It is a combination of prejudice against trans people, sexism, and/or misogyny. As such, understanding trans-misogyny is an intersectional approach to the oppression of trans women. Transmisogyny can also be experienced by nonbinary people who align with or are partially women, such as [[Demigirl|demigirls]] or [[bigender]] people who identify as women.


Misogyny is a form of sexism, specifically discrimination against women. Some misogyny ends up doing harm even to people who don't identify as women, because others see them as being like women in some way. This can happen to non-binary people, transgender men, and [[Gender nonconformity|gender nonconforming]] cisgender people. That is called misdirected misogyny. Calling discrimination against men "trans-misandry" assumes the existence of "misandry," which is disputed. A patriarchal society can make misery for people of all genders, even men, but the ultimate source of that misery is the patriarchy's contempt for womanhood, not for manhood.
Julia Serano coined the word "transmisogyny" in her [[Feminism|trans-feminist]] book, ''Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of [[Femininity]]'' (2007). By far, trans women of color are targeted by more and worse transphobic hate crimes than any other transgender group. Transmisogyny is a big problem because a patriarchal society has contempt for womanhood, femininity, non-conformity, and [[gender variance]]. A patriarchal society sees a trans woman as a combination of all that that society tolerates the least. It is important for any activism for transgender rights to think of how their work could include trans women.
 
The term '''transmisogynoir''' ("noir" meaning "black" in French) refers more specifically to oppression and bigotry that affects Black transfeminine people. This is a combination of Serrano's word "transmisogyny" with the word "misogynoir", which was coined by Moya Bailey, a queer Black feminist.<ref name="Holleb-transmisogynoir">{{cite book|title=The A-Z of Gender and Sexuality: From Ace to Ze |last=Holleb |first=Morgan Leb Edward |year=2019 |page=277-278}}</ref>
 
==Transgender-exclusionary feminists==
Transgender-exclusionary feminism, also called transgender-exclusionary radical feminism, or transgender-exterminatory radical feminism is the belief that transgender women are really men who are faking womanhood in order to be dangerous to cisgender women, and that transgender men are women trying to enforce the patriarchy by gaining male privilege. People who hold this belief call themselves feminists, but others call them transgender-exclusionaryradical feminists (TERFs).<ref><strong style="color:red;">WARNING</strong>: Contains unpleasant verbal content. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/04/woman-2 [https://web.archive.org/web/20230305180640/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/04/woman-2 Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref> This belief is a form of [[Sexism#Biological essentialism|biological essentialism]], the assumption that one's [[sexes|sex]] invariably defines who one is, forever. Whether this kind of belief should be called a form of feminism at all is debatable, because feminism is about fighting for women's rights, but TERFs fight against the rights of transgender women.  
 
When TERFS say they are "gender critical", "gender free", or "gender abolitionist," these dogwhistle phrases mean that they don't believe in gender identity, and only believe in the sex that one is assigned at birth. This is a [[Sexism#Biological essentialism|biological essentialist]] belief that they use to deny the genders of trans and nonbinary people.<ref name="Holleb-TERFs">{{cite book|title=The A-Z of Gender and Sexuality: From Ace to Ze |last=Holleb |first=Morgan Leb Edward |year=2019 |page=250-256}}</ref>


==Solutions==
==Solutions==
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*[[Gender binary]]
*[[Gender binary]]
*[[Cisgender]]
*[[Cisgender]]
*[[Transphobia]]
*[[Transmisogyny]]


[[Category:Concepts]] [[Category:Sexism]]
[[Category:Sexism]]
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