"Sex Not Gender Feminism": Some misunderstandings clarified Misunderstanding #1: "Transitioning is an individual solution, not a political solution" The purpose of this series is to confront and clarify some misunderstandings of what is sometimes known as "sex not gender" feminism, or also "gender-critical feminism." Here my philosophy is that these issues can be addressed with calm reasoning and sisterly compassion. Most of the claims of "sex not gender" have a grain of truth behind them, and that will be acknowledged also. Women advocating a "sex not gender" perspective will sometimes argue that for a trans person to transition, socially and/or medically, is at best an "individual solution" to the political problem of sexism and male privilege, whereas radical feminists take the route of challenging patriarchy itself and the whole concept of gender. Inclusive Radical Feminist Truth: "The personal is political" Certainly transitioning from one sex/gender status to another, socially and/or medically, is one of the most individual and personal choices one can make. This is true also with such choices as Lesbian love and marriage; reproductive rights; and gender nonconformity within whatever sex/gender status one happens to inhabit at any given time. Some of us will remember how during the late 1960's and early 1970's in the U.S.A., and maybe elsewhere, women raising feminist issues were told that opposing the bombing and mass murder in Indochina was more important, as opposed to female discontents. The feminist reply was that it was both possible and necessary to address all these aspects of the struggle, indeed including the patriarchal values that make imperialism and mass murder possible. Thus Andrea Dworkin, in _Woman Hating_ (1974), recognizes that a catastrophe like the intervention of the U.S.A. in Viet Nam creates a "primary emergency" for any women so targeted, just as does domestic violence or sexual assault wherever and to whomever it may occur. From a larger political perspective, assisting a woman suffering domestic violence to escape and rebuild her life, or a trans person to transition who makes an informed choice to do so, can give that person the opportunity to engage more effectively in feminist struggle to make the world better for all women, and ultimately all human beings. Trans, intersex, and nonbinary people -- three distinct but overlapping and intersecting groups -- are not merely seeking "individual solutions," but acting as feminists to challenge the patriarchy and the often unexamined assumptions about the sex/gender binary that can be found not only in society at large, but within the feminist movement itself. When Andrea Dworkin wrote a germinal chapter in _Woman Hating_ about the rights of transsexual and intersex people, she was obviously seeking not only to address their "primary emergencies" as a basic matter of human rights, but to invite them to be partners in a journey from sexism to a world of "androgyny" we cannot yet fully define. That was a radical feminist vision! "Sex not gender" feminists from Janice Raymond in the 1970's on have shown full awareness that trans people often are _not_ just seeking an "individual solution." They show this awareness by directing their disapproval especially, for example, against transsexual Lesbian feminists who take an active part in the struggle against sexism and Lesbophobia. Similarly, when Nancy Jean Burkholder was expelled from the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival (Michfest) in 1991 for being reported as a transsexual woman, she was taking part in a vibrant and highly political Lesbian-centered community known for its activism. And likewise the Lesbian trans women active during the 1990's in the inclusive Lesbian Avengers. "Transitioning is an individual solution" -- The grain of truth The grain of truth in the "sex not gender" position is that transition, in itself, is one means for those who want and need it toward the goal of dissolving the patriarchy, but not sufficient in itself to achieve this goal. Indeed there are some trans and intersex people who are focusing on their own lives and on getting along within patriarchal society rather than on feminist activism; and there are many people who were deemed at birth to have "standard" female or male bodies, and have not transitioned, who likewise are not engaged with feminism. That's an argument for visible and inclusive feminist movements, not for writing off people who are not yet engaged. And it's an argument, especially, for feminist movements that include trans, intersex, and nonbinary people facing not only the special issues of transitioning or of intersex oppression or marginalization and erasure through binarism, but also the same oppressive patriarchal gender hierarchy (male privilege) and gender role expectations we all confront. To borrow Andrea Dworkin's term, trans women of color in the U.S.A. face a "primary emergency" that is literally life-threatening for many of them, in effect a new wave of lynching and "violence against Black trans bodies." A Jewish saying proclaims: "One who saves a life, saves a world." From an inclusive radical feminist perspective, that is true on many levels. Margo Schulter 3 September 2015