Transgender Issues Are Feminist Issues: We Need Each Other
(Main image: sidewalk chalk art by the author at BYU in 2021 – in support of queer students and faculty members.)
There are new policy updates this week in the church handbook that directly affect transgender and non-binary members in a painful way. It’s been a major topic of discussion online all week, including in feminist spaces like our blog here at Exponent II.
A prominent LDS podcaster named Greg Matsen unfortunately used his platform to celebrate the changes, and this morning he posted a new video in which he claims, “Nobody cares about the women anymore when you’re dealing with the transgender issue. Nobody cares about the young girls that are completely forgotten. And when I say completely forgotten, there isn’t a single article…that asked women what they think about this. Not one! You know that whole push several years ago saying, Why aren’t there more women up there on the stand, in church? Where are the women in these articles?”
Well Greg, the women who were asking for more women on the stand are still talking as loudly as ever if you want to listen to them. Additionally, I happen to be a woman who supports transgender rights – because transgender issues are feminist issues.
See, I don’t think equality for girls and women will ever be accomplished within a male-led church by women speaking up for our rights alone. I now believe the route to equality will come only through a close partnership with the queer community. Women have been making excellent points since the founding of the church with very little progress. We are stuck in a patriarchal system with only two genders, one of which is divinely ordained to be in charge of the other one. Progress will persist at a snail’s pace if we wait for the men in power at the top to make changes those of us at the bottom have spent lifetimes begging for.
Currently we embrace the idea of a binary sex as the way of eternity. Men and women are two opposite sides of the same coin, with separate and distinct roles. Men are supposed to wear pants, hold the priesthood, preside over stuff and make money. Women are supposed to stay at home, have babies, clean the house and be presided over.
What happens when LGBTQ people enter and disrupt this perfect balance required for patriarchal structures to thrive? A gay marriage throws everything off. If two gay women are married, which one is going to have the final say on decisions? (Will they have to invite a neighbor man over to decide stuff for them?) What about two gay men? They both have the priesthood, so who gets to preside? Who quits their job to support the other pursuing his career? Would we have to redefine marriage roles as completely equal and let each couple decide what is personally best for them?
In the temple, men and women sit separately and make different covenants. If non-binary or transgender people are included, where will they sit? Which covenants will they make? When will they bow their head and say “yes”? Would the entire temple ceremony have to be re-written so that everyone makes the exact same promises to God, and no one is over anyone else?
I think those final outcomes sound fantastic. I believe including queer people into our holy places is by far the fastest way to fix our issues of gender inequality – faster than any other method we’ve ever attempted.
I didn’t always care for gender roles growing up, but I also couldn’t imagine an alternative. It was explained to me when I was a little girl, along with the birds and the bees. You have to have a penis to hold the priesthood, the priesthood is what gives you power, and I didn’t have a penis…so I didn’t get power. It was very straightforward. Who was I to argue with science?
But as it turns out, that science was wrong. Human biology regarding sex is wildly more complex and beautiful than only male or female bodies. Many bodies fall somewhere in between male and female, and those people are some of the most interesting and insightful humans I have ever interacted with precisely because they exist outside of the boring norm. Being genderqueer is not strange, it’s not a defect, it’s not a mental illness, and it most certainly is not a sin. Bodies that defy the gender binary simply by existing challenge the patriarchal system we live in and can dismantle it faster than anyone else ever can – including myself by writing endless blog posts. We Mormon feminists need our queer friends in the battle for equality more than they need us, and we can’t forget this fact.
Below is a photo from 2023 Trans Pride in Provo with two of my friends who have written multiple excellent guest posts here on Exponent II blog. Left to right is Jett Winward, my dog Macho, myself, Molly (Jett’s partner), and Ilea Brinkerhoff – all under the aptly titled banner “Trans Joy”.
Speaking of Pride events, Exponent II will have a booth at Back to School Pride Night in Provo on Saturday, September 14th from 2:00-8:30 pm, put on by the Raynbow Collective. Please come and visit us there!
Finally, to all of our friends in the queer community that are hurting this week, know that we at Exponent II love and support you. We welcome your guest posts and would love to share our platform to elevate your voices. Thank you for being our partners in creating a better and more equitable world for generations to come.
