Trans rights are women’s rights

by Tanith Wirihana Te Waitohioterangi

As a libertarian, I oppose laws and philosophies that limit the sovereignty of the individual and groups of individuals to live their best life. As an iconoclast like Jesus in the temple, I have absolutely no issue tearing down and overturning the most cherished beliefs of the most ignorant.

Recent reports highlight that New Zealand performs poorly in education and literacy. I profoundly apologise for shoving the King’s English down your throats. If you need a dictionary I say ,“For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God, for no man understandeth him . . .” (1 Corinthians 14:2).

Some people would like to believe that trans women’s rights happen at the expense of women’s rights, but trans rights are women’s rights.

Limiting the freedom of transgender people impacts the conditions of all women by re-entrenching the very gender stereotypes that have underpinned centuries of women’s oppression. These gender stereotypes dictate how women should behave, and what their bodies should look like — and perpetuate the idea that there is a specific way in which women should express themselves.

Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs) and Trans Feminists have intersecting agreements but they disagree as to what the definition of a “woman” is, and who may enjoy these rights, therefore these groups are diametrically opposed. TERF’s believe that transgender rights are an existential threat to women. They believe that Transgender rights are a complotist conspiracy to infiltrate the feminist movement — undermine woman’s rights — and annihilate the very concept of womanhood itself. Radical feminism however is an oblivious servant of the very patriarchy they swore to smash.

The idea of biological gender itself is a stereotype that reinforces gender binaries and gender norms. This idea suggests that there are only two distinct biological sexes, male and female, and that these sexes are directly correlated with specific gender roles and behaviours. This in turn reinforces prejudice against those that do not conform to the pre-assigned identity of their birth sex.

Gender is not simply a matter of biology, but is shaped by societal norms, and power structures. The prefix “Cis” means “on the side of” and in the case of gender means that an individual’s gender identity matches the sex they are assigned at birth.

TERFs leverage upon the cisgender construct and utilise their existing rights to block the rights of Transgender people and view trans women, not as women, but as biological men — and therefore consider them members of the ruling patriarchal class. So even if a biological male chooses to live as a woman and adopt a correspondingly subordinate social position, TERFs believe trans women will never be able to truly experience being a woman.

Transpeople have the right to exist and to live their best lives. Their choice is what they choose to do, and if they are causing no harm then it shouldn’t bother you.