Hi Kristen,
I know what a fistula is. A dear friend of mine has one.
And I’m tempted to remind you that in some poor nations women like me are beheaded.
Trans women are victims of sexual violence and sexual assault, so I cannot endorse your “it’s because vagina” argument. #metoo
Yes, there are vagina-specific problems. If you’re referring to addressing of medical concerns, there should be vagina-specific providers and medical spaces. And there are — they are called gynecology clinics. There is no reason such places should be exclusionary, since women without a vagina will not feel the need to visit one.
I can see some validity in your position about some type of Shibboleth for the woman experience. However, I don’t consider myself in any way qualified to be the arbiter of that.
A good friend of mine is a SAG film actress. She is gorgeous, fully passable, and feminine. She lives her life as a woman. She has a boyfriend. She’s 100% heterosexual and not attracted to women. She has given speeches on women’s rights. Yet her body is AMAB, and she’s had no hormones, no surgery. Would I exclude her from women’s spaces? Hell no.
I’m uncomfortable because you’re brandishing words as weapons. I’m uncomfortable because the only thing you seem to have taken from my article are twisted bullet points for you to hit me with. I understand you disagree with some of my article. By surely we must have some agreement? And if not, why are we talking?