“If this is what’s happening now, then what’s next?” asked Eden Hill, Franklin student and ally to the transgender community. Transgender people — those who do not identify as the gender corresponding to their biological sex — experience immense hardships in their personal and professional lives. In recent years, transgender identities have become highly politicized and consistently appear in national headlines. Regardless of one’s personal beliefs or opinions regarding the issues being debated, it is clear that whether a specific topic addresses transgender men versus transgender women, makes a difference in the way it is delivered and the reaction it generates. This phenomenon can be attributed to misogyny bleeding through the cracks in almost every facet of society.
“Transgender” is a term that describes an individual who does not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. A transgender woman is an individual who was identified as a male at birth, and now identifies as a woman. A transgender man is the opposite. “Genderqueer” is another term to describe someone whose gender does not align with their biological sex, which includes those who do not fit in the traditional categories of man or woman, such as nonbinary people. Someone who is non-binary does not identify as a man or a woman. As a transgender person, I understand how certain terminology can be confusing and I will do my best to make it as clear as possible.
While society’s general attitude towards transgender people is less than welcoming, there is a stark difference in political arguments made against them depending on biological sex. Generally speaking, the media and politicians tend to cling to headlines that highlight violence or direct attacks on a victimized party. Within the transgender community, being “stealth” means that one passes well enough as the gender with which they identify — so well that others often cannot tell that they are transgender. It is easier for someone assigned female at birth to present as a male due to physiological factors like fat distribution, bone structure, and the effects that testosterone injections produce. Because of it being harder for transgender women to achieve a “stealth” presentation, they face a greater risk to be victims of hate crimes. An analysis of data by the Human Rights Campaign found that nearly 70% of victims to anti-transgender crimes in 2023 were transgender women. All of this could contribute to why transgender women take the lead in transgender news, though I believe that it runs deeper than that.
The media and politics are no stranger to misogyny, whether direct or indirect. We see this in weight loss drugs primarily marketed towards women, the lyrics of almost any rap song, and the gender make-up of the U.S. government. Feminism has made extraordinary strides in the fight for gender equality, but women still lag far behind men in terms of privilege and access. Hill says she felt “a big event [such as] the [2024] election brought up a big discourse about women and what women can achieve.” Kamala Harris, the runner up in the 2024 presidential election, came extremely close to being the first female president of the United States. Following her loss, there was a period of harsh disappointment that was felt by her supporters when the glass ceiling remained intact yet again. “There was the assumption with Kamala that she couldn’t be as good of a president or achieve as much because she’s a woman,” Hill said, reflecting back on the social context of the time. “Politics are generally a very male dominated scene.”
People who disagree or are against transgenderism still view transgender women as men, so it is easier for them to be villainized and deemed violent and predatory. However, without a clear victim, there is no way to paint them as such. This is where the “bathroom debate” comes into play. This debate is simply whether transgender people should use the restroom corresponding to their sex or their identified gender. The primary argument is that transgender women should not be allowed in women’s restrooms because they are there to prey on biological women. “There’s this trend of viewing women as helpless and vulnerable,” Hill says. “It creates an interesting contrast that trans women [are said to] have this predatory influence and yet [this argument] further portrays women in the media as this helpless thing.” The faux-feminism in using the idea of protecting biological women as a cover-up for transphobia has proven effective in multiple states. One example is Florida’s 2023 House Bill 1521, which defines sex as the marker listed on one’s original birth certificate and restricts transgender individuals’ bathroom usage in locker rooms, dressing rooms, government facilities, and public buildings. Despite sexual assaults at the hands of transgender women being portrayed as a massive and perpetual issue, there have been very few documented instances of this occurring. In fact, the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found in 2021 that transgender people are “over four times more likely than cisgender people to experience violent victimization, including rape, sexual assault, and aggravated or simple assault.”
On the other side of the coin, transgender men face a different kind of bigotry. I should add that transgender men receive significantly less press and visibility than transgender women, good or bad. It is difficult to find arguments from hate groups or supporters regarding specifically transgender men. What I have found has a distinct theme of treating transgender men as less intelligent or in need of guidance. As a transgender man, I too have experienced a separate and more condescending version of transphobia. A common theme in arguments against transgender men specifically is a kind of infantilization; they are treated as if they have been manipulated by others that are older and wiser than them. There is an odd idea that they could not possibly be acting of their own volition, and that there must be a malicious party influencing their choices.
When I came out to my grandparents in 8th grade, I was sent a two page letter stating that they hoped I would change my mind later on and listing specific concerns about my future. “Being extremely petite in a male world, potential bullying by people who may not understand the situation,” general concern for my “future life once [I] leave home” and “being on [my] own” are some of the troubles they predicted for me. It felt extremely condescending to be told that they did not believe I could handle the hardship of being a transgender man and also navigating the world on my own. It was demeaning and completely undermined my intelligence and ability to make decisions for myself.
This same theme can be seen in a lesser-known concept known as “butch flight.” This is a perceived instance of masses of masculine-presenting lesbians, referred to as “butch” lesbians, coming out as transgender men in a short period of time. Those who use the term “butch flight” typically believe that these individuals have somehow been manipulated into transitioning for some unknown reason. What this could realistically be attributed to is a period of increased acceptance, and therefore more closeted individuals feeling safe enough to come out.
This flavor of transphobia against transgender men can be tied into misogyny very easily. These people are still seen as women, and therefore treated as such. Hill noted that, “There’s a similar kind of ‘women are helpless and can’t protect themselves’ or ‘can’t achieve things at the same level as men’ message [when it comes to comparing the treatment of biological women and transgender men].” The manufactured inaptitude of those groups is equally as problematic as the villainization of transgender women is. While the campaign against transgender women has proven more effective in passing legislation that restricts the freedoms of genderqueer individuals, it is not pointless to address the treatment of transgender men as well.
Misogyny is everywhere, even in other areas of bigotry. The fight for transgender rights is not a fight only for themselves, it is also feminist in nature. To support transgender men and women is to support the independence of women and the ability of individuals to defend and think for themselves. I implore everyone to analyze all the factors of a headline regarding transgender people, and to recognize the influence that misogyny has on societal trends.