Tits Off To You!

Speaking of boobs...

Yesterday, a transgendered friend of mine underwent top surgery (bilateral mastectomy/breast reduction/male chest construction... take your pick) to get that super hot male bod they deserve. After just a few hours, not only was he awake, he was HOME, walking around, and chatting with the crew back home via webcam. So rad!

Since moving to Victoria, I have been lucky enough to get to know many transgendered (and androgynous, and gender queer) people. Having these people in my life has really opened my eyes to examining constructions of gender - as any good feminist should.

I know there is a division between many feminists and the transgendered community. So much of feminism is built upon the idea that gender is in itself a construction, and there is a level of defensiveness when a biological woman identifies as a man, or seeks sexual reassignment surgery. After all, doesn't that just perpetuate the notion of the gender binary, something feminism seeks to eliminate? This argument has meant the exclusion of transgendered people from women's groups, centers, and festivals across the country.

I don't (in ANY way) consider myself an expert on trans issues/identity politics, nor do I have the lived experience of a trans person. But as a feminist (or should we say, a participant in a feminism;) ) I feel there must be spaces made within feminism for ALL people who experience oppression. In addition, I think we need to validate the fact that transgendered people have lived experience on both sides of the gender binary, and that needs to be honoured as well.

Perhaps it's the fact that all my trans friends happen to be some of the raddest, staunchest, most well spoken feminists I've ever met.