Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity is a manifesto written by Julia Serano. The book makes the case that transphobia is rooted in sexism and that trans activism is a feminist movement.[1][2]
Terminology
Serano coins and discusses various terms in the book, such as transmisogyny, the intersection of transphobia and misogyny aimed at trans women. She also discusses trans-objectification, trans-fascimilation, trans-sexualization, trans-interrogation, trans-erasure, trans-exclusion, and trans-mystification. Serano makes the argument that sexism in Western culture is a twofold phenomenon, comprising traditional sexism ("the belief that maleness and masculinity are superior to femaleness and femininity") and oppositional sexism, "the belief that female and male are rigid, mutually exclusive categories".
Serano also coins the term effemimania to describe the obsession with male and trans expressions of femininity.
Themes
In a collection of essays, Serano sites her personal experiences as a trans woman and seeks to deconstruct Western narratives on trans women. Serano also argues that oppositional sexism is a driving force behind cissexism, transphobia, and homophobia. She uses the term cissexual assumption, now called cisnormativity, the describe the belief held by cisgender individuals that everyone experiences gender in the same way.
Serano argued that cisgender people, lacking discomfort with their gender assigned at birth, nor thinking of themselves as or wishing they could become a different gender, project that experience onto all other people. Thus, it is argued, they are assuming that everyone they meet is cisgender, and "thus transforming cissexuality into a human attribute that is taken for granted". Serano wrote that cisnormativity is invisible to most cisgender people, but "those of us who are transsexual are excruciatingly aware of it."
Intrinsic Inclinations Model
The intrinsic inclinations model is an idea of gender and how there came to be the variation that exists amongst people in modern society. The idea that there are both biological and social factors at play in the variation that occurs in sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression is at the core of the intrinsic inclinations model. This model is built upon four basic tenets.
The first tenet of this model is the idea that "subconscious sex, gender expression, and sexual orientation represent separate gender inclinations that are determined largely independent of one another." The assumption that these three things are determined individually allows for the natural variation that exists amongst people to be explained easily, as it is now simply a matter of explaining individual traits rather than trying to explain things for a society as a whole.
The second tenet of the model, and where the model gets its name, is the assumption that "these gender inclinations are, to some extent, intrinsic to our persons ... and generally remain intact despite societal influences and conscious attempts by individuals to purge, repress, or ignore them." Serano argues that it is because these traits are naturally occurring, the differences present in society simply represent the natural variation that is also found in numerous other species.
The third tenet simply states that since there has not been one single factor that has been determined to cause any of these gender inclinations, these traits have multiple factors that determine and make up them, and, as such, a range of possible outcomes should be accepted rather than discrete classes (such as masculine and feminine).
The fourth and final tenet of this model states that "each of these inclinations roughly correlates with physical sex, resulting in a bimodal distribution pattern (i.e., two overlapping bell curves) similar to that seen for other gender differences, such as height."
Criticism
The book is frequently criticized within the trans community for it's dismissal of transmasculine and non-binary issues.[3] Furthermore, some cite the book's implication that transfeminine individuals have it worse in a cisnormative society than other trans individuals as a fundamental misunderstanding of intersectionality. The book is often labeled as being binarist as well.[4]
Whipping Girl has also been criticized by the intersex community and queer people of color for various comments made throughout the book, including the statement made that it is only transfeminine women who have to fight to be seen as women.[5]
Resources
Wikipedia contributors. "Whipping Girl." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 30 Jun. 2024. Web. 9 Aug. 2024.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240105011819/https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/Transsexual-finds-sexism-in-feminism-2586109.php
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240620122546/https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-58005-154-5
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240809132034/https://www.reddit.com/r/ftm/comments/13tjskp/whipping_girl_is_not_a_good_introduction_to_trans/?rdt=36565
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240809133607/https://www.tumblr.com/rjalker/695486524150693889/one-of-the-exorsexist-exerpts-from-julia-seranos?source=share
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240809132917/https://www.tumblr.com/tboy-icarus/757444580518035456/when-i-look-into-trans-womens-eyes-i-see-a?source=share