Look right, I like a lot of things about the foundational 2007 text Whipping Girl by Julia Serano. But if you've ever been told to read this book without any qualifiers, I'd like to apologise on behalf of the trans community.

lenin-tea

Obviously the concepts of traditional and oppositional sexism, the idea of transmisogyny, Serano's analysis of media depictions of trans women, and more are all superb and well worthy of praise. However, Serano is a land of contrasts, as AcidSmiley so concisely put it. She's read both Leslie Feinberg and Kate Bornstein's works, and writes this extremely salient quote:

We must also stop pretending that there are essential differences between women and men. This begins with the acknowledgement that there are exceptions to every gender rule and stereotype, and this simply stated fact disproves all gender theories that purport that female and male are mutually exclusive categories.

Despite all that, Serano has a perspective that's utterly mired in exorsexist* binary-only assumptions, with language to match. On own, describing someone taking estrogen as "hormonally female" or her body prior to hormone replacement therapy as "physically male" would be unpleasantly cisnormative, but just that. I respect fully that the intent of this book is to analyse the ins and outs of being trans in the gender binary, and so the text is focused in that direction. When Serano writes goofy shit like "mtf spectrum" though, you wonder if she wouldn't be better served by thinking a little outside of the two-genders box.

She doesn't want to, though; Julia Serano circa 2007 (the text has not been meaningfully updated to my knowledge) is a brave warrior going against the grain of non binary domination :citation to defend our poor, repressed binary genders. She's taking down those woke non-binary moralists from their ivory towers:

There are many different (but often overlapping) forms of gender entitlement and gender anxiety. For example, one of the most frequently discussed forms of gender entitlement is heterosexism, the belief that heterosexuality is the only "natural," legitimate, or morally acceptable form of sexual desire. Heterosexist gender entitlement ean lead to homophobia, which is an expression of gender anxiety directed against those people who engage in same-sex relationships. Similarly, the gender-entitled belief that all women are (or should be) feminine and men masculine-which some have called cisgenderism-gives rise to transphobia, a gender anxiety that is directed against people who fall outside of those norms. While homophobia and transphobia have both received mainstream attention, thinking in terms of gender entitlement and gender anxiety also allows us to consider less well- known (but just as disparaging) forms of gender and sexual discrimination. For example, many gays and lesbians who believe that all people are "naturally" either homosexual or heterosexual often express biphobia, a gender anxiety directed toward bisexual people because they challenge the presumption that people can only be attracted to one sex or the other. I have also met some people in the transgender community who feel that identifying outside of the male/female binary is superior to, or more enlightened than, identifying within it. Such people often express gender anxiety (binary- phobia?) at people who identify strongly as either female or male.

I would be laughing if I weren't actually really mad about this classic, foundational transfeminist text featuring tons of brainworms about anyone outside the binary. It's a punchline, the phrase "binary-phobia" is perfect to sit right next to "heterophobia" or "cisphobia". It's right up there alongside white westerners claiming to be victims of racism when someone calls them a cracker, even. It should be plainly self-evident how ridiculous a claim this is. I want to ask Serano circa 2007 to tell me which genders have legal recognition - binary or non-binary ones?

It is truly incredible that a woman can write so sharply about the cultural/societal hedgemony of cis gender and heterosexuality, about how the concept of anything being inherently gendered is antithetical to feminism, and then turn around and write a deeply unserious aside about how non-binary people are apparently smug moralists commiting discrimination against people of binary gender due to the same gender anxiety**--in itself a smart concept about how queer people disrupt assumed gender/sexual normality--that drives cis people to be transphobes!! I am for real left somewhat speechless.

I don't think Whipping Girl is a book nobody should read, obviously. But I scoured the bearsite to see if anyone had dome criticism of or even qualified their recommendation of Whipping Girl, and I found nothing. Part of me wonders if anyone has made a concerted criticism of this book before, but surely someone has before me. I yap exclusively for your benefit! I wonder if Sexed Up or Excluded are better, but frankly I'm just disappointed and angry. Truly a joke.

--

*Exorsexist, I learned today, is discrimination against people outside the gender binary!

**Serano describes gender anxiety as "the act of becoming irrationally upset or being made uncomfortable by the existence of those people who challenge or bring into question one's gender entitlement." In turn, she describes gender entitlement being "an arrogant conviction that one's own beliefs, perceptions, and assumptions regarding gender and sexuality are more valid than those of other people". She is more or less insinuating that non-binary people are befuddled supremacists who cannot stand... adherence to the gender binary. Cool.

  • Dessa [she/her]
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    edit-2
    2 months ago

    I feel like this was more relevant 20 years ago, when the lines of conflict were very different. There was plenty of lit I could at the time really did put forth the notion that the binary was an antiquated concept that needed to go, and that transgressing the boundary was how you broke the gender hegemony. Some people ran with this and accused binary trans people of more-or-less playing at respectability politics by attempting to appeal to mainstream sensibilities.

    These days, that position is downright archaic. At the time, nonbinary people and non-passing trans people were in the same boat in terms of general acceptance, so there wasnt quite the privilege gap that there is today, and as a result, I feel like this wasn't "kicking down" the same as it would be today.

    It definitely shpuld be removed or revised though. This is an academic book, and it warrants updates that keep it in tune with the times

    • ashinadash [she/her]
      hexagon
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      2 months ago

      There was plenty of lit I could at the time really did put forth the notion that the binary was an antiquated concept that needed to go, and that transgressing the boundary was how you broke the gender hegemony.

      Like what? I like Gender Outlaw, I don't recall Bornstein saying anything about The Binary Must Go. In fact the sort of take Serano describes sounds much closer to second-wave terfs discarding femininity as the entire problem.

      At the time, nonbinary people and non-passing trans people were in the same boat in terms of general acceptance, so there wasnt quite the privilege gap that there is today, and as a result, I feel like this wasn't "kicking down" the same as it would be today.

      So did binary trans people gain privilege? Idk about this one...

      • AcidSmiley [she/her]
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        2 months ago

        When i look at things like legal gender recognition and medical gatekeeping, there have always been structural forms of discrimination specifically targeting nonbinary trans people. I wouldn't be able to get gender affirming care covered if my insurance knew i'm nonbinary, it's flat-out excluded from the guidelines for trans healthcare in Germany. Distinguishing between "valid" binary trans people and "not valid" nonbinary people only stopped in the ICD-11 diagnostic manual, that's the latest edition that isn't even implemented everywhere yet. On a legal level, there's a total of only 18 countrys worldwide that legally recognize genders other than M and F. You can't even enter the transit area in Dubai airport when your passport has anything other than Male or Female in it. That just happens to be the main transit hub for intercontinental flights from Europe to East Asia, Australia and Oceania. I know nonbinary people who have not yet changed their gender marker or have gone for a binary gender because of things like this. I am extremely careful which doctors i disclose to that i'm nonbinary, and usually avoid it entirely. This fortunately is easy for me because woman is an appropriate term to describe my gender (it's just not the only one), because i use she / her pronouns exclusively and because i'm fem presenting and my gender nonconformity is not immediately visible, so i'd say i'm "binary passing" to the casual gatekeeper. But i'm in community with a lot of people put under serious distress by these things, and i'm not even getting into the whole transmedicalism thing that makes many trans communities unsafe for us or how societal attitudes differ between trans people who fit into a binarist mold somehow and trans people who visibly flaunt gender conformity.

        • ashinadash [she/her]
          hexagon
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          2 months ago

          So binary trans people actually have a lot of privilege over nonbinary ones. Some of this I knew, I only thought it was silly that, as that first comment said, this wouldn't have qualified as "punching down" twenty years ago.

          Some of this is actually startling to me though, like aside from medical gatekeeping I had no idea they'd evolved things like that in Dubai. It occurs to me suddenly that I've never told any medical person, state worker or whatever else that I am nonbinary and don't really plan to.

          • AcidSmiley [she/her]
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            2 months ago

            Now that i think about it, the only people in trans healthcare i've outed myself to are my speech therapist, and my psychotherapist, and with the latter i only did that after i got the referral for bottom surgery that was the sole reason i saw her in the first place (fun Germany fact, our healthcare system mandates at least half a year of psychotherapy to access any gender affirming surgeries, the wait lists for trans and especially nonbinary inclusive therapists tend to be a lot longer than that, and transphobia outside of these specialists is frequently so bad i know several people who'd need therapy to recover from the trauma they got during the therapy that was forced on them to access HRT, laser and surgeries). I mean, my psychologist was extremely fine with me finding out i do not fit into the binary and immediately asked if she / her still applies or if there's any neopronouns i'd want her to use for me instead, and i had expected that reaction because she's always been supportive and up to date on trans issues, but being put in a situation where you are dependent on your therapist's goodwill to fix a dysphoria trigger just puts you on edge regardless of what a nice person she is.

            • ashinadash [she/her]
              hexagon
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              2 months ago

              I've known a few german trans people in the distant past, saddened to see this hasn't changed. Also germany-cool

      • Dessa [she/her]
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        edit-2
        2 months ago

        A binary trans person can be legally recognized as their proper gender, but nonbinary people mostly can't.

        • ashinadash [she/her]
          hexagon
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          2 months ago

          Yes this is true, but I don't think binary people gained this privilege over nonbinary people suddenly within the last 20 years. This was punching down in 2007 as well.

          • Dessa [she/her]
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            2 months ago

            A non passable trans person had a steep hill to climb to get a fresh letter in 2004

            • ashinadash [she/her]
              hexagon
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              edit-2
              2 months ago

              And indeed they still do, no? Not that informed consent clinics and stuff haven't become more prominent, but gatekeeping largely still exists. What Serano says was punching down in 2007 as well, regardless. I think I've lost track of what you're saying.

              • Dessa [she/her]
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                edit-2
                2 months ago

                I would argue that gatekeeping has changed a great deal in the past 20 years. It still exists but has diminished by a great degree

                • ashinadash [she/her]
                  hexagon
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                  2 months ago

                  You really think so? I like your optimism, but things like the NHS, the psych shit AcidSmiley mentions, users here being denied diagnoses or hrt due to being autistic tell me that it isn't that good. I think informed consent and planned parenthood are the best antidotes, and those are probably recent developments?

                  • Dessa [she/her]
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                    2 months ago

                    Admittedly, I was thinking U.S. It's so awful in so many places around the world