In 2007, when Julia Serano’s Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman On Sexism And The Scapegoating Of Femininity was published, there was no trans visibility in mainstream culture. Nearly a decade later, upon the book’s reissue, trans visibility and issue awareness have reached a cultural apex, thanks to media and entertainment figures like Rebecca Root, Caitlyn Jenner, Janet Mock and Laverne Cox. No one, especially bisexual trans activist and author Serano, could have imagined such progress for the trans community. It is for this reason that American publishers Seal Press published a second edition of the acclaimed trans-feminist book.
At number 16 on Ms magazine’s list of 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of All Time, Whipping Girl is one part theory, one part cultural studies and one part personal essay that argues for a stronger coalition between feminists and trans activists. Almost 10 years ago, long before the current iteration of feminism, Serano argued for a new definition of feminism, one that was inclusive of all genders.
There is an undeniable rift between old-school feminists – Germaine Greer, for example – and the trans community. While it would be easy to call this rift generational, Serano suggests other differences are at the heart of it: “I think that there are a lot of younger trans-exclusionary radical feminists. I would say [the rift] is more philosophical than anything else. If you’re entrenched in the idea that sexism is solely encapsulated by the notion that ‘men are the oppressors and women the oppressed’ – if you have that world-view – then you’ll be a lot more inclined to be suspicious of trans people, as well as other various groups, the femme movement or the sex workers’ rights, for example.”
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