aaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuggggggg i just have Opinions

[stardust_rifle]

Thinking about things and I'm like- there's a thing (thing may be overstated, this has only happened twice) where you get a character who is canonically intersex and has experiences that overlap with those of perisex trans people, and then fandom calls them trans.

I'm sort of conflicted here. On one hand, it sort of feels erase-y? Like, I've seen a lot of people that just...neglect to mention that these characters are intersex and just say they're trans, which bothers me a lot.

Then, you get the people who are describing these characters as intersex trans people, which, like... neither of the two characters self-describe as trans (but neither of them self-describe as intersex either...which like...)

(and like. these are fictional characters. they aren't real people. we can't ask them which terms they'd prefer.)

Comments

[palominocorn]

"Call cis intersex people trans and forget the intersex bit completely" is a thing I keep seeing. With regards to real people too.

For an extra layer of FUN it's often white AFAB trans/nb folks doing it to cis intersex Women of Color. And then calling the oppression they experience transphobia/cissexism (as opposed to racism + perisexism).

...I have THOUGHTS on this is what I'm saying.

[stardust_rifle]

Yeah.

I don't know what to say except that that's a Thing.

[palominocorn]

I ultimately come down to this: cissexism and perisexism are very overlapping oppressions, to the point where there's very little unique to one or the other, and we should be building coalitions with each other, but "coopting intersex struggles and then not even bothering to speak out against intersex-specific issues" is not how you do that.

Like if they called it transmisogyny/transmisandry but then also linked to ISNA/OII and campaigned against the medical abuse of intersex people I'd shrug it off. BUT THEY DON'T.

[stardust_rifle]

you are articulating legitimate good political strategy on my dumb complainy fandom post. i'm not complaining about this, but. fandom post.

[yvannairie]

Yeah, yeah, God, it feels like misgendering? To say that they're trans instead of accepting that the relationship between transness and intersex life is not that clear cut? If a character is intersex and has gone by she/her her entire life, it feels like misgendering to call her a trans woman.