"Amlioration and Inclusion" Katharine Jenkins

This week we read “Amelioration and Inclusion” by Katharine Jenkins. This article argues Sally Haslangers’ claim in her article “Gender and Race”. Jenkins argues that Haslanger does not recognize trans women understand the oppression of women, in feminist terms, due to a variety of reasons that define a woman. Women as a gender, by feminist terms, is someone who is clearly identified as a woman by social norms (physical features that classify a woman as a gender). Women as a gender is identified as the subordinate gender, because of this Haslanger does not take trans women into consideration who do not display the physical features of a woman.

The argument now stands (in reality) that gender class plays into the Transcommunity. I believe that the oppression experienced by someone who is transgender person deserves their own category of oppression based on their own experience transitioning. They still have the freedom to identify as any gender they choose. For example, if a trans woman was identified as a woman not based on physical features but by personal gender identity, than she would be oppressed because of society’s view on the Transgender community and the oppression they all experience. But her gender (and how she would identify herself on a legal document) would be a woman, and she is allowed to fill in “female” on any document.

My reasoning for this is that when someone transitions from one gender to another, or are genderfluid, they have a different experience from cis-gendered people. For a woman to experience oppression based on their gender, should be recognized as a separate oppression from those in the Transcommunity. I believe that feminism and feminists should recognize Women’s oppression and Trans-oppression as separate but equal issues. My argument is not that trans women do not experience the oppression of being the subordinate gender (female gender).  A cis-gendered woman will never experience the oppression that a trans woman experiences based on their personal transition.

Based on Haslangers’ claim, Jenkins writes 4 scenarios of what a woman means to some but not to Haslanger according to feminist terms. In Scenario 4 she writes “A trans woman publicly presents as a woman, and her gender presentation is respected, but, unlike in scenario 3, this is not because she is perceived as having bodily features associated with a female’s role in biological reproduction. Although she may or may not be perceived as having such bodily features, her gender presentation is respected unconditionally, being taken as an indication of how she would like to be treated socially.” (400, Jenkins, Scenario 4) This scenario is based on the idea that a trans woman will have her gender recognized, no matter her presence of physical features, but on how her community respects her gender. This community is recognized as the transcommunity.

Based on Scenario 4, and based on Jenkins and Hanslangers’ arguments, my argument to separate but equally acknowledge both groups and their oppressions is supported.

Feminism should support trans women as a part of their gender, but recognizes that their oppression can be experienced by a trans woman. They also experience their own oppression that a cis-gendered woman will never experience if she does not go through transition.