Negotiating feminism post transition
Jun. 22nd, 2011 09:46 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
sissy-bloke.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
transSome context: I'm not exactly "post" transition, as it's still a work in progress, but I get read as male close to 100% of the time. I grew up in a very feminist family, and spent many years living as a masculine woman and that history forms a big part of my identity. As someone now living as male, I'm having a little trouble with some of the intricacies.
Do I get to call myself a feminist? I hope I am, and I try to be one, but as a man, do I have the right to decide if I get to use that label?
If a woman says something is misogynistic, a man doesn't get to disagree, but what about the opposite? What if I think something is misogynistic, and my female friends disagree?
As an example, the poster for the alien movie "Paul" has him wearing a T-shirt that reads "Only girls phone home" and that bugged the crap out of me, because I felt it says girl=wimp, but my wife and female best friend said "I get what you're saying, but eh, it doesn't bug me."
Do I get to call myself a feminist? I hope I am, and I try to be one, but as a man, do I have the right to decide if I get to use that label?
If a woman says something is misogynistic, a man doesn't get to disagree, but what about the opposite? What if I think something is misogynistic, and my female friends disagree?
As an example, the poster for the alien movie "Paul" has him wearing a T-shirt that reads "Only girls phone home" and that bugged the crap out of me, because I felt it says girl=wimp, but my wife and female best friend said "I get what you're saying, but eh, it doesn't bug me."