TRANSPHOBIA- Where the fuck are the biologists?
TRANSPHOBIA- Where the fuck are the biologists?
Writer: TPO
Over the past decade or so, transphobic discourse has been gaining ground around the world, particularly in the Anglo-SaxonAmerican sphere. The global fascization of conservative/reactionary imaginaries, medical advances in transition surgery/ medication, the split between essentialist and constructivist currents in feminism, and the successive defeats of the anti-LGBT+ movement on issues such as gay marriage have all contributed to focusing much of the attack on the LGBT community on transgender people. Against this backdrop, pseudo-scientific arguments claiming to invoke “biological reality” have made a massive comeback in the media-political debate, but on the side of biologists: silence. Let’s have a look.
But tell me, Jamie, what is transphobia?
Let’s start with some definitions, to make sure there are no misunderstandings. We’ll define a transgender/trans person here as someone whose gender assigned to them at birth doesn’t match their gender at any given moment. The opposite is a cisgender/cis person. Transphobia is a form of discrimination triggered by the fact of being considered transgender (even if this is not the case). Like all discrimination, it can be systemic (depending on the way organizations/structures operate) or interpersonal (depending on the opinions of individuals). It’s important to note that with this definition, cis people can also be victims of transphobia if they are perceived as trans: for example, young cisgender girls are regularly victims of transphobia at sporting events if they appear a little too muscular.
Gender and sex
It’s vital to understand that gender and sex are 2 different notions. Sex is a complex biological notion that can correspond to a large number of different and often divergent factors. From one study to another, the definition of sex can vary enormously, and at different scales we can speak of: anatomical sex, hormonal sex, chromosomal sex, genetic sex, reproductive sex, mitochondrial sex, gonadal sex, etc. Overall, we can say that a sex is a more or less arbitrary construction made in biology to study individuals on the basis of a criterion linked to reproduction or sexation (in the biological sense of the term) when these individuals are predominantly separated between at least 2 frequency maxima.
Gender is a social construct that separates and conditions the population into 2 distinct categories and associates behaviors, social positions, tastes, etc. with them. Depending on the science in which the notion is used (history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, economics, political science, geography...), various definitions exist. Some genders may be in contradiction with others, and may change over the course of an individual’s life.
Science and politics
Conservatives have historically been suspicious of, if not hostile to, science, particularly the social sciences. Questioning the established order, the myths, discourses, and legends used by the dominant to ensure the acceptance of their domination, has been and still is seen as dangerous by the Right, the camp of domination by essence.
A notion such as gender is bound to provoke the wrath of all kind of reactionaries. In their anti-feminist and/or transphobic discourse, they have historically invoked religion, “common sense” and, since the 19th century, biology. To hear them say that identity and male domination are the logical consequences of differences between the sexes is completely absurd.
But despite the disgusting instrumentalization of distorted notions of our science, biologists seem to remain silent.
However, it is absolutely crucial that this situation changes. Journalists and politicians, whose knowledge of biology would make a goat looks like Darwin, are absolutely incapable of spotting the crude shortcuts used to attack the trans community and women’s rights. These attacks have dire consequences: they justify ever crueller policies depriving some of medical transitions, others of their dignity, and leading to thousands of deaths every year from suicide and aggressions.
As biologists, we must mobilize to fight against this instrumentalization, which undermines the credibility of our fellow researchers in the social sciences and opens the door to transphobic attacks.
Whatever the reticence or contempt for the lack of seriousness of politicians or journalists, it’s vital not to let such an attack go unchallenged: biologists must expose the scientific vacuity of transphobic discourse in the public arena.
