Unfortunately I had to get into a struggle session this morning about whether men and masculinity are inherently cruel and misogynistic by nature.
I love this website, and I’ve seen us improve through discussion many times over the years, so I’d like to open this thread to discuss (trans)masculinity and how it fits into leftism.
As leftists, one of our core beliefs is in the ability of people and societies to improve. I think this goes hand in hand with the ability to understand and create space for positive masculinities in our communities.
Framing all masculinity as inherently oppressive and misogynistic is counterproductive for several reasons, including (but not limited to):
- Giving men an excuse to refuse to examine toxic behaviors (e.g. “I can’t help it, it’s in my nature!”)
- Making trans men and transmasculine people feel ashamed to transition and/or come out of the closet.
I’d like to share one of my favorite articles about transmasculinity. I’ve posted it on this site before, but it bears posting again: https://thenewinquiry.com/on-hating-men-and-becoming-one-anyway/
An excerpt:
Secondly, unitary theory redefined the terms of gender oppression in a way that places the ultimate blame on the bourgeoisie (a group that I, in my entry-level research job, definitely do not belong to, with none of the grey area associated with my maleness). I now understand the ways in which working-class men benefit from oppressing women as analogous to the ways in which scabs benefit from strikebreaking. The gains are undoubtedly real on an individual level but are not representative of workers’ ultimate class interest in either scenario. This allows for meaningful solidarity across gender lines.
I can only speak for myself but I’ve had some difficulties squaring my “masculinity” with my life and views and I find new questions every time I find an answer. But I also know that sometimes looking for an answer is as good as finding one, or that’s just the best we can realistically achieve with a mortal life, and hopefully understanding blossoms alongside experiences.
The only trans people I know personally are trans women or nonbinary, so the world of trans men is more foreign to me. But I’m also a man, so they are my brothers, so they should not be foreign to me. Isn’t that weird? Maybe we can talk about that interesting dynamic. I don’t know what their experiences are as trans people, but I do know what it’s like to be a man and feel like you’re alone, and I know the power of when your group of brothers has your back and you feel like you could take on the world. I want them to have as much of that good stuff with as little of the bad stuff as can be managed.
We can’t just cede ground to the right on what defines masculinity, or even positivity. So I have work to do, to learn more about the struggles of my trans brothers, and to foster a new masculinity rooted in that fraternity.
🤢
Are you talking about trans women?
Yes, I was trying to be very specific was it said poorly?
It’s the absolute worst way to describe us outside of downright slurs. Trans women is already a very specific term, maybe binary trans women if you have to specify that, but for the love of God not this shit that starts out with emphasizing how we’ve been subject to transmisogyny since our birth.
Thanks for taking the time to educate me on the subject, I appreciate it
I’m sadly at the point were i’m relieved when men listen to me correcting them on this instead of jumping down my throat, so thanks to you as well.
You have every right to not engage with my buffoonish posting because of shit like that but you did and it means a lot to me.
Yea, really poorly. Trans people don’t really want to be refereed to by their assigned gender at birth. Our whole thing is not being that.
Most of us are also not going to want to be refered to as male to female (or vice a versa). Just call us trans women, that’s what we are.
Makes perfect sense, I’ll edit the post to change that