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but it does not include all aspects of identity. transphobia and misogyny) was intended to better The lived experiences, including harassment and capture this disparity. violence, of Black trans women are additionally affected by other elements of their identities, Transmisogyny and the “Lesser Sex” including class, (dis)ability, and religion. A rudimentary understanding of transmisogyny Kelsey N. Whipple follows from the fact that women have histori- See also Black People; Cox, Laverne; Racialized cally been viewed as inferior to men in Western, Femininities; Racialized Masculinities; Transmisogyny; North American culture, and therefore people United States Transgender Survey (USTS) tend to view AMAB individuals who express a desire to be female or feminine as more perplex- citation: ing or pathological than assigned-female-at-birth FurtherJulia Readings M. Serano, “Transmisogyny,” (AFAB) individuals who desire to be male or mas- in Abbie E. Goldberg & Genny Beemyn (eds.), culine. This premise is supported by research Bailey, M. (2013). Misogynoir. Retrieved from https:// The SAGE Encyclopedia of Trans Studies showing that feminine AMAB children are viewed moyazb.tumblr.com/post/62922146054/misogynoir (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2021), far more negatively and are brought in for psy- Bailey, M., & Trudy.Vol. (2018). 2, 868–868. On misogynoir: Citation, chotherapy more often than masculine AFAB https://www.doi.org/10.4135/9781544393858.n296erasure, and plagiarism. Feminist Media Studies, 18(4), 762–768. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777 children. Furthermore, throughout the mid-to- .2018.1447395 late 20th century, trans-related psychiatric stud- Hunt, G. (2018). Intersectionality: Locating and ies, diagnoses, theories, and therapies were critiquing internal structures of oppression within centered on “effeminate” boys and men, AMAB feminism. In C. Hay (Ed.), Philosophy: Feminism crossdressers, and trans women—Serano called (pp. 121–138). Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference. this tendency effemimania (an obsession with James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., “male femininity”). During this same time period, Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). The report of the the media exhibited a similar effemimanic focus, 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Washington, DC: often depicting these same AMAB groups as National Center for Transgender Equality. either potential threats (e.g., predators, murder- Krell, E. (2017). Is transmisogyny killing trans women of ers) or objects of ridicule (e.g., cliché jokes about color? Black trans feminisms and the exigencies of men who dress or behave femininely or want white femininity. TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly, their “penis cut off”). The pervasiveness of these 4(2), 226–242. https://doi.org/10.1215/23289252- stereotypes, and the fact that they were constantly 3815033 reproduced by media creators who were not per- sonally familiar with trans people, indicates that they were primarily rooted in sexist presumptions about women and men. TRANSMISOGYNY Transmisogyny, The term transmisogyny (also written trans-misogyny) Femininity, and Artificiality was coined by Julia Serano in the mid-2000s as an intervention in discussions about anti-transgender Transmisogyny also relies heavily on sexist pre- prejudice. At the time, such prejudice was generally sumptions about gender expression. In our cul- conceptualized in terms of transphobia, which tar- ture, femininity is marked relative to masculinity, gets people for their failure to conform to gender with the former garnering far more attention and norms. Serano pointed out how, in a male-centric scrutiny. Furthermore, feminine dress and behav- culture, gender transgressions toward the female iors are often interpreted as “frivolous” and or feminine—as typically occur in assigned-male- “artificial,” whereas their masculine counterparts at-birth (AMAB) trans people—tend to garner are taken for granted as “serious” and “natural” more public sensationalization, consternation, (as evident in the notion that women get “all and demonization than their trans male/masculine dolled up” while men simply partake in counterparts. Transmisogyny (a portmanteau of “grooming”). 868 Transmisogyny

Given these disparities, it is not surprising that prejudice expressed toward trans women, regard- those who wish to portray trans people as “fake” less of content. However, while trans women are women and men will be inclined to dwell on trans certainly targets of transmisogyny, any person who female/feminine individuals. In her aforementioned is perceived as, or presumed to be, a feminine or analysis of media depictions, Serano showed that, feminized “male” may be subjected to these same even though trans women vary in how femininely derogatory, pathologizing, and sexualizing atti- they dress and act (just as cisgender women vary in tudes (albeit to varying extents). these ways), they are almost always portrayed in a Some have critiqued transmisogyny for down- hyperfeminine manner, and feminine accoutrement playing the role that misogyny plays in policing (e.g., displays of putting on clothing or cosmetics, slip- trans male/masculine identities. While said misog- ping while wearing high heels) is regularly employed yny undoubtedly occurs, it may take on different as a device to emphasize their supposed “fakeness.” In forms—for example, a trans man may be perceived contrast, because masculine dress and mannerisms are as, and ridiculed for, being a feminine man (which viewed as “natural” and “practical,” it is more diffi- undoubtedly falls under the umbrella of transmi- cult to depict trans male/masculine individuals as put- sogyny described here), or alternatively, he may be ting on an “artificial exterior”—this may contribute invalidated as a “woman pretending to be a man” to the media’s relative disinterest in such individuals (which comes with a very different set of sexist (i.e., trans male/masculine invisibility). assumptions and social meanings); see Serano’s distinction between traditional sexism and opposi- tional sexism for further discussion. Transmisogyny and Sexualization While transmisogyny strives to describe the inter- Sexualization may be the most blatant manifesta- play of transphobia and misogyny that many trans tion of transmisogyny. Trans female/feminine indi- female/feminine people experience, the concept has viduals are routinely depicted in sexually provocative been criticized for potentially excluding or erasing and objectifying ways and often have sexual motives other forms of marginalization. As but one example, attributed to them. Historically, the two most com- victims of transphobic violence are disproportion- mon stereotypes of trans women have been the ately trans women of color; if one were to cite this as “sexual deceiver” (i.e., “men” who “impersonate” an example of “transmisogyny,” it would render women in order to “trick” or “trap” straight men invisible the critical role that racism plays in this phe- into having sex) and trans women who do not nomenon. Others have forwarded new terms (e.g., “pass” as female but transition anyway in order to transmisogynoir) to expand upon or reframe the fulfill some personal sexual fantasy. Serano has intersection of these various forms of marginaliza- chronicled the proliferation of these two stereotypes tion. Thus, rather than view transmisogyny as a in media depictions and psychiatric discourses alike, “single issue” unto itself, it should be recognized as a noting how they both center hetero-male sexual broad category of sexist attitudes and sentiments that desire. In stark contrast, sexual motives are rarely intersect with other social forces and that may play projected onto trans men; in fact, the most common out in various ways in different individuals’ lives. lay theory to explain trans male/masculine individu- Julia M. Serano als is that they must be attempting to attain male privilege and status. Thus, the popular assumptions See also Femininities and Femme; Feminism; Trans that trans men transition in order to become men, Women; Transmisogynoir; Transphobia but that trans women must be doing it for sexual reasons, implies that women as a whole have no worth beyond their ability to be sexualized. Further Readings Serano, J. (2007). Whipping girl: A transsexual woman Interpretations and Critiques of on sexism and the scapegoating of femininity. Transmisogyny Emeryville, CA: Seal Press. Serano, J. (2016). Outspoken: A decade of transgender As the term has caught on, transmisogyny activism and trans feminism. Oakland, CA: Switch has increasingly been used as shorthand for any Hitter Press.