This famous quote , by Simone De Beauvoir, “one is not born but rather becomes, a woman” Seems to have been co-opted by the trans lobby as a totem for their cause, meaning, as they see it, that one can become a woman, so to speak, by defining one’s self as one, ie; ” identifying”.
Well. I’ve a few questions then.
1. Have you ever belonged to a class of people whose reproductive biology is seen as their duty?
2. Given that, have you ever belonged to a class of people who are used, via rape of said, as a weapon of war and ethnic cleansing, throughout history and still, to this day, around the world?
3. Do you belong to a class of people who are held accountable for said rapes, and violence toward them in general, because you have a vulva?
4. Do you belong to a class of people (see question 2 which is related) whose reproductive biology has, is ,and will be, used as a weapon against you, to deny you basic human rights and freedoms?
5. Do you belong to a class of people who are expected to fulfil their biological duty, often coerced to, frequently
with neither moral or financial support, should a member of the other class see fit to deprive you of it?
6. Do you belong to a class of people whose worth is often purely
based on their reproductive biology, and the signs of youthful fecundity that indicate said?
7. Do you belong to a class of people whose attire , from footbinding, corsets, niqab, haute couture , fashion ad infinitum- is used as a tool to simultaneously oppress you and mark you as a member of that oppressed class, through narratives and dictats laid down by the other class ?
8. Do you belong to a class of people who are forced to wear attire that whilst purporting to hide your fecundity, actually serves to draw attention to it?
9. Do you belong to a class of people who are held accountable for the other classes morals? Are you blamed for violence toward you? Are you expected to “put out” and then punished when you do ?
10. Has all of the above, and more, so MUCH more, been inculcated through millennia on your class, and on you- unrelentingly, violently , subtly , subconsciously – just because of your reproductive biology, since BIRTH?
Well. If you had ANY knowledge of De Beauvoir’s work, you will know that only by being able to answer “yes”, to all of the above, is how one “becomes a woman”.
And if you were born male, none of the above will EVER have applied to you, so whilst you may wish to be a woman, identify as such,and while any humane society will tolerate you doing so, you will never “become” a woman.
So, find your own identity, don’t co-opt mine, and don’t use feminist theory and woman’s history, to silence a class of people who you will never, ever *identify* with.
TheRealThunderChild 
WHOSE. Not “Who’s”. Agree wholeheartedly with the article, and want people to take you seriously.
Okay. Thanks . You’re right, of course!
But it’s out there now so I guess I’ll just have to take a hit on that one!
Hi. I didn’t realise I could update this “after the fact”! But now I have, and will edit some of my other posts accordingly.
I’m dyslexic, which I don’t use as an excuse because I didn’t find out until I was in the Navy, by which time I’d gained “O”Levels and “A”levels, including “English language” and “General Studies Essay Writing”.
So it’s never held me back but I do have the occasional grammar fails where terms such as “who’s” and “they’re” are virtually identical to their correct alternatives.
Thanks again for the input!
Well said.
Reblogged this on OUT of My Panties, Now!!! and commented:
Men have oppressed women for 10,000 years. As women, we have a direct matriarchal bloodline which passes both the wisdom, and the pain, of being a woman, from mother to daughter, generation after generation after generation. Our biology, specifically our reproductive potential, is the cause of our oppression. This is being a woman. No amount of medication or surgery will make a man into a woman. It is an insult to women to even propose so.
Love this post. It is horrifying to know that the trans movement has been steadily working on society politically to usurp actual women. Unbelievable that we unquestioningly have all allowed this to happen. Open-minded people have been co-opted. The stealth tactics have allowed many of us to sympathize with trans folk, when in fact, there are much deeper, darker psychological reasons for what they are doing.
Agreed. And whilst I’d never countenance anyone being oppressed simply for living as they choose(hell, I’ll even use their preferred pronouns) I cannot stand by and watch the main oppressor, put on a dress and use that subterfuge to obfuscate focus on their behaviour.
Quite apart from the fact that it’s also causing real harm to other trans people, who simply want what we all want, a life free from fear and that self-same oppression.
I’m not sure what you mean by “other trans people”. Are you referring to the trans folk who go through the full surgery? If so, I agree that they should not be discriminated against. However, didn’t they actually do that to themselves, by hating the body they were born with? It USED to be called ‘Body Dysmorphic Disorder.’ Now, even if they haven’t fully transitioned, we are supposed to allow them into women’s spaces- bathrooms, showers, etc?
Well, the most vocal of the ones I’m referring to ARE usually pre transition, often with no intention whatsoever of doing so, preferring to dub their anatomy *female*, and using rapey terms such as *cotton ceiling*.
However, NOBODY born male, even post op, can claim truly to *identify as a woman*, as according to DeBeauvoir et al, they will never have been socialised, from birth,and through societal inculcation(millennia in the making), as *woman*,
Now, I’m never going to get uppity about someone’s right to live as they choose, but they cannot co-opt DeBeauvoir’s most famous phrase, if the know anything whatsoever of her work.
Ps, anorexia nervosa is *hating one’s body*, but we don’t treat that with gastric bypass, do we?
Pps. I’m not for a moment denying trans experience and the horrors they frequently face, and hating bullies and *phobes* as I do, I truly feel for the ones who just wish for a happy, quiet, life- as do we all.
Reblogged this on There Are So Many Things Wrong With This and commented:
Nice summation.
Yore comment is nonsensical in the context of the post. I suggest you try some class analysis. Or at least google the term. Good day to you (Mr?) Anonymous.
I said that the class “woman” has been historically oppressed by the class “man”. I haven’t ever been personally oppressed. I’m middle class, of decent education , and an ex Naval NCO. With a pension, and no mortgage. And not even 50.
This allows me to have privilege to check.
And having done so, I concluded that it would be crass in the extreme to ignore the lack thereof of the majority(51%) of humans, by tropes placed upon them, by virtue of nothing more than their reproductive capacity – and the gender roles constructed to ensure this reproductive capability remains their prison.
Now. If you wish to rant further , please feel free. I will not dignify your personalising of a MUCH bigger picture with any further replies. And will delete them.
Ps. Individualism is nothing more than one person’s shirking of their responsibility toward others, and is otherwise called “liberalism” or more accurately, libertarianism. And is oft the sign of unchecked privilege , usually male.
Some of us eschew that, and take time to reflect that our “choices” , however couched in freedom, may well be part of a bigger system that perpetuates harm upon others.