Sucheta’s Womanifesto

Sucheta’s womanifesto

“Trying to explain anything to a bunch of hostile post-modernists whose only argument against a dissenting opinion is to send dissenters to gulags is sort of useless, but at least I can say I tried. Sex is biological and gender is an oppressive patriarchal construct that attributes certain behaviour and roles on the basis of sex. Trying to bring in the question of people with genital defects, ambiguous genitalia and other biological defects which are very rare is a mere distraction. It's like saying that having sight isn't a normal, biological feature because some people are born blind.

Gender is oppressive because it has been used to restrict, confine and oppress women by mounting certain expectations on them and forcing various restrictions on them. Biology also plays a major role in the oppression of women. Women are often subjected to sexual violence, attempts to control their reproductive choices and they are vulnerable on account of their biology too. Scientific research has proved that there's no difference in male or female brains. The only difference between men and women lies in their reproductive functions.

Gender roles are oppressive even for men, to an extent. If a man chooses to discard masculinity and do whatever he pleases...wearing dresses or makeup, learning how to knit, etc., well, more power to him. Wearing dresses or makeup doesn't make someone a woman because being a woman isn't a feeling, it's a biological fact. In fact, there is no such thing as "feeling like a woman". If you subscribe to that line of thought, then you're actually validating gender roles, you're actually saying that gender is not a construct, that women feel and act a certain way, and men feel and act a certain way. It is this notion of gender essentialism that feminists have fought against. Women have fought for the right to work outside of their homes, to wear what they want to and behave however they want.

The transgender movement isn't breaking down gender. It's actually reaffirming gender stereotypes when men say they "feel like a woman". There's no such thing as feeling like a woman. Being a woman is not a feeling, unless you affirm gender roles and femininity. Liking things that are stereotypically associated with women doesn't make you a woman, it makes you a gender non-confirming man.

It is also ridiculous that having lived lives steeped in male privilege, men now tell women how to be feminist. In many feminist conferences, "trans women" have prevented women from discussing periods, childbirth, contraception, even breast feeding because they find it triggering. They insist on not respecting the right of women to organise independently. Anyone who criticises them is threatened with violence, rape etc. which is typical male behaviour. This movement runs parallel to the MRA movement. When trans people complain about violence and oppression, let me point out that that violence is committed against them by men, not women. Yet they spend all their energy fighting feminists. The MRAs love this!

Does this somehow mean I hate so-called transpeople? I don't. I want all people to be free from all oppression and violence. But I will not have a man tell me what a woman is. Patriarchy has done that for thousands of years and the trans movement is its glorious descendant. It's interesting to note that most trans people are "male to female" and mostly white.

The trans movement has effectively moved the left away from issues like labour rights, workers' movements etc. We are making a huge mistake by co-opting post-modern politics. We know have trans-racial people, trans-disabled people and trans-species people. This has opened up Pandora's box and the only people who have benefited are the powers-that-be.

If I'm banned for this post, so be it.”