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Start for freeUnderstanding Racialized Gender Norms as Social Control
A system of racialized gender norms operates as an intricate form of social control, delineating narrow, policed roles for individuals based on their identities. This system advantages certain groups - white people, men, settlers, and owners - while marginalizing a vast array of communities including people of color, indigenous people, people with disabilities, immigrants, queer and trans individuals, women, workers, and the economically disadvantaged. The enforcement of these norms occurs across various societal institutions, leading to systemic issues such as hunger, homelessness, violence, pollution, imprisonment, policing, and deportation for those who do not conform.
The Policing of Gender Norms
The policing of gender norms is pervasive, occurring in schools, courts, health centers, welfare offices, and more. Individuals who defy prescribed categories face suspicion, surveillance, criminalization, and violence. This exclusion from societal programs and institutions underscores the life-or-death implications of conforming to or resisting these norms.
Trans Politics: A Politics of Resistance
Trans politics emerges as a vital form of resistance against violent gender norms. Despite facing erasure and violence, trans individuals and communities demand survival and challenge the notion that legal equality equates to freedom. The reality is stark: legal advancements have coincided with worsening material inequality and heightened systemic violence against marginalized groups.
The Illusion of Legal Equality
The promise of legal equality has proven to be a mirage. While laws may profess equality, material conditions for marginalized communities have deteriorated. The wealth gap has widened, labor rights have been eroded, and systemic violence has escalated. This period of supposed legal progress has seen an increase in imprisonment, deportation, and warfare, disproportionately affecting people of color, people with disabilities, indigenous people, queer and trans individuals, and immigrants.
The Demand for a Discerning Trans Politics
What is needed is a discerning trans politics that rejects false promises of inclusion in deadly systems. This politics involves mutual aid, solidarity, and efforts to dismantle the structures that perpetuate violence and inequality. Rather than seeking mere legal recognition, this movement aims to address the root causes of oppression and build alternative systems that genuinely meet the needs of marginalized communities.
Building Alternatives
Critical trans politics is not just about survival; it's about building a world based on democratic, collaborative, and care-based principles. This involves creating healthcare systems that respect diverse bodies and identities, food systems that nourish and sustain, and conflict resolution methods that do not rely on incarceration or exile. It requires a collective effort to reimagine and reconstruct our societal structures.
Solidarity and Survival
The survival of trans and marginalized communities is inseparable from the broader fight against colonialism, racism, sexism, and ableism. A critical trans politics calls for the abolition of prisons, borders, and economic inequality. It rejects the roles and systems that oppress and divide, advocating instead for collective decision-making and a world built on solidarity and mutual respect.
Rejecting False Invitations
Critical trans politics also involves rejecting invitations to legitimize oppressive systems, whether through enhanced criminal penalties, military service, or support for wars waged in our names. The focus is on transformation that benefits those in the most dire circumstances, aiming to make systemic violence not just less palatable, but impossible.
In conclusion, the call for a critical trans politics is a call to action against the deeply ingrained systems of racialized gender norms and social control. It is a demand for survival, solidarity, and systemic transformation that truly addresses the needs of all marginalized communities.
