You do not get to police my body
How many times does being told that biology trumps identity is too many; one, two, three, none? Every conversation revolving around trans identities invariably comes back to the this core argument: trans women are men because of their genetics and bodies, same as why trans men are women and intersex folk are whatever sex they are assumed to have. This reductive reasoning is the singular reason most anti-trans laws are brought into effect, with the affect that the body essentially becomes a prison for the mind. The policing of bodies becomes the business of the whole village, to the point that even to be called trans is enough to set off transphobic abuse regardless of your personal identity. Policing bodies is as old as the bronze age, yet those advocating for it are essentially pushing up against first, second, and third wave feminism. It is not enough to be cisnormative, you need to be seen to behave and act cismormatively.
I can talk about personal dignity and bodily autonomy, but the reality is that trans bodies have always been policed, both in terms of biological reductive policies and enforced gender expression. Every single exclusionary argument rehashes patriarchal talking points, all the while accusing trans women of being walking parodies of womanhood simply for using their freedom of expression to dress as they wish. No-one has the right to police anyone else’s body, and…
