Bettcher “Understanding Transphobia: Authenticity and Sexual Abuse”

In this article I examine a specific form of ‘transphobia’. In particular, I examine situations in which trans women are viewed as “really men living as women” and trans men are viewed as “really women living as men.” This notion of an appearance/reality contrast is connected to notions of ‘deception’, ‘exposure’, ‘revelation’ and so forth.

There are important connections between this form of transphobia (described above) and sexual abuse. First, trans people who are “exposed” may be punished through sexual assault. For example, Brandon Teen was raped after it was “discovered that she was really a woman.” Second, people may expose the genitals of trans people in order to determine sex. Both Brandon Teen and Gwen Araujo (a 17 year old trans girl, slain in 2002) were forcibly exposed in the bathroom. Third, trans people themselves are represented as predators and rapists. For example, Gwen Araujo was represented as having raped the men who killed her (because they were having sexual relations with her and she “tricked” them).

The second connection mentioned above is manifested more broadly. In general, trans people find that non-trans people are curious about their genital status. So at “Tranny 101” panels, a common question is “Have you had the surgery?” This is a coded question for “Do you have a penis or a vagina?” However, this last question is very rude. We don’t ask it of complete strangers. Why is the coded question any less rude? In my opinion, it is a form of inappropriate sexual inquiry and can be a form of harassment.

My explanation of this form of transphobia is this: Gender presentation (generally, clothing and behavior) represent or communicate one’s genital status. This is why trans people who “misalign” gender presentation with genital status are called “deceivers”. But if this is a case of deception, the case of “correctly” aligned presentation with genital status must be a case of truth-telling. If so, then everybody communicates their genital status on a regular basis through the clothes they wear and the way they act. This truth-telling is mandatory since failure to do so may lead to being represented as a “deceiver” and punished in some of the ways described above. This is ironic since clothing is supposed to maintain privacy. Yet our very clothing communicates our genital status. In my view, the entire system of mandatory genital disclosure through gender presentation is sexually abusive.

Consider that offering a drink and accepting a drink may “communicate” sexual interest. Consider that clothing itself has been taken to “communicate” sexual interest. Very often heterosexual dating occurs in a hazy realm of non-verbal communication. This works against the interest of women by undermining the ability of women to say “no” to sex. For example, a woman may have sex even if she doesn’t want to because she believes she is obliged to have sex as a consequence of some hazy non-verbal communication.  I argue that this non-verbal gender communication of genital status is part of this larger system of non-verbal gender communication. Why does one need to know about the genitals of a complete stranger? One needs to know for the same reason one needs to know whether that person is sexually interested without having to ask.

Consequently the system of communication which leads to this kind of transphobia is actually embedded within a larger system which is harmful to women. However, because this transphobia is implicated within systems which facilitate and excuse sexual violence (“she wanted it, look how she was dressed!!”), it is also implicated within systems of racist oppression. One cannot seriously take about rape and sexual abuse without talking about rape and accusations of rape as both tools of racist of oppression. Consider accusations of transfolk as raping people "by deceiving them" and the role such accusations play in justifying transphobic violence. This echoes the historical lynching of black men - justified by false accusations. Therefore this form of transphobia is part of a much larger system of interlocking oppressions.