#compulsory feminity

[thatdiabolicalfeminist]

butch women and other gnc women deserve so much respect and care. women who choose to defy long-standing rules about how women can look and act face so much risk just to be themselves, and deserve feminist solidarity.

traditional femininity is devalued because of misogyny but it’s also enforced compulsorily because of misogyny, and resisting the power of that force is a bold and beautiful act. it’s important to recognize that compliance with gender roles isn’t what makes a woman a woman, and visibly defying them by being butch or gnc doesn’t reduce the impact that misogyny has on a woman - and often intensifies misogynist violence.

be good to your local butch and gnc women, especially butch/gnc trans women, intersex women and women of colour for whom defying compulsory femininity is even more dangerous.

we’re all in this together, yk? as women we all have different and often complex relationships to femininity and that’s to be expected when it’s simultaneously enforced and devalued. doesn’t mean we gotta be on different sides.

[thatdiabolicalfeminist]

I feel like "makeup has no gender" is a statement to people who gender makeup and not people who use it? I feel like I'm really missing something with the trans people angle. Like, makeup is obviously a gendered thing, but it never should've been?idk

That post was, I think, pointing out the lack of nuance in the discussions about degendering makeup - like, obviously makeup should not be a gendered thing, but a lot of conversations about this ignore the violence with which it’s enforced on trans women.

Like, feminists often (disgustingly often) tell trans women that by suddenly wearing a lot of makeup right after they transition, they’re reinforcing the idea that only women can wear makeup and that all women should wear makeup. Which again, ignores the way femininity is enforced wrt trans women.

Saying “makeup has no gender!” and leaving it at that is really not useful in the same way saying “pronouns have no gender” without commenting on context is not useful. Both ignore the struggles of trans people, especially trans women, who are trying to stay alive in a world that uses the gendering of makeup and pronouns against them.

And understanding those nuances is actually a vital part of unpacking the way gender roles are enforced and how we can shift them. If all you hear is “X isn’t gendered!” it’s all to easy to believe the solution is to pretend that we live in a world where those gendered expectations don’t exist, don’t go double for trans people... just like people routinely take “don’t judge people based on their race!” to mean “ignore the existing structures of racial oppression and pretend not to notice race!” Which... is really not helpful in the least.