Opinion | We need to include trans women in our feminism

I was 10 years old when I watched Caitlyn Jenner’s Diane Sawyer interview after coming out as a trans woman. My family and I sat in the living room and listened to her share her story of living authentically. As we watched, I remember my dad telling a story about one of his co-workers who came into work one day presenting as a female. She let him know that she would like to be referred to by a different name and that is how she will be from now on. I asked my dad what he did when she told him this. He didn’t do anything, saying only, “Good for her.”

It is because of my parents, who raised me with love and appreciation for the LGBTQ+ community rather than hate, that I automatically incorporated trans women into my feminism. However, I strongly believe that you can’t be an advocate without knowing the story and history of the group for which you are advocating. So when I became aware of the political discourse targeting the trans community, I had to put in the work to understand just how it is possible for people to hate a community so much — specifically, how self-proclaimed “feminists” and “radical feminists” can go so far as to exclude the most targeted group of women from their activism. 

While the word transgender only started being utilized in the 1970s, transgender individuals have always existed. This is not a new fad or era that will die out, and for as long as humans have been around, transgender people have existed — so have measures to halt their existence. In the book, “Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution,” author Susan Stryker explained that as early as 1690, Massachusetts first passed a law against cross-dressing, and in 1974, Cincinnati, Ohio, passed one. Today, legislation aiming to eliminate gender expression and the trans community continues to be passed, but trans erasure cannot and will not happen.  

As a feminist myself, I think we have lost sight of the movement. Stryker notes that a turning point in the hostility toward trans individuals was in the summer of 1973. Trans lesbian singer and activist Beth Elliott was accused of sexual harassment by a former college friend and member of the lesbian separatist movement. Elliott strongly denied these allegations, but the accusation marked a turning point in the harmful discourse in feminism that male-to-female transgender individuals violate women.

The sourcebook for this anti-transgender opinion is “The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-Male” by Janice G. Raymond. While her book is full of harmful absolutes, the most vulgar claim asserts that all male-to-female transgender individuals essentially “rape” women’s bodies through deception and appropriation, and that their existence is a violation of women’s “sexuality and spirit.” She goes even further to claim that trans women are reinforcements of the patriarchal gender norms of femininity, viewing these women as men trying to occupy women’s spaces, thus suggesting it should be “morally mandated out of existence” — sound familiar? 

Raymond’s rhetoric is extreme, but that doesn’t change the fact that many feminists — trans-exclusionary radical feminists, or TERFs — still ascribe to it. I find it hard to even refer to TERFs as feminists at all. In today’s political climate, trans women are fighting for the things many women have spent and continue to spend their lives fighting for — recognition, safety, healthcare and trust. Feminism accounts for the intersectionality of women, so picking and choosing which women to fight for defeats the point of the movement as a whole. 

Feminism cannot truly value intersectionality when a key group is excluded. For example, one can’t advocate for the safety of Black women because 45% of them will experience stalking, physical and sexual violence in their lifetimes while simultaneously ignoring the fact that Black trans women are disproportionately victimized by fatal attacks or assaults. Nor can one be passionate about female bodily autonomy and reproductive health when lawmakers in 37 U.S. states have introduced at least 142 bills to restrict healthcare for trans and gender-expansive people. 

In my feminist theory class, I was introduced to transfeminism, a branch of feminism that incorporates trans women. “The Transfeminist Manifesto,” by Emi Koyama, recognizes the necessary alliance between trans liberation and the liberation of all women. Koyama addressed the notion that many radical lesbian feminists have toward fostering and benefiting from male privilege. She recognizes that since trans women are born as males, they have inevitably benefitted from male privilege. However, the experiences trans women have are niche, and Koyama highlights an interconnectivity between male privilege and gender oppression. It is not fair nor factual to assume that because a trans woman is born male, she inherently has more privilege — there are financial, social, and emotional disadvantages that come with trans existence that cannot be ignored. 

Overall, transfeminism encourages all women to recognize that they are united in their fight for liberation. Oppression against cis women does not mean there is no oppression against trans women. Violence against cis women does not mean trans women are free from violence. The bodily autonomy of cis women can’t be fought for while ignoring gender-affirming healthcare for trans women. 

If at the core of feminism is the belief that gender should not have the power to divide in ways that it does under the patriarchal society in which we exist, then why are we letting trans existence divide the concept of feminism itself? In the first three months of 2025, 41 anti-trans bills have been passed. Of those bills, 29 have been signed into law, and 12 are pending action. Almost every week there is news of trans Rep. Sarah McBride being targeted by GOP lawmakers while simply trying to do her job. The new administration is targeting the trans community with harmful rhetoric aimed at erasing them. There is an entire group of people afraid to exist. 

The only way to combat this is to stand up for the community. We have seen feminism work in amazing ways, and my outlook on feminism being all-inclusive is the result of parents who taught their daughter about trans existence and appreciation. To call oneself a feminist while spreading hate for a population of women only fuels the harmful actions we continue to see. If you already consider yourself a feminist, be there for the trans women who are there for you, listen to their stories, and be there for their healthcare, their safety and their empowerment. 

Grace Harris has a passion for social justice and advocacy. Her email is always open to more ideas — gmh66@pitt.edu.