Trans rights and feminism – it’s not a zero-sum game
By Helen Said, diversity and equity advocate, Melbourne Australia I am a proud older generation activist who embraced 1970s feminism. As a young woman, I did not fit the stereotypes – I excelled in the “unfeminine” field of mathematics, I enjoyed political discussion, I did not want to become financially dependent upon a man and I avoided uncomfortable, sexist fashions. Feminism allowed me to be more fully myself. It is disappointing to me that some older feminists would prefer not to allow transgender and non-binary people to be more fully themselves. Some feminists have been labelled Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs) because they insist on enforcing the male-female binary onto the entire population. Trans and non-binary people disrupt their particular feminist doctrine. I think we have to embrace an evolving concept of feminism that can make room for more diversity. Gender non-conforming women in sports Trans women, intersex women and women who fail dis