The Cotton Ceiling, Reframed

CONTENT WARNING: SEXUAL VIOLENCE, TRANSPHOBIA, HOMOPHOBIA

Many seasoned feminists will have interacted with a wide variety of feminists – liberal feminists, radical feminists, anarcha-feminists, queer feminists, and TERFs. I want to specifically focus on the last category, for now.

Many on my side have said that TERFs are not feminists. Their beliefs align with the patriarchal right, why would they be feminists? TERFs are, actually, feminists, I would argue. It does us, the feminist left, no good to say TERFs are not feminists, because to the public eye – and especially to the right, they are feminists. It would behoove us to take out the trash, as opposed to arguing that it isn’t our trash in the first place. Feminism is an imperfect ideology and can be a host to reactionary ideology. Dangerous and reactionary feminists, yes, but still feminists.

That being said, many of their talking points permeate common discourse, and we find them either parroting the words of mainstream reactionaries, or even the other way around. One of their most effective strategies has been to convert cisgender lesbians to their cause, by co-opting victimizing language, painting other women as the enemy, instead of the patriarchy or any other real systems of oppression. By telling cis lesbians that their enemy is the trans activists, they intend to harm trans communities, and end up unintentionally harming trans and cis people alike.

If you haven’t heard of the “cotton ceiling”, I envy you. In 2012, Planned Parenthood facilitated a conference called “Pleasure and Possibilities” which included a workshop called “Overcoming the Cotton Ceiling: Breaking Down Sexual Barriers for Queer Trans Women”. It was essentially a workshop about the true phenomenon of some cis lesbians using their sexuality to attack the gender identity of trans women, and how statements like “I am a lesbian, therefore I don’t like men, therefore I don’t date trans women” make implications about trans people that cannot be challenged, or else you will be accused of attacking their sexuality. Yet, somehow, plenty of cis lesbians exist without defining their sexuality around a strict interpretation of gender. They have existed for as long as the concept of lesbianism has, but now TERFs want to forcefully label them bisexuals, for just believing that trans women are women.

This is all part of a wildly successful attempt to reframe the cotton ceiling. A relevant example of this deliberate misunderstanding is Sarah Diddums, someone who has written for the Guardian and NewStatesmen. In her article about the cotton ceiling, she says,

“The title referenced the feminist concept of the glass ceiling – that is, the invisible barriers to promotions at work. Cotton meant underwear. Getting inside women’s knickers was treated as a discrimination issue equivalent to failing to become a CEO”.

This “misunderstanding” is not a misunderstanding at all – it is a deliberate reframing of what happened and what was talked about.

The truth is, this isn’t how trans activists actually think. There is no deep want to get into the pants of nonconsenting women. There surely isn’t an ideological imperative, either. Most, if not all trans rights activists wouldn’t want to sleep with a TERF. I find them as repulsive as any other reactionaries. Myself and many others find the insinuation offensive and vile.

Every individual has the right to refuse sex, and sex can never be talked about as a human right. It is intellectually dishonest to say that transgender women want to rape cisgender women while also silencing the cis women who willingly have sex with them. If anyone is erasing lesbians, its those who don’t respect a lesbians identity as a lesbian, cis or trans, for agreeing that gender is a social construct and that trans women are women. If anyone is practicing misogyny, its those who belittle the cis women who sleep with trans women, condescend to them, and tell them how to identify. Cis lesbians who speak out against TERFs are routinely infantilized and talked down to, by those who think they know better than them. Let it be known that, just as transgender individuals are not a monolith and have a variety of experiences and ideas, lesbians are no different. Not all lesbians are TERFs, and, undoubtedly, not all TERFs are lesbians.

Cis lesbians expressing solidarity with trans folks is integral to combatting TERF ideology. Being vocal about an opposition to transphobia, disrupting recruitment efforts, sabotaging the platforms of TERFs, and any other form of direct action has proven to be effective against reactionary hate groups, and we cannot stand idly by hoping for justice to be presented to us.

A Brief Introduction to Degeneracy

Edited Political Cartoon by Thomas Nast, 10 April 1880, California Edited Source: https://thing.bigcartel.com/product/be-gay-do-crime-canvas-prints-shirts

“Many blame queers for the decline of this society–we take pride in this.

Some believe that we intend to shred-to-bits this civilization and it’s moral fabric–they couldn’t be more accurate.

We’re often described as depraved, decadent and revolting–but oh, they ain’t seen nothing yet.”

-an excerpt from “Criminal Intimacy,” authored by ‘a gang of criminal queers’ published in the anarchist journal “Total Destroy”.

Those who fit outside the window of what’s considered acceptable to so called “Western values” are given the mark of the abomination. Queers, trans people, people of colour, people with disabilities, and any marginalized groups are the target of a multitude of reactionary, hate-based crime, and the pushback against this oppression is labelled “degeneracy”. The word has roots in fields of science, but in the context I’m using it, it roots from Nazi Germany, when the then-regime described modern art as “degenerate”, and any degenerate art was censored, removed, or banned, on the grounds that it was an “insult to German feeling”.

Since the time of the Third Reich, the terminology around degeneracy has evolved. With the rise of the alt-right in the United States, I have had this word weaponized against me and those around me. A cultural or identity has been formed around reactionary beliefs, bringing not much new to the table, but presenting itself as a new, sovereign school of thought. Richard Spencer and Milo Yiannopoulos are only the tip of the iceberg – the far right has found solace both on the internet and in the streets. It ain’t new – we’ve seen reactionaries rise up many times before. Some may laugh when I say this, but its important to remember that even Adolf Hitler was elected democratically. There are self-identified neo-Nazis currently running for office, all the while the liberal/moderate schools of thought have enabled this, and encouraged it, under the guise of being Champions of Free Speech for All, ignoring the nuance of how free speech actually works (which I will most likely cover another time).

Language is a powerful tool. Rebranding has been a successful tool of fascists for as long as the ideology could gain power. The National Socialist party of the Third Reich was not compatible with socialism by most traditional means – it is my understanding that the terminology was an attempt to recognize and appeal to a growing interest in socialism or Marxism in Germany at the time. The red flag may have also been inspired by the Soviet flag, with the hopes that maybe it would remind the working class of Marxist ideals. Not only was this tactic of symbolism and rebranding used by the original Nazis, but we see it in practice today with the alt-right:

¨We´re not fascists anymore – we´re the alt-right¨

¨We´re not Nazis – we´re white anti-idpol ethnostatist identitarians¨

¨It´s not forceful segregation – its a ‘peaceful’ ethnostate¨

And on and on. This has been affective in bringing Nazism and fascism to the foreground of acceptable politics. This is a major factor in moderates and liberals’ acceptance and platforming of Nazis. By changing the language they use, and subsequently the language we use (they’ve even got liberals arguing about whether or not they’re really Nazis or fascists!), they alter the broader debate to their advantage. The normalization of fascism is what ultimately allows it to gain power. But I digress. The point being, language is everything! From what they call themselves, what we call them, and what we call ourselves. Which brings me to:

I have adopted degeneracy as my lifestyle! Opponents may proclaim from the shadows, ¨Freak! Tranny! Slut! Abomination!¨ and my response will be nothing but a nodding in agreement. Whether or not this is a viable political strategy, or anything to, ‘yknow, write a blog about, is something I’m eager to explore. All I know is this is how I perform the radical act of self love. I hope to put myself at the front of a movement that seeks to subvert societal standards, and make society a safer place for marginalized people, regardless of the cost. Is it dangerous? Sure. Is it not more dangerous to remain stagnant in the face of the oppressor?

Sept. 13, 2018

Introduction & Goals

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Howdy! My name is Zoe DeGenerate. I am a musician, an artist, an anarchist, and a transexual butch.

With this blog as a vehicle, I will document my process in reading political theory and literature, brainstorm ways to apply it to direct action, provide commentary on past and present events, and maybe produce some theory of my own. What makes this worthwhile? I know that subversive politics and radical self love have kept me alive, and there have been countless individuals who have influenced me along the way. I aim to be for others what they were for me.

I hope to eventually compile a Degenerate’s Manifesto, which will serve as an opinionated guidebook for a specific type of activist, that being, whichever is the kind that’s willing to march forwards with me on my descent into depravity and subversion. Until I begin outlining such a project, I need to learn more about the concepts that I claim to follow, and the history behind them, as well as come up with a less vague purpose for such a Manifesto.

This blog will consist of political essays, rants, music, conversation, art, and so on. Thanks for coming.