#Reading today
Gender is not a spectrum
– The idea that ‘gender is a spectrum’ is supposed to set us free. But it is both illogical and politically troubling
by Rebecca Reilly-Cooper
https://aeon.co/essays/the-idea-that-gender-is-a-spectrum-is-a-new-gender-prison
@jd
Hmm... I took the time to read the whole thing. I think this is probably the clearest and most sympathetic expression I've seen of the TERF position. If you wanted to steelman TERFism, and leave out the gratuitous attacks on trans women, thus would be the article to share.
*That said*: I disagree overall. I agree that gender is a coercively imposed class system and needs to be abolished. *But* it must be abolished without invalidating the lived experiences of trans/nb people.
@jd
My biggest disagreement: what does the author expect the process of gender abolition to look like? One supposes a clean break. One day, there is gender. Then, the revolution! And afterwards, no gender.
I find this unrealistic. It seems to me that any realistic process of gender abolition would look a lot like what we are actually seeing: the fuzzing of the boundaries of gender and the proliferation of nonstandard gender categories.
@jd
If things continue and we are not thrown into barbarism, I think gender has a functional lifespan of two or three more generations. And there will no doubt be vestigial features of it left over. But the important thing: trans-binary and non-binary people are the front lines of gender abolition. And their experiences and their safety and liberation absolutely have to be a top priority for radical feminists.
@gcupc @jd I have said the same thing to my children; that they are the allied vanguard for their friends/school mates/etc. The previous front line was when I was in school and it was the LGB part of LGBTQI. I told them, however that that battle is not done either. However, the movement of the battle lines is definitely a positive sign.
@jd
ie, don't do this:
https://anticapitalist.party/media/cK524s15wOZd_JQhqNA