Anon · 4mo
I feel like the situation with Imane Khelif being transvestigated by multiple transphobes and stuff, is her being subjected to anti-transmasculinity and transmisogyny. Of course i feel like the incitement of it is due to anti-Blackness/racism, especially as the features they keep inciting as evidence feels more so like phrenologizing features that would otherwise look normal on white cis women bodies, and that i think other trans people, especially white, should discuss this as more than just a trans issue. But even so, the way they're discussing her biology and body hits really close to home the ways I've had my femininity questioned growing up.
With some i've seen using her growing up tomboy as proof of 'actually being a boy' i feel like the ways they've been accusing her, it feels like criticisms levied at transmasculines, only changing the conclusion to be drawn that she's a trans woman to fit the terf narrative.
Asking because i want to know if my thoughts make sense, i think my thoughts can in large part explained away as both anti-transmasculinity and transmisogyny having roots in misogyny but since terfs and transphobes have put it forth as a 'trans issue', it's got me thinking why Imane and not a white athlete
yep, I think you're right on the money with that observation. gender is heavily racialized and I think it's a perfect example of all of the above. one of the key complaints a lot of people have with TME/TMA terminology is that the racialized nature of gender means Black cis women are at a much higher risk of being mistaken for a trans woman and, as trans people have become more prevalent in the news, a lot of cis women have spoken up about being victims of transmisogyny in public. because what is considered "feminine" is shaped by white supremacy, anyone who doesn't fit the white ideal are subject to extra scrutiny over their gender presentation.
of note, the anti-transmasculinity of the way she's been treated over being tomboyish & dressing in a more "masc" way (literally just wearing a suit in one picture that's been going around, which maybe would not be seen as masculine if she were white). aaaaaaaall of it is connected as bigotry often stems from similar sources. and I've seen some people groan at that concept because it means we need to consider more complex ways these things all interact, but it's necessary to break these things down. identifying how the system affects us all is key to dismantling it as a whole!
