16. Talia Mae Bettcher – Trans Women and the Meaning of ‘Woman’ (2013 ) PDF

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Professor Clinton Tolley...

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Talia Mae Bettcher – Trans  Women and the Meaning of ‘Woman’ (2013) ●

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“Wrong body model” & “transgender model” are misguided (233) ○ Provides a third model = a multiple-meaning view (allows trans people who wish to fit into the binaries of “man” & “woman” w/o being pathologized) Problem w/ the “wrong body model” ○ It naturalizes sex & gender differences in a troubling way ○ Gender is made real/material → frightening Problem w/ the  “transgender  model” ○ This medical establishment makes trans people disappear b/c politics/society attempt to make it appear that there is a sharp dichotomy b/w men & women (trans people show that there is not) ○ Invalidates the self-identities of some transsexual people Problems w/ both models ○ Both adopt a “single-meaning position” = gender has one meaning only ○ Both accounts accept the marginal status of trans people = bad b/c asymmetry (this is yielding political ground from the beginning b/c non-trans people do not have to justify who they are in the same way (235)

The Single Meaning Position ● “Trans” = pretense → similar effect as “fake” woman (236) ● Definition should not be purely biological → should involves their multiple, overlapping features (accounts for the significant social component of “woman”) ● With this account, one could show that at least some  trans women meet enough of the conditions required for the application of the category of “woman” (237) ○ Problems: where to draw the line/which criteria to use & how much weight they have; more problematic for individuals who have no undergone sexual reassignment surgery Semantic conceptualism ● Whether a trans woman counts as a woman depends on which standards are relevant in a given context (238) ○ Benefit: makes it possible for any trans woman (regardless of whether she has undergone medical procedures) to count as a woman due to different definitions of “woman” (eg. sincerely self-identifying as a woman = metaphysical, having XX chromosomes = biological, etc.) ○ Problems: ■ Trivializes a trans woman’s assertion b/c the enforcer is also correct (239) ■ There’s no room for metaphysical disagreement

The Multiple-Meaning Position ● The meanings of gender terms are broadened → “transwoman” is a basic expression, not a qualification (240) ● “Woman” extends to non-trans women & trans women ● All trans women count as women & do so paradigmatically, not marginally (242) ● New contextually relative standard (244) ● Can solve the problems associated w/ semantic contextualism

Lecture notes Counter arguments ● Words never completely describe something* ○ Limitation based on language itself ○ Similar to other disciplines (science, religion, etc.) ○ Defeats the purpose of language (created to make life easier → these are just more modern “issues”) ■ The point of language is to make things more defined to be more efficient/effective in everyday life ■ Potentially good motives but impractical/ridiculous ● Solution: people should just learn words in the increasing contexts (don’t change the word) & be understanding of people who are learning ● Single-meaning is wrong for many words (there are even homonyms) ○ Only an issue b/c social issues are more controversial than other issues ● Depends on what the intended meaning is in the given context ● Just b/c a word isn’t usually used a certain way doesn’t mean it can’t be/is wrong (in certain contexts) [eg. different languages also]...