Why Queer Theory is Bad For Trans People | Trans Sandwiched #16

Welcome back to Trans Sandwiched by TaraElla. Today, I want to talk about why I have come to the conclusion that queer theory is bad for LGBT people, particularly trans people. I will also talk about what we might do in response.

The fundamental reason why queer theory is bad for LGBT people is because it is ideological, i.e. it is rooted in certain philosophical commitments rather than empirical reality or the actual lived experience of LGBT people. Queer theory is heavily influenced by the philosophy of postmodern thinker Michel Foucault, which means that it is fundamentally committed to a postmodern, Foucauldian worldview. Included in this package are very problematic ideas like how knowledge and discourse is fundamentally about power and oppression. These ideas have fueled an LGBT culture that is overly focused on matters of language, style and identity labels, which I believe is ultimately unhealthy for us. As a trans person, I can say that my life experience of the world does not agree with the postmodern worldview. I simply don't see how language games will change anything. Instead, I believe an obsessive focus on language unnecessarily divides us, and is not helpful for building bridges.

Another reason why queer theory is harmful for trans people is because of its deconstructive nature, again due to its philosophical inheritance. Queer theory sees both gender (male and female) and sexuality (e.g. straight, gay and bi) as entirely socially constructed, and to be deconstructed. As such, queer theory resists having stable definitions and identities for everything. It's really postmodern deconstructionism on steroids. In fact, some queer theorists even resist having a definition for queer theory itself, arguing that putting a definition on queer theory is limiting. In the world of queer theory, all definitions and limits are to be resisted and knocked down. The problem with this approach is that it practically denies the ability of people to have a stable identity with a stable meaning at all. Right now, what trans people need most is for the rest of the world to understand us better. An ideology that basically says trans people are not understandable is certainly not what we need right now.

It is not just theoretical either. The deconstructive orientation of queer theory has produced real world confusion about why people identify as trans, leading to accusations that trans people are doing it for political reasons. This, I believe, is behind the so-called 'trans ideology' moral panic. From what I see, what conservatives call 'trans ideology' is basically a blend of legitimate trans issues and queer theory ideology which has been blended into the trans discourse. This blending has created multiple points of contradiction (e.g. how 'gender is entirely a social construct' but also 'gender identity is innate'), which has undermined the general public's pre-existing understanding of trans people as being 'born this way'. This situation has been seized upon by reactionary forces to argue against trans acceptance, on the basis that trans people are supposedly politically motivated to identify as trans. In this way, allowing legitimate trans issues to be bundled with queer theory, which is actually a political ideology, has caused us to suffer undeserved backlash. The trans community doesn't have an agenda to promote a postmodernist deconstructive ideology, and it is only fair that this be made clear.

The problem is that, queer theory is way too disproportionately influential in the trans discourse at the moment. This is because of its dominance in the academic humanities, particularly the parts that have historically taken an interest in LGBT issues. I believe what we need to do is to create a counter-narrative, which is basically what I'm doing now. I believe we need to speak out continuously, and get our narrative heard in the mainstream media, which has until now acted as if the queer theory influenced academics and activists actually speak for all of us. We need to speak out continuously until the bubble of academic queer theory is popped, and our counter-narrative can no longer be ignored. At that point, we will hopefully have a level playing field, on which we can engage in rational debate against the tenets of queer theory. It will be an interesting debate indeed.

Positivity | Diary of a Trans Popstar

Music: Beauty by TaraElla

Wish vs Reality: A Trans Perspective | An Asian Trans View

This is the first part of a mini series talking about my experience of living life as a trans person, what I've learned, and what I wish the trans community could come to terms with. Today, I want to talk about the gap between wish and reality in trans lives, and how we can deal with it in a healthy way.

Having a gap, a big difference, between wish and reality, is a constant feature of life for many people. This is especially true for people who suffer from gender dysphoria. While the goal of transition is to alleviate gender dysphoria, the key word here is 'alleviate'. In many cases, it doesn't make the dysphoria disappear completely, but it makes it easier to deal with, so we can go on with our lives. In other words, there is still a big difference between wish and reality in many areas, both physical and social. The reality is that, trans women can't become exactly the same as genetic women, and trans men can't become exactly the same as genetic men. Eventually, to achieve long term stability, we just need to deal with this fact. Many trans people who have transitioned for at least several years would agree that, at some point, you just need to accept this wish vs reality gap, and deal with it. Trust me, it is needed for our long term psychological health.

Which brings me onto the next issue: the difference between how people perceive us, vs how we perceive ourselves. The fact is, we can't control how others perceive us. It's another fact of life that we need to get used to. Of course, as trans people suffering from gender dysphoria, it is totally reasonable that we don't want to have our dysphoria exacerbated. Therefore, we might not want to hang out with people who constantly try to find opportunities to invalidate our gender identity, for example. We certainly have the freedom to do so, and there's nothing wrong with doing so for the sake of our wellbeing.

However, more broadly speaking, we can't expect the whole society to perceive us the way we perceive ourselves. As I often like to say, the goal of trans rights should be reasonable accommodation, so that we can have an equal opportunity at life. The goal shouldn't be to demand validation from society, because nobody can demand validation from another person. Recently, I read a comment saying that the problem with trans activists is that they sometimes demand agreement with their epistemology of transness. The fact is, we can't even agree on the epistemology of transness within our own community. It's been a point of argument for as long as I can remember. How can you expect non-trans people to agree, and to which part of the trans community should they agree with? As the history of philosophical debates shows, seeking agreement on epistemology is a dead-end. We can have trans acceptance without epistemological agreement. Who cares whether this or that person really thinks that 'trans women are women', as long as they are accepting of us and kind to us?

I guess having a philosophy that respects each of us as individuals with the right to our own moral consciences can help us navigate the way we relate with other people. After all, it was in the year that I first came out as trans that I solidified a lot of my philosophy in this area. As a Moral Libertarian, I believe that every individual should have equal moral agency. Therefore, you don't have the right to invalidate or intimidate me, and I don't have the right to invalidate or intimidate you. I have the right to identify and present the way I want to. You have the right to think or say anything about it, but it wouldn't take away my right to do what I believe is best for myself. This attitude has served me well for 15 years. I think this is the healthiest attitude for trans people to take, in a world that is not always accepting.

Against Queer Theory, For Trans Rights | Asian Trans View

Music: Not That Kind Of Retro by TaraElla