Trans Rights and Gender Authoritarianism (w/ Gillian Branstetter)
Trans Rights and Gender Authoritarianism (w/ Gillian Branstetter)
A conversation about the ideology of "traditional" and "natural" gender roles and how they're used by the right to assert social and political control.
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The ongoing moral panic and sweeping legislative changes aimed at trans people aren’t just a tremendous assault on the liberty, autonomy, and dignity of peaceful Americans owed the space to live their lives as they choose. They’re also the latest example of the way ideological ideas about “traditional” and “natural” gender roles have long been a tool authoritarians use to justify and maintain social and political control.
To talk about these critical issues and what we can do about them, I’m joined by Gillian Branstetter, a Communications Strategist at the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project and LGBTQ & HIV Project.
ReImagining Liberty is a project of The UnPopulist, and is produced by Landry Ayres. Podcast art by Sergio R. M. Duarte. Music by Kevin MacLeod.
Trans Rights and Gender Authoritarianism (w/ Gillian Branstetter)
Thank you for this episode! It was extremely my shit!
Her division between productive and reproductive labor was interesting and something I am definitely going to mull over for awhile. I don't like the over/under value framing so much, as "male" labor is generally valued by money which can be exchanged for goods and services while "female" labor is not valued at all, just expected and you may get paid for it if a nice man with money thinks your pretty enough to keep. I do wish that instead of capitalism-hate, more feminists would work to make markets our own and make sure that labor is valued too.
I have definitely noticed that a lot of terves and others who try to put a girl-power veneer on transphobia sound so similar to the toxic people of the momosohere, and I don't think that is a coincidence!
I think most US feminists have avoided the TERF trap, but I believe we need to have a good think about how feminist language and tropes were so easily coopted by this sexist movement. We need to take seriously that the power to protect is often the power to own and control.
I have a lot more thoughts, but I will spare you my annoying ranting.