Click here to order a copy of this book
Synopsis
What is a woman? Both feminist activists and feminist theorists of the past two and a half decades have often been influential in debates about meanings of womanhood. Transsexualism as a state of being and transsexual women and men themselves have periodically presented thorny issues to those involved in such discussions. As a result, the boundaries of womanhood have become more blurred, and previously uncontested territories have become more frequently challenged by both feminists and transsexuals. Briefly, the controversy renters on when, if ever, sex and gender statuses change for transsexuals. When do female-to-male transsexuals cease to be women (if ever)? When do male-to-female transsexuals become women (if ever)? Exclusion of transsexuals from women-only events has been one manifestation of the conflicts that have been brewing in feminist movements since the early 1970s. Because women-only events are largely organized and attended by lesbians, lesbians have often been at the forefront of feminist debates about the womanhood of transsexuals.
A variety of feminist commentaries have been written on the topic of transsexualism (Daly 1984, 1990; Eichler 1987; Greer 1986; O’Leary 1994; Raymond 1977, 1979; Steinem 1977; Sturgis 1979; Walsh-Bolstad 1993), many reflecting a negative attitude toward transsexuals. Probably the most popular and most hostile text is Janice Raymond’s The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the SheMale, originally published in 1979 (with a new edition released in 1994), which continues to set the terms of feminist debate. However, feminists are far from united on this issue (Baynes 1991; Califia 1980; Dworkin 1974; Rubin 1992; Siegal 1994). As a result, there are divisions among feminists that sometimes result in differing camps working against each other (Douglas 1979; Lesbian ‘Connection 1992a, 1992b, 1994; Lesbian Contradiction 1992; Lindau 1992). Furthermore, members of transgendered and transsexual communities have been caught in the crossfire and have suffered from discrimination and hostility directed at them by some feminists (Burkholder 1991, 1992; Ridden 1980; Stone 1991; TransSisters 1993a, 1993b, 1994a, 1994b, 1994c, 1994d, 1995).
There has been much lively debate in the feminist communities on the topic of transsexualism; however there has been little research looking specifically at feminist attitudes about transsexuals (Walworth 1993). To address this gap in our knowledge, we have conducted a study of feminist opinions about transsexuals by means of a questionnaire. The survey (see Appendix A) was developed by Dr. Holly Devor in consultation with Monica Kendel and Dr. Nancy Strapko. This paper describes some preliminary findings based on 100 of 1,400 surveys returned thus far
Method
One major site of confrontation between feminists and transsexuals has been at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, which has a policy of offering entrance to “womyn-born-womyn only.” For this reason, a large portion of our surveys were distributed at the Michigan festival. From June 1994 through February 1995, approximately 6,000 surveys were distributed by hand by Monica Kendel and Dr. Nancy Strapko. Three thousand surveys were distributed at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival including Camp Trans. The remainder were handed out at feminist and lesbian gatherings such as academic conferences, women’s dances, and music festivals in the North Eastern United States (approximately 1,000) and western Canadian urban settings. From this distribution approximately 1,200 surveys were returned. A second distribution went out over the Internet to feminist and lesbian bulletin boards. An additional 200 surveys were returned from that distribution. To date approximately 1,400 surveys have been returned.
Our preliminary data are from a random selection of fifty self-identified lesbian feminist responses and fifty non-lesbian feminist responses out of the 1,400 returned surveys. Since many of the women-only spaces are organized and attended by lesbian feminists, we were interested in establishing if there were any differences in opinion between the lesbian and non-lesbian feminists in their attitudes toward transsexuals. For this initial examination, we chose responses from a selection of general questions that examined concepts of sex and gender and membership into womanhood. Because the survey answers allowed for multiple choices and comments, we have a very rich data set that however offers some challenges for coding and traditional statistical analysis. We have not at this time attempted significance tests. We offer only an exploration of some of the data from the full data set.
Sample
The average respondent was Caucasian, twenty-five to thirty years of age, urban, non-medical professional with a university degree, earning an income average of 30,000 U.S. dollars, U.S. citizen with no stated religion. The weakness of our sample lies in its under representation of people from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, its fairly narrow age representation, and its overrepresentation of lesbians who attended the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival.
Results
The responses from questions 15, 16, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30 probe respondents’ potential for empathy with the idea of sex change or gender dysphoria.
Q15-Have you ever wanted to be the other sex?
In the total sample, 30 percent stated that they had wanted to be the other sex at some time. However, 40 percent of lesbian feminists wanted to be the other sex compared to 20 percent of non-lesbian feminists.
Q16–have you ever thought that you might be a transsexual?
Overall 5 percent have thought that they might be transsexual. Eight percent of the lesbian feminists compared to 2 percent of non-lesbian feminists have thought that they might be transsexuals.
Q29- how many male-to-female (MtF) transsexuals do you know?
See Figure 1.
Q30-how many female-to-male (FtM) transsexuals do you know?
See Figure 2.
The entire sample knew more MtF than FtM transsexuals. Approximately 40 percent of the respondents knew at least one MtF transsexual, and 15 percent knew at least one FtM. Lesbians knew more transsexuals than non-lesbians. Most lesbians knew from one to five MtFs and/or only one FtM. Most non-lesbians know only one MtF and/or FtM. Sixty percent of the whole sample did not know any MtF transsexuals while 85 percent did not know any FtM transsexuals.
Q26-If you do not know any transsexuals, how do you feel about them in general?
Sixty percent of the whole sample did not know any transsexuals. For question 26, these respondents were asked to choose the answers that best fit their experience of “how do you feel about transsexuals in general?” They could choose one or more from: “revolted,” “hostile/angry,” “unaccepting/not angry,” “confused,” “indifferent,” “curious,” “fascinated,” “accepting,” “ally/defender,” “turned on,” “don’t know,” and “other.” For the purposes of this examination we grouped the responses into three general categories: negative (revolted, hostile/angry, unaccepting/not angry), neutral (confused, indifferent, curious, fascinated), and supportive (accepting, ally/defender, turned on). At this time we excluded responses of “don’t know” and “other.”
There were only five responses in the negative category. The largest collection of responses were in the neutral category; the second popular response was in the supportive category.
Q27–If you do know any transsexuals, what was your first reaction to meeting them?
Comparing answers from question 26 and question 27 we noted that the respondents who did know one or more transsexuals (40 percent of the sample) initially had more negative opinions about transsexuals than those who did not know any transsexuals. Among those who did know at least one transsexual, thirteen selected negative responses. The highest negative rating was among nonlesbian feminists, six of whom stated that they felt “hostile/angry” when they first met a transsexual. For both groups, however, the responses in the neutral category were the predominant selections.
Q28-How do you feel about the transsexuals that you know?
The answers to this question reveal a shift of attitude from respondents’ first reactions upon meeting transsexuals to the time when this survey was answered. There was a trend toward more acceptance. In response to question 27, thirteen responses in the negative category were chosen, compared to only two in response to question 28. The neutral category has shrunken, while the supportive category has grown. Most noteworthy may be that the “ally” selection grew from three to thirteen responses.
The responses from questions 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 relate to the respondents’ interpretations about the sex and/or gender of transsexual people.
Q33 What is the physical sex of a MtF? (female, male, both, neither, other)
Q34-An MtF is a: woman, man, both, neither, other?
Q35-What is the physical sex of a FtM? (female, male, both, neither, other)
See Figures 3 and 4.
Q36-An FtM is a: woman, man, both, neither, other?
See Figures 5 and 6.
Questions 33 through 36 deal with concepts of sex and gender. Respondents’ interpretations about the sex and gender of transsexuals appeared to be consistent whether about FtM or MtF, therefore the FtM charts will be used to represent the findings. The responses by non-lesbian feminists (see figures 3 and 5) indicate that 60 percent of the respondents believed that transsexuals change sex and gender. On the other hand, 6 percent believed transsexuals do not change sex, and 10 percent believed that transsexuals do not change gender. Eighteen percent believed that transsexuals are both male and female. And 22 percent believed that transsexuals are both men and women. The non-lesbian feminists did not seem to make a strong distinction between the concepts of sex and gender when applied to transsexual people.
Lesbian feminist respondents (see figures 4 and 6) seem to have made more of a distinction between the concepts of sex and gender. Thirty percent believed that transsexuals change physical sex, whereas 60 percent of non-lesbian feminists believed transsexuals change sex. Forty-six percent of the lesbian feminists believed that transsexuals change gender. Therefore, among the lesbians who were surveyed, 46 percent believed that transsexuals change gender, while only 30 percent believed that transsexuals change sex. Compared to the non-lesbian feminists, the lesbians were less likely to believe that transsexuals change sex and gender.
The third preferred response for non-lesbian respondents when asked about transsexuals’ sex and gender was the “both” category. In this case, “both” meant that a transsexual’s sex is male and female, and that the gender is both man and woman. The lesbians had a larger “other” category. When qualified, the lesbians identified “other” as “transsexual sex” and “transsexual gender.”
Q32 When do transsexuals change sex?
See Figure 7.
The respondents were able to choose one or more of the following answers: when they say so, when they are cross-living, when they take hormones, after surgery, when the law says, never, other. Overall, 8 percent believed that transsexuals never change sex. Six percent of the lesbians said that the transsexuals never change sex, compared to 2 percent of the non-lesbian feminists. Fifteen percent of the overall sample chose the “other” category, which when qualified included a combination of options stated above. The most popular answer chosen was “after surgery.” Twenty-two percent of non-lesbians and 21 percent of lesbians stated that transsexuals change sex after surgery. The second largest category chosen was “when transsexuals say so” with 10 percent of lesbians and 15 percent of feminists making these choices.
The responses to questions 39, 40, 43, 44, and 60 relate to the inclusion and acceptance of transsexuals in women-only activities/organizations.
Q40-If you are feminist . . . would you include male-to-female transsexuals in women-only activities/organizations?
Q44-If you are lesbian . . . would you include male-to-female transsexuals in women-only activities/organizations?
Overall 60 percent of the respondents indicated that they would include MtFs in women-only events. Seventy-two percent of non-lesbians would include MtFs, although only 60 percent believed that transsexuals change gender. Forty-eight percent of lesbians would include MtFs in women-only events, which closely corresponds with the percentage (46 percent) who believed that transsexuals change gender. These findings would suggest that non-lesbian feminists are more welcoming of male-to-female transsexuals into women-only events than are lesbian feminists.
Q39-If you are a feminist . . . would you include female-to-male transsexuals in women-only activities/organizations?
Q43-If you are lesbian . . . would you include female-to-male transsexuals in women-only activities/organizations?
Eighty percent of non-lesbian and 82 percent of lesbian feminists were in agreement that they would not let female-to-male transsexuals into women-only events. Eight percent of non-lesbian feminists indicated that they would include FtMs in women-only events compared to 12 percent of lesbians who would include FtMs. Looking back to figures 3 and 4, we can see that the non-lesbians are consistent in their interpretation of transsexuals’ sex and gender-6 percent to 10 percent do not believe that transsexuals change sex or gender. Consequently, these non-lesbians would include female-to-male transsexuals in women-only events. Looking back at figures 5 and 6, we can see that a larger number of lesbians (22 percent) believed that transsexuals do not change sex, compared to 14 percent who believed that transsexuals do change gender. Nevertheless, a smaller number (12 percent) would include female-to-male transsexuals in women-only events. These findings suggest that non-lesbian feminists are more consistent in their interpretations of sex and gender, and in their application of those interpretations to their acceptance of transsexuals, than are lesbian feminists.
Q60-Do you think that transsexual people should have the same human rights protection as everyone else?
One hundred percent of those polled agree that transsexuals should have the same human rights as everyone else.
Conclusion
On the basis of these preliminary results, we suggest some possible trends. Lesbian feminists were more likely to have wanted to be the other sex at one time and to have thought that they might be transsexual than were the non-lesbian feminists. As well, lesbians knew more transsexuals than did non-lesbian feminists. Despite this potential for empathy, lesbians were more apt to limit transsexuals’ inclusion in women-only space. Perhaps this tendency by lesbians to exclude transsexuals is related to the fact that lesbian feminists make more of a distinction between sex and gender than do non-lesbian feminists. However, lesbian feminists have been the main organizers of women-only events, and have used the membership into womanhood as a foundation for political organizing against patriarchal oppression. Further analysis is required to understand what relationships, if any, exist between these issues. However, the preliminary results of our research are more encouraging than the feminist literature about transsexuals might suggest. A majority (60 percent) of the respondents were in favor of including male-to-female transsexuals in women-only events, 26 percent were opposed, and 14 percent were undecided. The trends also seem to indicate that once feminists know transsexuals, their attitudes shift in a positive direction. It is our hope that these findings may lead to better understanding and improved relations between feminist and transsexual communities.
1. Camp Trans was a protest camp stationed outside the gates of the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival to protest the “womyn-born-womyn” policy. Guidelines of the camp stated, “During the past several months it has become clear that our actions here have much larger implications than protesting the festival policy against admitting transsexuals-it is the right of all individuals to self-define their sex and gender” (Guidelines 1995, 34).
References
Baynes, Sylvia. 1991. Trans-sex or cross-gender? A critique of Janice Raymond’s The Transsexual Empire. Women’s Studies Journal 7: 53-65.
Burkholder, Nancy. 1991. Transsexual at Michigan. Off Our Backs 21: 17.
Burkholder, Nancy. 1992. Transsexual rights. Off Our Backs 22, no. 1: 28.
Califia, Pat. 1980. Sapphistry: The book of lesbian sexuality. Tallahassee, Fla.: Naiad.
Daly, Mary. 1984. Pure lust: Elemental feminist philosophy. Boston: Beacon Press.
Daly, Mary. 1990. Gyn/ecology: The metaethics of radical feminism. Boston: Beacon Press.
Douglas, Cad. 1979. Transpersons transcendent. Off Our Backs 9: 9.
Dworkin, Andrea. 1974. Woman hating. Vancouver: Clarke, Irwin.
Eichler, Margrit. 1987. Sex change operations: The last bulwark of the double standard. In Gender roles: Doing what comes naturally? edited by E. D. Salamon and N. Robinson, 67-78. Toronto: Methuen.
Feinbloom, Deborah Heller, Michael Fleming, Valerie Kijewski, and Margo P. Schulter. 1976. Lesbian/ feminist orientation among male-to-female transsexuals. Journal of Homosexuality 2, no. 1: 59-71.
Guidelines. 1995. TransSisters (Winter): 34.
Greer, Germaine. 1986. Review of Conundrum by Jan Morris. In The madwoman’s underclothes: Essays and occasional writings, 1968–85, 189-91. London: Picador.
Lesbian Connection. 1992a. Responses. 14, no. 5 (March/April): 9.
Lesbian Connection. 1992b. Responses. 14, no. 6 (May/June): 8-10.
Lesbian Connection. 1994. Festival Forum. 16, no. 4 (January/February): 8.
Lesbian Contradiction: A Journal of Irreverent Feminism. 1992. Boy Girl?–Special Issue on Sex and Gender! vol. 39.
Lindau, Rebecka. 1992. Transsexuals. Off Our Backs 22, no. 5: 22.
O’Leary, Claudine. 1994. Commentary–Queer politics. Off Our Backs 24, no. 1: 3, 8.
Raymond, Janice. 1977. Transsexualism: The ultimate homage to sex-role power. Chrysalis 3: 11-23. . 1979.
Raymond, Janice. The transsexual empire: The making of the she-male. Boston: Beacon Press.
Riddell, Carol. 1980. Divided sisterhood: A critical review of Janice Raymond’s “Transsexual Empire.” Liverpool: News From Nowhere.
Rubin, Gayle. 1992. Of catamites and kings: Reflections on butch, gender, and boundaries. In The persistent desire: A femme-butch reader, edited by Joan Nestle, 4662. Boston: Alyson.
Siegal, S. 1994. Call for transgender tolerance. Off Our Backs 24, no. 1: 23.
Steinem, Gloria. 1977. If the shoe doesn’t fit, change the foot. Ms.: 76-86.
Stone, Sandy. 1991. The empire strikes back: A posttranssexual manifesto. In Body guards: The cultural politics of gender ambiguity, edited by J. Epstein and S. Straub, 280-304. New York: Routledge.
Sturgis, Susanna. 1979. An interview with Jan Raymond. Off Our Backs 9: 14-15.
TransSisters: The Journal of Transsexual Feminism. 1993a. September/November.
TransSisters: The Journal of Transsexual Feminism. 1993b. November/December.
TransSisters: The Journal of Transsexual Feminism. 1994a. Summer.
TransSisters: The Journal of Transsexual Feminism. 1994b. Winter.
TransSisters: The Journal of Transsexual Feminism. 1994c. Spring.
TransSisters: The Journal of Transsexual Feminism. 1994d. Autumn.
TransSisters: The Journal of Transsexual Feminism. 1995. Winter.
Walsh-Bolstad, Beth. 1993. The new, improved (surgically constructed) woman/lesbian? Off Our Backs 13, no. 10: 14, 23.
Walworth, Janis. 1993. Results of 1992 gender survey conducted at Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. TransSisters (November/December): 13-14.