Elliot Page’s Announcement Reminds Us That Feminists Need To Do More for Trans Men

On December 1, Oscar-nominated actor Elliot Page came out as transgender in a heartfelt note they shared on Twitter. While Page's announcement was celebrated by many, it also serves as a good opportunity for the feminist movement to reflect on its treatment of transgender people — especially transgender men.

Anti-trans rhetoric is still employed by high-profile figures who otherwise claim to be feminists, most notably and recently by author J.K. Rowling (who has previously identified herself as a feminist). This summer, she shared jarring transphobic views in an essay in which she called transgender men people who are “driven by homophobia” and “the allure of escaping womanhood.” These hurtful words are only made all the worse given how much the trans community has championed Rowling’s work.

Rowling’s argument — that trans folks, especially trans men, are little more than a derailment of women’s liberation — has been deployed by feminists for years. The term “TERF” (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) was coined in 2008 and describes a minority of feminists who have outspoken transphobic opinions, specifically regarding how trans women should not be part of the feminist movement since their sex assigned at birth doesn’t match the female gender they identify with. For example, in her 1979 thesis, feminist Janice Raymond argued that sexism is the “first cause” behind being transgender, reasoning that the patriarchy’s infiltration of the medical system through authorizing gender-confirmation surgery is enabling oppression.

Unfortunately, transphobic rhetoric is not only emotionally devastating, but it also shoots to kill. Although TERFs are not directly responsible for the deaths of transgender people, the misinformation they spread may be contributing to the hostility many people have toward the community. According to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, anti-transgender violence is rooted in inaccurate beliefs and politically motivated stigma surrounding transgender identities, which means that transphobic comments are more than words. They can lead to devastating tragedies. In 2020 alone, at least 40 transgender or gender-nonconforming people were murdered, the majority of whom were Black and Latinx transgender women.

But while some TERFs like Rowling and Raymond use feminism as an excuse to discriminate against transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals, the feminist movement is not a movement of division. It is a unifying movement of empowerment, and part of women’s empowerment is their ability to express and present their gender however they choose. Gender expression is freeing for many feminist women, so why aren’t other genders allowed the same right? By policing how trans men enact their gender and labeling it as anti-feminist, we’re inflicting the same oppression we’ve fought hard to eliminate. Feminists should be the last people to tell others how to dress or what to look like.

Cementing the fight for gender expression has to become a matter of priority. In fact, feminists would be expanding the discourse around feminism if they did so, and the movement would benefit from learning from the insights of trans women, trans men, and nonbinary people. While some feminist perspectives on trans issues are marked by discrimination, trans studies and politics have joined feminist and queer politics to form a productive understanding in overcoming the patriarchy. Trans men have the opportunity to speak on, for instance, sexism in the workplace. They know what it was like to have been treated differently before they transitioned, and they can use their voices to advocate for their women coworkers.

Elliot’s statement is a bittersweet understanding of what it means to be a transgender individual, who’s celebrating their identity while acknowledging the adversity they might face for it. I’m proud of his honesty, talent, and dedication to the principles of intersectionality — the very principles which make up a feminist.

Protect trans rights, or don’t call yourself a feminist.