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"I'M BACK! (Oh, and TERF's and Gatekeeping Fit Into This)" Apr 13, 2019.
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@6oogle_it_ is back after a hiatus with
a video that explains why TERFs are bad and why 'feminist gatekeeping', the concept of excluding certain groups from feminism and political action, is antithetical to creating an inclusive movement against the right wing today. One cannot realize socialist praxis without feminism, without the struggle to eliminate structures of domination and sexist oppression. feminism is essential to reducing violence and hate, and to promoting justice. But Google It makes the important point that gatekeeping has excluded certain groups of people from participating in feminism. I recommend Google It's video and I've added some further comments below.
- "I understand people being critical of how white feminists
are, and that's fine. But sometimes it can have unintended
consequences. It can make our movement squabble, and this has a
detrimental effect on us. It leaves opposition to the right wing
divided." (0:40)
It is correct to be critical of white women who have co-opted
feminism in the U.S. and turned it into a bourgeois ideology. It has
been said that second wave feminism's success at transforming culture
stands in contrast to its failure to transform institutions. Open the
newspaper and it is not uncommon to find articles about sexual
harassment, unequal pay, sex trafficking. Decades ago, these feminist
critiques would have appeared incendiary but today they are
widespread. Yet these sexist practices still exist even though
people's attitudes about women's issues have changed. Second wave feminism has wrought cultural revolution but the
change in mentality has not resulted in structural, institutional
changes. The cultural changes started by second wave feminists
unwittingly has aided the legitimation of neoliberal capitalism, as
Nancy Faser has argued. “The ideology of competitive,
atomistic...liberal individualism”, bell hooks wrote in Feminist
Theory, “has permeated feminist thought to such an extent that it
undermines the potential radicalism of the struggle.”
- “We can be critical of various factions of feminism, but we
can't say we're the true feminists to the exlcusion of others.
However, if a faction of feminism is inherently discriminatory, then
excluding them is necessary to avoid potential feminists and allies
from going to the opposition.” (1:15)
Trans-exclusionary radical feminists are not feminists – they
need to be reminded that gender is socially constructed. A person's
genitalia or chromosomes are not predictive of their gender as an
adult, after an individual has gone through socialization. Yet TERFs
and some lesbian separatists deny the existence of trans women on
this basis. No, trans women are valid women. we must acknowledge that
'gender binary' is oppressive. gender is a variegated
spectrum. but living in a binary world, only a trans person can speak
to what it feels like to be afraid of facing violence or hate.
- “Terfs deserve to be strongly opposed and denigrated for
their transphobia and their unity with the right wing's opposition
to trans rights. Trans rights are human rights and they have zero
threat to anyone else's rights.” (2:20)
I agree with google it, TERFs are
actually anti-feminists and their ideology of exclusion runs counter to
the feminist visions of a just society.
- "We must build a coalition to defeat the right and pave
the way for justice and equality for everyone. United we stand,
divided we fall, all roads lead to socialism." (3:13)
Feminists and feminist allies need to
form a strong coalition to defeat the right wing and accomplish the
goals of ending sexist oppression and politics of domination. If
groups continue 'gatekeeping' such as by denying the existence of
trans women or their participation in the feminist movement, there will be more hate and fragmentation of the movement instead of broadening its
influence, and realizing feminism's revolutionary potential.
