Why Gender Performativity Is Wrong and Anti Trans | An Asian Trans View

Today, I want to talk about why the idea of 'gender performativity', the idea that gender is a performance, is wrong, and also transphobic. Gender performativity is part of the wider set of ideas that consider gender to be a social construct, and I have, in the past, repeatedly argued that the idea of gender being a social construct is wrong. But today, I will specifically focus on gender performativity.

Firstly, there is no evidence to support the idea that gender is a performance. In other words, this idea is not evidence-based, it has no observable evidence in the real world to clearly support it, and it is therefore incompatible with the spirit of empiricism. This is the problem with the 'academic left' in the late 20th and early 21st century West: a lot of their theories simply lack a solid foundation of observable evidence to back it up. This, in turn, reflects a rejection of the importance of empiricism, which is partly caused by the rise of unempirical philosophical schools like critical theory and postmodernism.

Secondly, I think it is reasonable to argue that a 'performance' is only a 'performance' if it is being deliberately 'performed', which implies that there must be a personal choice in it. The fact that trans people suffer from gender dysphoria is proof that we cannot choose the 'gender' that we 'perform'. Therefore, the very existence of trans people basically disproves gender performativity.

Finally, I believe the idea of gender performativity is inherently transphobic, at least to some extent. Firstly, it is simply incompatible with the trans community's long standing belief that gender identity is innate. Under gender performativity, a person is always, simply the gender that they are performing. Therefore, a trans person, before their social transition, is of their birth gender. Furthermore, there is nothing more to social transition than to take on another performance. Given that it is all a performance, there is nothing 'authentic' about either gender performance. Hence this could also imply that transition is no more than a lifestyle choice. This is why I believe that gender performativity is inherently transphobic, even if the people promoting this idea may not be transphobic themselves.

How This Trans Person Sees Trans Jokes | An Asian Trans View

Today, I want to talk about a controversial topic: trans jokes. Let's get some background first. People have been saying trans jokes, like, forever. I mean, stand up comedians essentially recycle the same jokes again and again until they aren't even funny anymore, that's just what they do, right? Based on this, I thought that trans jokes were just going to eventually die out simply because they're not funny for anyone anymore.

But somehow, trans jokes have become a big controversy, in the stand up comedy scene, in a way I honestly never expected. Just like I never expected we would have two consecutive US Presidents older than the one before. And just like I never expected that one day people would become addicted to their phones. And honestly, it's not what I wanted to see, either. I mean, there are enough controversies around trans issues, I don't think we need this too. I'm sick and tired of being a political football. Or should I say, political basketball, because we are thrown around quite a lot these days.

Another thing is, some things are like, the least said the better. There's this old saying that you shouldn't rub salt into a wound, or something like that, right? Perhaps those people, who aren't trans themselves but make a big deal out of every perceived trans injustice, should take note of that.

So, how does this trans person see trans jokes? Well, as long as they are not intentionally bigoted or harmful, I personally don't have an issue with them. The bigger problem is that, I don't find them funny at all. But then again, I don't find most stand up type jokes funny. Maybe I'm just a no fun person after all. But maybe, just maybe, there really ain't anything funny about being trans, especially after you get used to it. Like there's nothing funny about the sun, the sky, or the rain. Trans people are just as natural as those things after all.