Opinion | Let’s call transphobia what it is: transphobic

Maddie Fabricant, senior broadcast journalism major, women’s studies minor

I find myself constantly and remarkably amazed how white, cis-gendered men feel the need to “mansplain” gender studies to me without having ever educated themselves on what it is like to be a woman. Last week, the President of Chapman Republicans Justin Buckner wrote an article for “The Hesperian” describing why, in his opinion, the Equality Act should not be passed. When I replied on Instagram under their article teaser, Buckner then proceeded to tell me that he’s only a “first wave feminist,” and that “after the civil rights movement,” “men, women, white, Asian, black (sic), all are treated under the law equally.”

The idea that inequality ended with women’s suffrage in 1920 is both extremely invalidating and completely ignorant. Even though the Black (and yes, everyone, we capitalize the “B” in Black), Indigenous, Latinx/Hispanic communities and other women worked on legislation, not all were granted the right to vote until the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. It took more than 45 years for non-white women to have the right to vote.

Thus, when Chapman Republicans’ leader asserts he’s a “first wave feminist,” the student organization is really just using other words to say, “I only believe that white women should vote.” Sojourner Truth confronts these problematic ideas in her 1851 speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” Should she not have the right to vote?

As for Title IX legislation, we, including ignorant men, should all be grateful that the Equality Act can hopefully change the processes for reporting assault against women. In 2017, my then-ex-boyfriend, who I had lived with for over a year, physically assaulted me. I had told my former school, Fordham University, and we began a traumatizing process of constantly reliving my abuse, while my ex-boyfriend actively picked on me. Because my school was so negligent with my safety, I had to seek a restraining order against him.

Title IX legislation is one the most self-intrinsic, altruistic pieces of legislation because if the rules are broken, the school finds themselves guilty of misconduct. In admitting fault or finding someone guilty, the school is guilty of harboring a community of wrongdoing. Let us, however, talk about the other reasons this legislation exists: equality of the genders. 

Despite Chapman Republicans’ beliefs, science actually states that transgender people do exist, and there are more than just two genders. In “The Hesperian” article, Bucker writes, “Allowing the government to classify someone as whatever subjective gender they feel comfortable with flies in the face of biology and science, something that can be tested and proven.” However, according to Scientific American — one of the oldest scientific publications, founded in 1845 — “The science is clear and conclusive: sex is not binary, transgender people are real.” 

In fact, to go even further, Scientific American would explain that Buckner is using “phony science” to further justify his transphobia. Simon(e) D Sun writes, “Defining a person’s sex identity using decontextualized ‘facts’ is unscientific and dehumanizing.” Transgender women are not biological men just because they were assigned male at birth. 

Buckner, in his article, continues to explain his transphobia more deeply, writing why he feels younger people should be unable to transition to the gender they feel comfortable as — instead of choosing to listen to transgender stories or speak to an actual transgender teenager or young person. I suggest that someone in Chapman Republicans take a sociology, a women studies, a gender studies or a LGBTQIA+ studies class before they continue to write transphobic pieces on the internet that can be harmful to other students.

We should call this what it is: blatant racism and transphobia. It’s ironic that Buckner’s thesis project in our class is on censorship, as his words are so damaging to our community. Voices and rhetoric filled with hate toward other people should not be amplified. Laverne Cox, one of the biggest transgender activists and a critically acclaimed actress, came to Chapman in 2019 and gave a speech, in homage to Sojourner Truth, also entitled “Ain’t I a Woman?” Yes, Chapman Republicans, she is.