Transmisogyny

but it does not include all aspects of identity.
The lived experiences, including harassment andviolence, of Black trans women are additionallyaffected by other elements of their identities,including class, (dis)ability, and religion.
Kelsey N. Whipple
See also Black People; Cox, Laverne; RacializedFemininities; Racialized Masculinities; Transmisogyny;
United States Transgender Survey (USTS)

citation:
Julia
M. Serano, “Transmisogyny,”
FurtherReadings

in Abbie E. Goldberg & Genny Beemyn (eds.),
Bailey,(2013).
Misogynoir. Retrieved
fromhttps://The M.
SAGEEncyclopediaof Trans
Studiesmoyazb.tumblr.com/post/62922146054/misogynoir(Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2021),
Bailey, M., & Trudy.
(2018).
On misogynoir: Citation,Vol.
2, 868–868.
erasure,andplagiarism.
Feminist
Media Studies,
https://www.doi.org/10.4135/9781544393858.n296
18(4), 762–768. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2018.1447395
Hunt, G. (2018). Intersectionality: Locating andcritiquing internal structures of oppression within
feminism. In C. Hay (Ed.), Philosophy: Feminism(pp. 121–138). Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference.
James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M.,
Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). The report of the2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Washington, DC:
National Center for Transgender Equality.
Krell, E. (2017). Is transmisogyny killing trans women ofcolor? Black trans feminisms and the exigencies ofwhite femininity. TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly,
4(2), 226–242. https://doi.org/10.1215/232892523815033

TRANSMISOGYNY
The term transmisogyny (also written trans-misogyny)
was coined by Julia Serano in the mid-2000s as anintervention in discussions about anti-transgenderprejudice. At the time, such prejudice was generally
conceptualized in terms of transphobia, which targets people for their failure to conform to gendernorms. Serano pointed out how, in a male-centricculture, gender transgressions toward the female
or feminine—as typically occur in assigned-maleat-birth (AMAB) trans people—tend to garnermore public sensationalization, consternation,and demonization than their trans male/masculine
counterparts. Transmisogyny (a portmanteau of867

transphobia and misogyny) was intended to better
capture this disparity.

Transmisogyny and the “Lesser Sex”
A rudimentary understanding of transmisogyny
follows from the fact that women have historically been viewed as inferior to men in Western,
North American culture, and therefore people
tend to view AMAB individuals who express adesire to be female or feminine as more perplexing or pathological than assigned-female-at-birth(AFAB) individuals who desire to be male or masculine. This premise is supported by researchshowing that feminine AMAB children are viewed
far more negatively and are brought in for psychotherapy more often than masculine AFABchildren. Furthermore, throughout the mid-tolate 20th century, trans-related psychiatric studies, diagnoses, theories, and therapies were
centered on “effeminate” boys and men, AMAB
crossdressers, and trans women—Serano called
this tendency effemimania (an obsession with“male femininity”). During this same time period,
the media exhibited a similar effemimanic focus,often depicting these same AMAB groups as
either potential threats (e.g., predators, murderers) or objects of ridicule (e.g., cliché jokes about
men who dress or behave femininely or wanttheir “penis cut off”). The pervasiveness of thesestereotypes, and the fact that they were constantly
reproduced by media creators who were not personally familiar with trans people, indicates thatthey were primarily rooted in sexist presumptions
about women and men.

Transmisogyny,
Femininity, and Artificiality
Transmisogyny also relies heavily on sexist presumptions about gender expression. In our culture, femininity is marked relative to masculinity,with the former garnering far more attention andscrutiny. Furthermore, feminine dress and behaviors are often interpreted as “frivolous” and“artificial,” whereas their masculine counterparts
are taken for granted as “serious” and “natural”(as evident in the notion that women get “alldolled up” while men simply partake in“grooming”).

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Transmisogyny

Given these disparities, it is not surprising thatthose who wish to portray trans people as “fake”
women and men will be inclined to dwell on transfemale/feminine individuals. In her aforementioned
analysis of media depictions, Serano showed that,even though trans women vary in how femininely
they dress and act (just as cisgender women vary inthese ways), they are almost always portrayed in a
hyperfeminine manner, and feminine accoutrement(e.g., displays of putting on clothing or cosmetics, slipping while wearing high heels) is regularly employed
as a device to emphasize their supposed “fakeness.” In
contrast, because masculine dress and mannerisms areviewed as “natural” and “practical,” it is more difficult to depict trans male/masculine individuals as putting on an “artificial exterior”—this may contributeto the media’s relative disinterest in such individuals(i.e., trans male/masculine invisibility).

Transmisogyny and Sexualization
Sexualization may be the most blatant manifestation of transmisogyny. Trans female/feminine individuals are routinely depicted in sexually provocativeand objectifying ways and often have sexual motives
attributed to them. Historically, the two most common stereotypes of trans women have been the“sexual deceiver” (i.e., “men” who “impersonate”
women in order to “trick” or “trap” straight men
into having sex) and trans women who do not“pass” as female but transition anyway in order tofulfill some personal sexual fantasy. Serano haschronicled the proliferation of these two stereotypes
in media depictions and psychiatric discourses alike,noting how they both center hetero-male sexualdesire. In stark contrast, sexual motives are rarely
projected onto trans men; in fact, the most common
lay theory to explain trans male/masculine individuals is that they must be attempting to attain maleprivilege and status. Thus, the popular assumptions
that trans men transition in order to become men,but that trans women must be doing it for sexual
reasons, implies that women as a whole have noworth beyond their ability to be sexualized.

Interpretations and Critiques ofTransmisogyny
As the term has caught on, transmisogyny
has increasingly been used as shorthand for any

prejudice expressed toward trans women, regardless of content. However, while trans women arecertainly targets of transmisogyny, any person who
is perceived as, or presumed to be, a feminine orfeminized “male” may be subjected to these same
derogatory, pathologizing, and sexualizing attitudes (albeit to varying extents).
Some have critiqued transmisogyny for downplaying the role that misogyny plays in policing
trans male/masculine identities. While said misogyny undoubtedly occurs, it may take on different
forms—for example, a trans man may be perceived
as, and ridiculed for, being a feminine man (whichundoubtedly falls under the umbrella of transmisogyny described here), or alternatively, he may beinvalidated as a “woman pretending to be a man”
(which comes with a very different set of sexist
assumptions and social meanings); see Serano’s
distinction between traditional sexism and oppositional sexism for further discussion.
While transmisogyny strives to describe the interplay of transphobia and misogyny that many transfemale/feminine people experience, the concept has
been criticized for potentially excluding or erasingother forms of marginalization. As but one example,victims of transphobic violence are disproportionately trans women of color; if one were to cite this as
an example of “transmisogyny,” it would renderinvisible the critical role that racism plays in this phenomenon. Others have forwarded new terms (e.g.,transmisogynoir) to expand upon or reframe theintersection of these various forms of marginalization. Thus, rather than view transmisogyny as a“single issue” unto itself, it should be recognized as abroad category of sexist attitudes and sentiments thatintersect with other social forces and that may playout in various ways in different individuals’ lives.
Julia M. Serano
See also Femininities and Femme; Feminism; Trans
Women; Transmisogynoir; Transphobia

Further Readings
Serano, J. (2007). Whipping girl: A transsexual woman
on sexism and the scapegoating of femininity.
Emeryville, CA: Seal Press.
Serano, J. (2016). Outspoken: A decade of transgenderactivism and trans feminism. Oakland, CA: Switch
Hitter Press.