Getting ‘Real’: On Sexism, Transphobia, and the Value of Philosophy

Authoritarian forces currently deploy the false representation of trans women as predatory men who aim to harm (nontrans) women as part of their more general efforts to create the illusion of an enemy within. Trans women, however, are vulnerable to various forms of sexist violence, including sexual ones, just as nontrans women are. These forms of violence are intermeshed with transphobic forms of violence as well as others such as racist violence. There is therefore work to be done understanding how these intermeshed forms operate in tandem to harm trans women. This work will have implications for public policy and the provision of services for trans women, nontrans women, and other vulnerable gendered people. Further, it will expose the falsity of this harmful representation of trans women, thereby depriving anti-democratic forces of one of their rhetorical strategies. Philosophy, I show, has a vital role to play in this project.