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Julia Serano

Julia Serano Quotes

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Famous Julia Serano Quotes

“It is offensive that so many people feel that it is okay to publicly refer to transsexuals as being “pre-op” or “post-op” when it would so clearly be degrading and demeaning to regularly describe all boys and men as being either “circumcised” or “uncircumcised.”

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Book:Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity
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“However, the answer "Some people simply are transgender" doesn't seem to satisfy certain people, so they may feel compelled to seek out some kind of alternative explanation. Once again, this isn't the result of pure curiosity- after all, we don't actually understand why most people turn out to be cisgender, yet very few people ever inquire about that outcome!”

FeminismLgbtqTransgenderTransTrans WomanTransfeminism
Book:Sexed Up: How Society Sexualizes Us, and How We Can Fight Back
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“People often squabble over what defines a person as a woman or a man—whether it should be based on their chromosomes, assigned sex, genitals, or other factors—but such reductionist views deny our indisputably holistic gendered realities. For all of us, gender is first and foremost an individual experience, an amalgamation of our own unique combinations of gender inclinations, social interactions, body feelings, and lived experiences.”

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Book:Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity
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“[I]magine what would happen if, instead of centering our beliefs about heterosexual sex around the idea that the man “penetrates” the woman, we were to say that the woman’s vagina “consumes” the man’s penis. This would create a very different set of connotations, as the woman would become the active initiator and the man would be the passive and receptive party. One can easily see how this could lead to men and masculinity being seen as dependent on, and existing for the benefit of, femaleness and femininity. Similarly, if we thought about the feminine traits of being verbally effusive and emotive not as signs of insecurity or dependence, but as bold acts of self-expression, then the masculine ideal of the “strong and silent” type might suddenly seem timid and insecure by comparison.”

SexualityPatriarchyMasculinityTransfeminismCishet
Book:Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity
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“The main reason why trans-woman-exclusion evokes such passion and frustration in me is precisely because it is both anti-trans and antifeminist. And as a feminist, it gravely disturbs me that other self-described feminists are so willing to overlook or purposefully ignore how inherently sexist trans-woman-exclusion policies and politics are: they favor trans men over trans women, they rampantly objectify trans female bodies, and they privilege trans women's appearances, socialization, and the sex others assigned to us at birth over our persons, our minds, and our identities.”

FeminismIdentitySexismQueerTransgenderLgbtqiaTransphobiaTransexualCissexismSexual Assignment
Book:Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity
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“In other words, sexualization is a more general tactic to delegitimize and dehumanize people. This helps to explain why there is often so much shame, reluctance, and secrecy surrounding discussions of sexuality, as even broaching the subject can lead a person to become stigmatized.”

FeministSexualityLgbtStigmaFeminist TheorySexualizationTrans WomanTransfeminist
Book:Sexed Up: How Society Sexualizes Us, and How We Can Fight Back
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“I used to fear that embracing that identity [woman] would be tantamount to cramming myself into some predetermined box. Restricting my possibilities and potential. But now I realize that no matter who I act or what I do or say, I remain a woman-both in the eyes of the world and, more importantly, in the way that I experience myself. While I used to view the "woman" as limiting, I now find it both empowering and limitless.”

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Book:Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity
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“I am rather disturbed by the fact that so many people—who are neither medical professionals nor trans themselves—would want to hear all of the gory details regarding transsexual physical transformations, or would feel that they have any right to ask us about the state of our genitals.”

PeopleWantFeelsStatesFactsAsksTransformationDetailsMedicalDisturbedTransTranssexuals
Book:Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity
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“Many of us reject all of the inferior meanings and connotations that others project onto femininity - that it is weak, artificial, frivolous, demure, and passive - because for us, there has been no act more bold and daring than embracing our own femininity. In a world that is awash in antifeminine sentiment, we understand that embracing and empowering femininity can potentially be one of the most transformative and revolutionary acts imaginable.”

WorldHas BeensProjectsWeakRevolutionaryEmpoweringRejectsSentimentsArtificialDaringPassiveInferiorsFemininityFrivolousConnotationDemure
Author:Julia Serano
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“All that you ever need to know about genitals is that they are made up of flesh, blood, and millions of tiny, restless nerve endings - anything else that you read into them is mere hallucination, a product of your own overactive imagination.”

KnowsNeedsMadeImaginationMillionsBloodProductsMereFleshTinyNervesRestlessHallucinationsOveractive Imaginations
Book:Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity
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“When you're a trans woman, you are made to walk this very fine line, where if you act feminine you are accused of being a parody, but if you act masculine, it is seen as a sign of your true male identity. And if you act sweet and demure, you're accused of reinforcing patriarchal ideals of female passivity, but if you stand up for your own rights and make your voice heard, then you are dismissed as wielding male privilege and entitlement.”

IfsMadeVoiceLinesWalksRightsHeardIdentitySweetFineFemaleIdealsMalesPrivilegeFeminineAccusedMasculineEntitlementTransParodyFine LinesPassivityMale PrivilegeDemure
Book:Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive
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“Evidence that [feminine aesthetic preferences and ways of expressing oneself] may be hardwired comes from the fact that they typically appear early in childhood and often in contradiction to one's socialization. […] This indicates that some aspects of feminine verbal and aesthetic expression precede and/or supersede gender socialization.”

WayMayFactsChildhoodExpressionEvidenceAspectOneselfGenderContradictionFeminineAestheticPreferenceSocializationExpressing Oneself
Book:Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity
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“Fetishes are literally viewed as fake forms of attraction. The fetish concept is used to delegitimatize attraction to any and all bodies that are not considered normative. This is why people are accused to have transgender fetishes and fat fetishes and disability fetishes, but never cisgender fetishes, thin fetishes or able-bodied fetishes. Even in cases in which the person in question exclusively partners with these latter groups.”

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Author:Julia Serano
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