“But transwomen Are Also Victims of Male Violence”

Argument Submitted by: D.B., PhD

This is simply Deflection or What-about-ism? Any type of response that goes “But trans people have experienced x, y, and z types of oppression” in response to a discussion about women’s oppression is simply an attempt to distract. It aims to substitute a new (and, by implication, more important) concern for the one that is currently being discussed.

One possible response is to simply insist on a return to the original topic. You can mention that your argument is not about whether trans people are oppressed or vulnerable, but about whether females are. Ask them why they believe one issue should be discussed and not the other.

You might also ask if they believe that the rights of TIM are mutually exclusive with the rights of biological females and why? You might also ask why trans-identified males (a much smaller population than the population of biological females) should be prioritized over biological females? Finally, you could ask if men who identify as men in men’s prisons should also be transferred to women’s prisons to avoid rape by other men?