medievalfantasist:medievalfantasist:A forthcoming book about James Barry purposefully and persistent
medievalfantasist:medievalfantasist:A forthcoming book about James Barry purposefully and persistently misgenders him, and the author is continuing to do so on Twitter. For those using screen readers etc., here’s the text of this tweet thread from ZR/Zabé Ellor (@ZREllor):James Barry was a transgender man and I am floored, enraged, and deeply disappointed that a major publisher would endorse a book that misgendered him.He wrote in his will that he wanted to be buried in the clothes he died in, he was DESPERATE not to be outed and misgendered in death.Erasing trans people from history is an act of violence against our community. You deny our existence in the past and call our modern day existence a “passing fad.”You enable transphobia and transphobic laws, like the ones extremists are passing across the USA. You ACTIVELY HURT a marginalized community.The book community needs to band together to fight transphobia. Not encourage it.[two screenshots of author tweets: 1. “Thanks, AJ! As a queer woman and an lbgt activist, I’m aware, yes, of the controversy surrounding Barry, in death as in life. The body is Rorschach.” 2. “Hear you! 1 thing’s certain: Barry opposed policing of gender, so I’d hope for same in her admirers; the evidence is open to interpretation.”] This type of language promotes the erasure of trans identities and permits violence against trans people. Full stop.“As a queer woman and activist…” Unless you’re trans, you have NO say in what hurts trans people.“The body is a Rorschach…” I’m guessing the author means something you can look at and draw your own conclusions. But Barry made it DAMN CLEAR he wanted his body seen as male, hence his WILL“Barry opposed the policing of genders”–okay, so why have you chosen a CLEARLY gendered, misgendering pronoun for him in this tweet? If you truly believe we don’t know his gender, why not use they/them?If an author doesn’t care when the trans community raises issues with her book, how can we trust her to portray a trans character in a way that doesn’t pose harm?[screenshot of author tweet reading “If I may say, I feel the same dismay about seeing Dr. Barry referred to as ‘he.’ Policing gender seems antithetical to all that Barry is/did.”] You heard it here first, people! Referring to trans men by he/him pronouns is JUST SO HARD FOR CIS WOMEN.But let’s dig a little deeper here. The author seems to be coming from the viewpoint that Barry was “doing something” by presenting as male. That this was some radical act designed to destroy the concept of gender.If so, he was damn quiet about it. Travelled the world, fought a few wars, did some surgeries…never anything about gender politics, activism, the lik. Your average distinguished 19th century Englishman. Not a radical.But no. Because trans men can’t just “exist” “have careers” “lead normal lives.” We have an AGENDA. We’re trying to accomplish something. Stand for something. We’re not men. We’re women trying to take down the patriarchy from the inside.This is the same logic that TERFs routinely use to deny our existence and rights. This is the same logic leading to a surge of transphobic violence in the UK and around the world.[screenshot of author tweet reading “My book opposes such rigid certainties about gender, as Barry did. If you want to write a novel to fix sex like a butterfly pinned, do so.”] TERF. TERF. TERF. Here we go again. Trans people are the ones to blame for the existence of the gender binary. Trans people are the problem.James Barry was rigidly certain of his gender. He transitioned and never looked back. Family friends offered to send him to Venezuela, where he could openly practice medicine as a woman. He REFUSED.And now the author is going through her mentions and trying to “correct” people who used Barry’s pronouns. For someone who says she believes in erasing the gender binary, she’s awful intent on enforcing it. There are so many women in medicine whose stories have never been told. If you want to write about a 19th century female doctor, take your pick. But no. Because ‘cross-dressing’ is so goddamn marketable. Because transphobia is a selling point. Y’know, I could understand not knowing Barry was trans, the way mainstream history discusses him. But all you have to do when the point comes up is say “okay, I’ll hire some SRs make sure the rep in my book is good!” But you don’t want to write a good story about a trans man. And you probably don’t want to write a good story about a cross-dressing cis woman. You want to use transphobia and TERF talking points to profit. You want to profit off hate speech.[screenshot of author tweet reading “She was he for good reason–it was illegal to be female in many circumstances. Gender police were dreadful then as now, as is male supremacy.”] This is a lie. There were plenty of places it was legal for women to practice medicine in the 19th century. Barry’s friends and family assumed he would move to South America and openly practice as a woman once he completed medical school. [screenshot of author tweet reading “I didn’t, but I do understand you to be wrong in your efforts to police her gender & and my book. Do write your own, but don’t turn into g-cops”] This is a TERF dogwhistle. Accusing trans people of being ‘gender cops,’ implying that we have some nefarious power over society… and the age-old “write your own book!” Like trans people don’t face barriers to entry in publishing. Like we’re the bullies -- source link