The Anti-Gender Movement and Second-Wave Feminism: Is Trans-Exclusion Fact or Fiction?

“'Transexuals despise homosexuals' and 'homosexuals despise transexuals' or so they say” is the opening line to a 1972 Backchat newsletter from the Community Homophile Association of Toronto (CHAT).[1] The language contained within this opening is generally considered outdated at this point in time. However, the message contained within it is one which remains critical at this time, as it underlies a threat that is becoming increasingly prominent at this time—one which in 2021,  non-binary lesbian and feminist philosopher Judith Butler declared as fascist in nature, “twisting rationality to suit hyper-nationalist aims.”[2]  This movement, of course, is the “anti-gender” movement, which threatens to split feminism and queer solidarity down the lines of transgender acceptance versus exclusion. To push exclusion, old tropes regarding transwomen as predators is used, along with a return to the “biological determinism” of second-wave radical feminism.[3] However, despite the generally accepted fact of second-wave feminism being anti-trans, this paper serves to show that this claim is not nearly so clear cut. Examples of both trans-misogyny and trans acceptance can be found within radical feminism, as within the theories proposed by Janice Raymond and Andrea Dworkin, and in the case of trans acceptance, create a pathway for the later queer feminist gender theories of the third-wave. Finally, the paper focuses on one Canadian example of lesbian radical feminism, through the creation of the Lesbian Organization of Toronto (LOOT), and analyzes the group’s performance of “doing lesbianism” correctly under Butler’s concept of gender as performance.

Terminology

The following paper makes use of several different terms, ones which are interrelated and at times in direct conflict of use with each other at a community level. As such, it is imperative to define some terms prior to entering the meat of the paper. The following definitions are ones of the author’s creation and intent, with some help from the GLAAD media reference guide:[4] 

Queer - An all encompassing term for use regardless of one’s sexual identity. Frequently used as a perjorative, but some community members have reclaimed it. This is also the word used for the academic area of study know as ‘Queer Studies’ which focus on non-heterosexual areas.

LGBT - Community accronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender; used in a similar way to Queer. Other letters are sometimes added on to represent different communities, such as I for Intersex.

Transgender - The current accepted term for individuals who do not consider themselves to be the same gender as their biological sex.

Non-Binary - A term used for individuals who feel that they fall outside the gender binary of man and woman, and is frequently group in with the transgender community.

Transexual - Term previously used for transgender individuals, based on medical terminology and is no longer in active use.

Homophile/Homosexual - Term previously used for same-sex attracted men based on medical terminology, has been replaced with the use of the word ‘gay’.

A Queer World, for Good or Ill

As of the 2021 Canadian census, the rate of individuals who identify as transgender/non-binary within Gen Z (those born between 1997-2006) is as high as 79%, far exceeding the rates of previous generations; the rates for said previous being Gen Y (born between 1981-1996) at 51%, Gen X (born between 1966 and 1980) at 19%, or the Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1965) at 15%.[5] In addition, the overall population of LGBT Canadians has come to be around one million, with younger Canadians being the largest composition.[6] That the last thirty years of Canadian history have included the addition of sexuality as a protected clause under section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the landmark introduction of same-sex marriage across federal and provincial jurisdictions, the push for better gender self-identification legislation, and a federal ban on conversion therapy have almost all certainly led to a general feeling of increased safety and acceptance for Canadian Gen Zs to be more open about their queer identities. However, the last couple of years, preceding the 2020 pandemic but with increasing ferocity in a post-pandemic world, has led to an increased backlash of moralistic panic at the rise of “gender ideology” across multiple countries and political lines, from rightwing political pundits, to self-professed “gender-critical” feminists on the left. During a United Nations general assembly, Hungary’s president, Katalin Novák, declared gender “fiction” and criticized the West and UN for focusing on “ideological indoctrination.”[7] The reasons for why these opponents seek to combat trans activism is multiple, but invariably ends up landing on a desire to save the children. In the case of feminist alignment, “gender ideology” is usually framed as a danger to women’s sex-based rights and an attack on lesbian spaces, ostensibly by “men in dresses.” Regardless of what side of the political spectrum, the increase in opposition to “gender ideology” has led to increased anti-LGBT legislation—in the United States there are currently 467 anti-LGBT laws enacted or in the process of being so.[8] In Florida, the recent passing into law of a bill to allow the death penalty in the case of child rape is deeply concerning in light of the tendency for Republicans to depict LGBT individuals as “child groomers” and pedophiles.[9][10] 

Canada has so far remained a bastion of relative safety, but this too has started to change. While protests against drag story-times at local libraries have mostly been seen south of the border, they have begun to creep their way north, with protests happening in multiple provinces including British Columbia, Alberta, and most recently, Ontario.[11] The gender idology war has also made its way to the United Kingdom, where among others, children’s book author J.K. Rowling has fallen under increased scrutiny for anti-trans opinions. The political climate in the United Kingdom has turned particularly volatile in queer circles, resulting in the formation of trans-exclusionary groups like the ‘LGB Alliance’ and ‘Get The L Out UK’.

Lesbian Exclusion: The Old Lie Which Keeps Going

In regards to this paper, ‘Get The L Out UK’ takes special interest due to their mission statement, which can be seen in the following image.[12]

            What immediately jumps out is the play on the previously mentioned use of the trope of transgender individuals (specifically transwomen) as being a threat to lesbians, one with the ability to erase and silence any protest they may have.  Perhaps due to this,‘Get the L Out UK’ ran a survey to poll lesbians worldwide on their experiences of exclusion and being silenced among the wider “GBT” movement. They received 80 responses, “far more than originally planned.”[13] However, it must be noted that “50% of women reported being excluded from their LGBT group(s)”[14] at a sample size of 80 can hardly be considered statistically significant in any shape or form, and remains an opinion at best. 

According to lesbian historian Lillian Faderman, the idea that transwomen are erasing lesbians, or are otherwise a threat to them, has its roots in the second-wave feminism of the 1970s and 80s.[15] With ‘Get The L Out UK’ we can see their second-wave feminist roots in play due to their self-professed radical feminism.

Of the claims that transwomen are dangerous, the most notorious and pervassive trope is that of the “transsexual rapist,” which underscores all acussations of transwomen as “men in dresses” and bathroom predators. Transgender historian Susan Stryker traces the origin of this trope back to the exemplary crucifixion of transsexual lesbian folk singer Beth Elliot in the 1970s. At this time, Elliot was accussed by a former friend, also a lesbian, of sexual harrassment; Elliot would later deny the claims, saying this former friend had made up the accusation to save face with the Gutter Dykes, a lesbian seperatist group she’d joined.[16] Elliot was later expelled from the San Francisco chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), a lesbian feminist group in 1972.[17] In 1973, the situation further worsened when Elliot was harrassed during a performance at the West Coast Lesbian Conference by the Gutter Dykes and conference keynotes speaker Robin Morgan. Morgan, also a lesbian seperatist, delivered a heavily trans-misogynistic speech, using male pronouns for Elliot and declaring her “an opportunist, an infiltrator, and a destroyer-with the mentality of a rapist,” and would later instigate a vote with the intention of ejecting Elliot from the conference.[18] The vote was not successful, with reportedly two-thirds voting to allow Elliot to remain; however, Elliot still chose to leave after her performance due to her critics threatening to uphold the conference in protest.[19] Stryker notes that the West Cost Lesbian Conference was for many of the attendees their first encounter with the question of whether transwomen should be allowed in “women-only” spaces, and as such, the trope of the “transsexual rapist” would return home with them to propogate across the United States.[20] 

In 1979, radical lesbian feminist Janice Raymond published her book The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-Male, which analyzes the existence of  trans people using medical and psychological methodology, among others. Raymond goes on to argue that transsexual/transgender-ism is “superficial, artificial, and [a] socially and surgically constructed change” designed to bring the body in line with a gendered stereotype.[21] Raymond further insinuates that trans-women, as the focus of her discussion is primarily on them, are choosing to have surgery and align themselves as lesbian feminists so that they may have forbidden access to lesbians, a sexual conquest they would be unable to achieve while remaining male.  She later switches from insinuation to undeniable statement:

All transsexuals rape women’s bodies by …appropriating [the female] body for themselves. However, the transsexually constructed lesbian-feminist violates women’s sexuality and spirit, as well. Rape, although it is usually done by force, can also be accomplished by deception. It is significant that in the case of the transsexually constructed lesbian-feminist, often he is able to gain entrance and a dominant position in women’s spaces because the women involved do not know he is a transsexual and he just does not happen to mention it.[22]

            However, not all second-wave feminists and lesbians were trans-exclusionary. As previously mentioned, two-thirds of the West Coast Lesbian Conference chose to allow Beth Elliot to stay. Furthermore, Beth Elliot’s expulsion from the Daughters of Bilitis sparked outrange with six staff members of the DOB’s SISTERS Magazine. “We are disgusted that any Lesbian has the audacity to judge the sexuality of another sister [and that] our sisters would vote to prohibit another sister from membership,” wrote the women, “[and] we will have no part in the oppression of our sisters.”[23] The women chose to resign from their positions, promising that their future publication would be “for ALL women, all sisters.”[24] 

Raymond’s transphobic theory regarding transsexuals also has a counterpart theory which proposes acceptance. It comes in the form of Andrea Dworkin’s 1974 book, Woman Hating, which entertained some radical thoughts about the male-female gender dichotomy. “The discovery is, of course, that “man” and “woman” are fictions,” writes Dworkin.[25] She goes on to explain how heterosexuality is based on the presumption that a gendered binary exists, with homosexuality and transsexuality being treated as perversions due to this assumed norm. She further proposes that androgyny should be the goal that feminism aims for if it is to remove all oppression, and brings up chromosomal and hormone research, as well as research work with transsexuals as proof of this. Dworkin characterizes the transsexual/transgender condition as one of “emergency” due to the risk of harm to the individual, by their hand or others, and subsequently states that sex reassignment should be a primary concern in a gender-dichotomized society.[26] When compared to Raymond, Dworkin’s response is exceedingly empathetic, and she further theorizes that in a society which is post-gender and androgynous, the “phenomenon” of being transgender will likely come to resolve itself.[27]  Furthermore, this theory of androgyny which Dworkin presents in Woman Hating can be viewed as a precursor, or at least in spiritual harmony at minimum, with Judith Butler’s 1990 book, Gender Trouble. Butler, considered part of third-wave feminism, has been critical of the hardline dichotomy between man and woman imposed by earlier feminist theories, considering them overtly heteronormative and running the risk of instituting “new forms of hierarchy and exclusion.”[28] In Gender Trouble, they propose the concept of “doing gender,” that is the idea that gender, as well as sex, are both inherently performative in nature.[29] Butler’s theory subsequently makes room for the multiple different expressions of sex and gender which have come into play across time and cultures.

The Lesbian Nation in Canada, 1976-1980

In Canada, homosexuality was partially decriminalized in 1969. The words of then Minister of Justice, and later Prime Minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, about how “there is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation,” was generally taken as a promise of newfound tolerance and sexual freedom for queer Canadians at the time.[30] However, the partial decriminalization did minimal; if the police could not arrest gay men and women in their private homes, they would renew their focus on any incidents which could be construed as publically indecent, and as such the targeting of gay bars, bathhouses, and cruising spots would come to characterize gay liberation of the 1970s and 80s.

The Community Homophile Association of Toronto (CHAT) was formed in 1970, springing from the earlier University of Toronto Homophile Association, and focused on delivering social services and community support to the growing gay and lesbian community of Toronto.[31]  Despite being from the 1970s, CHAT was already seen as outdated due to focusing on a style of political movement from the 1950s, the homophile movement, and inevtiably shuttered in 1977 due to being unable to catch the enthusiasm of young gay and lesbian activists.[32] 

Dissatisfied with CHAT and the gay community’s penchance for misogyny, the Lesbian Organization of Toronto (LOOT) was first formed in 1976, and would survive for four years, coming to a close in 1980.[33] The self-described mission of LOOT was to be “an umbrella organization for lesbians,” serving to meet “social, recreational, personal, cultural, political and educational purposes,” as well as acting as a simple hangout spot for lesbians to meet other lesbians.[34] From the wide scope promised, it is not suprising that LOOT inevitably had trouble fulfilling such a tall order. Examples of LOOT’s many struggles to be inclusive for all lesbians include the default celebration of Christmas holidays despite members of different faiths,[35] the failure to discuss disability despite disabled lesbian members,[36] and inevitably,  among a host of other examples, a return to transsexual exclusion.

In 1978, LOOT members held a vote to officially decide whether trans lesbians should be allowed entry into the organization, of the 18 members present, only one decided to vote yes to allow entry.[37] Subsequent meetings included posters which proclaimed “women-born women only.”[38] For one older lesbian who had been a former member of CHAT, the choice to exclude trans lesbians was obvious descrimination: “There they were, bitterly complaining about being oppressed, ‘Nobody loves me,’ and turning their backs on people who need warmth and companionship. In this entire world, who is more lonely than a lesbian transsexual?”[39] The reasons for LOOT’s decision to exclude trans lesbians inevitably fell to the paranoia of deception and potential predation by men. While the fear of police trying to disguise themselves as women was cited as one potential reason, most reasons cited by members fell along the lines of biological determinism. In the words of one LOOT member, Pat Murphy, “lesbian transsexualism is a helluva long way around, through self-mutilation, to heterosexual privilege and ultimately more access to women, as a male.”[40]

While LOOT’s trans-exclusion is par for the course when considering other lesbian groups like the DOB in the United States, one aspect that goes frequently unmentioned is that the charges of sexual predation by transsexual lesbians was also one frequently lobbed at lesbian feminists by their heterosexual counterparts. Lesbians were also frequently mocked, and otherwise encouraged to leave. In the United States, lesbian purges happened frequently within the National Organization of Women between 1969 and 1971.[41] In Canada, it was feared that lesbians with the British Columbia Federation of Women—a group which supported combined feminist sisterhood—would “bring the organization down to their gutter level,” comparing the women to dehumanizing “green slime.”[42] In Ontario, no such organization to facilitate joint work between lesbian and heterosexual feminists existed, and as such, tensions remained.[43]

Lesbian Gender: The Intricacies of Queer Gender Performance

            For the members of LOOT, the role of being a poltical lesbian took on an intricate performance as to separate themselves from the average “bar dyke” butches and femmes.When considering Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity, of “doing gender”, it becomes clear that the lesbians of LOOT may be an ideal candidate to view this theory under. It is imperative to state that these women view themselves as women, and are born as cisgender (i.e. natal) women, and would potentially reject this notion of their “doing gender” as inherently queer, and therefore, not within the same category as other women. All the same, queering gender is desperately needed to break the chains of biological determinism.

            Biological determinism proposes that women’s place in society is as nurturers due to their ability to birth children. The members of LOOT explicitly rejected this by offering little thought to the concept of lesbian mothers, and as consequence, effectively stated that to be a lesbian with LOOT, you must be a woman who has never had sex with man, or at minimum have never birthed a child with one. Furthermore, to be femme–that is a face full of makeup, skirt-wearing, nails done, with long hair—lesbian, was seen as un-enlightened; however, this is an opinion they shared with other feminists as well. Conversely, to be seen as masculine was equally bad, and breast-binding was seen as unnatural. One particularly androgynous woman was accosted by a member out of the belief she was a man in drag.[44] Effectively, the performance of political lesbian gender at LOOT was constrained to a very narrow space of enforced androgyny. To be a “dyke” at LOOT was compared to “wearing a uniform” by some members due to the enforcement of certain clothing styles, most notably plaid and denim.[45] Denim in particular was enforced by LOOT due to it being banned for women at the local male-owned bars and clubs. Disco and punk fashions were similarly abhorred. While it stands to state that the abbhorence for feminine fashions was likely due to internalized-misogyny, the end result of all of this still remains a unique gender expression, and ultimately an example of queer lesbian gender.

Concluding Thoughts

            Ultimately, the idea that lesbians and trans-women hate each other, that one is erasing the other, is fundamentally not true. It is a lie built on distrust and hatred which only serves to further fracture a community that is too easily divided. For lesbian feminists who purposely choose exclusion, they are making a fundamental error in judgement by aligning with a movement that is predominantly tolerant of lesbians, and frankly, using them as a tool until they can one day reach the ability to legislate, eradicate, and otherwise get rid of queer people, whether they be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or the plethora of other identities which can find a home under the queer label. Analyzing second-wave feminism shows the deeply divided nature of feminism, but what it clearly shows is that trans-women were also accepted in a time before any sense of gay liberation had been achieved. As such, the fact that the wider LGB community is generally considered “safe” with our marriage equality, our protected sexual orientations, means that the right thing to do would be to support trans liberation. The alternative is switching from the oppressed, to the oppressor.

Endnotes

[1] "Back Chat Newsletter June 1972 Vol. 1 Issue 8." Back Chat Newsletter, vol. 1, no. 8, June 1972, pp. [1]+. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, https://link-gale-com.proxy1.lib.trentu.ca/apps/doc/ODZDLY935568166/AHSI?u=ocul_thomas&sid=bookmark-AHSI&xid=c7f6fa82 . Accessed 22 Apr. 2023.

[2] Judith Butler, “Why Is the Idea of ‘Gender’ Provoking Backlash the World Over?,” The Guardian (Guardian News & Media Ltd., October 23, 2021), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2021/oct/23/judith-butler-gender-ideology-backlash.

[3] Julie Compton, “‘Pro-Lesbian’ or ‘Trans-Exclusionary’? Old Animosities Boil into Public View,” NBC News (National Broadcasting Company, January 14, 2019), https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/pro-lesbian-or-trans-exclusionary-old-animosities-boil-public-view-n958456.

[4] GLAAD, “GLAAD Media Reference Guide - LGBTQ Terms,” GLAAD, February 24, 2022, https://www.glaad.org/reference/terms. For Trans and Non-binary see “GLAAD Media Reference Guide - Transgender Terms,” GLAAD, February 22, 2022, https://www.glaad.org/reference/trans-terms.

[5] Government of Canada, “The Daily — Canada Is the First Country to Provide Census Data on Transgender and Non-Binary People,” www150.statcan.gc.ca (Statistics Canada, April 27, 2022), https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220427/dq220427b-eng.htm.

[6] Nick Boisvert, “Canada’s LGBTQ Population Now 1 Million — but Hate Crimes Are Rising Too: Statistics Canada,” CBC News (Canadian Broadcast Corperation, June 15, 2021), https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/statistics-canada-lgbtq-pride-report-1.6066638.

[7] Stefano Gennarini, “Hungary’s President Sharply Rebukes United Nations for ‘Irrelevant’ Gender Ideology,” C-Fam (Centre for Family and Human Rights, September 29, 2022), https://c-fam.org/friday_fax/hungarys-president-sharply-rebukes-united-nations-for-irrelevant-gender-ideology/.

[8] American Civil Liberties Union, “Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislature,” American Civil Liberties Union, April 18, 2023, https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights.

[9] CBS Miami Team, “Death Penalty for Child Rapists Approved, DeSantis Expected to Sign into Law,” www.cbsnews.com (CBS News, April 18, 2023), https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/death-penalty-for-child-rapists-approved-desantis-expected-to-sign-into-law/.

[10] Monica Hesse, “Fans of Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Have a New Favorite Word: ‘Grooming,’” Washington Post, March 12, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/03/12/florida-dont-say-gay-bill/.

[11] Keegan Kozolanka and Taylor Pace, “THE BIG READ: ‘Drag Queen Storytime’ Has Sparked a New Chapter of Hate in Ontario,” StratfordToday.ca (Village Media, April 15, 2023), https://www.stratfordtoday.ca/the-big-read/the-big-read-drag-queen-storytime-has-sparked-a-new-chapter-of-hate-in-ontario-6855779.

[12] Get The L Out UK, “About Us,” www.gettheloutuk.com (Get The L Out UK, n.d.), https://www.gettheloutuk.com/.

[13] Angela C. Wild, “Lesbians at Ground Zero: How Transgenderism Is Conquering the Lesbian Body,” Get the L out UK (Get The L Out UK, March 2019), 15. https://www.gettheloutuk.com/blog/category/research/lesbians-at-ground-zero.html.

[14] Ibid, 16.

[15] Julie Compton, “‘Pro-Lesbian’ or ‘Trans-Exclusionary’? Old Animosities Boil into Public View,” NBC News (National Broadcasting Company, January 14, 2019), https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/pro-lesbian-or-trans-exclusionary-old-animosities-boil-public-view-n958456.

[16] Susan Stryker, Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution, 2nd edition. (2008; repr., New York, Ny: Seal Press, 2017), chapter 4. https://transreads.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Transgender-History-The-Roots-of-Todays-Revolution-by-Susan-Stryker-z-lib.org_.pdf.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Susan Stryker, Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution, chapter 4.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Ibid.

[21] Janice Raymond, The Transsexual Empire : The Making of the She-Male, 2nd edition. (1979; repr., New York: Teachers College Press, 1994), 3. https://transreads.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2019-03-20_5c91a4ba712fd_document26.pdf

[22] Janice Raymond, The Transsexual Empire : The Making of the She-Male, 104.

[23] Karen Wells et al., “An Open Letter from the Former Staff of Sisters Magazine,” Newsletter, 1972.  The Arquives Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives, Toronto, ON.

[24] Ibid.

[25] Andrea Dworkin, Woman Hating : A Radical Look at Sexuality (New York: Dutton, 1974), 174.https://www.feministes-radicales.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Andrea-DWORKIN-Woman-Hating-A-Radical-Look-at-Sexuality-1974.pdf.

[26]  Andrea Dworkin, Woman Hating : A Radical Look at Sexuality, 185-186.

[27] Ibid, 187.

[28] Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Second Edition (1990; repr., New York: Routledge, 1999).

[29] Ibid, 41-44.

[30] Tom Hooper, “Queering ’69: The Recriminalization of Homosexuality in Canada,” Canadian Historical Review 100, no. 2 (May 2019): 257–73, https://doi.org/10.3138/chr.2018-0082-4.

[31] Tom Warner, Never Going Back a History of Queer Activism in Canada (Toronto: University Of Toronto Press, 2002), 59.

[32] Ibid, 60.

[33] Becki L. Ross, The House That Jill Built: A Lesbian Nation in Formation (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1995), 11. https://utorontopress.com/9781487579579/the-house-that-jill-built/.

[34]  Becki L. Ross, The House That Jill Built: A Lesbian Nation in Formation, 73.

[35] Ibid, 102-103.

[36] Ibid, 106.

[37] Ibid, 134-135.

[38] Ibid, 135.

[39] Ibid, 135-136.

[40] Ibid,135.

[41] Becki L. Ross, The House That Jill Built: A Lesbian Nation in Formation, 27.

[42] Ibid,30.

[43] Ibid.

[44] Becki L. Ross, The House That Jill Built: A Lesbian Nation in Formation, 106.

[45] Ibid, 106-107.

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