What Chimamanda Adichie Said About Trans Women Is Indeed Debatable

Wait a second! I feel like Chimamanda Adichie said “Trans Women Matter” and a firestorm of backlashers said “All Women Matter.”

As a cis gendered woman who stands wholeheartedly in solidarity with the LGBTQIA community, I grappled with the idea of writing this. I have never been moved to debate any issue related to trans people that did not work to further serve them or amplify their voices. However, the backlash Ms. Adichie is receiving from her interview regarding trans women is unsettling. The statement was simple.

“Trans women are trans women.”

Opposers suggest Adichie is attempting to invalidate trans women’s lived experiences. Women such as Laverne Cox and Raquel Willis have spoken out against Adichie’s comments in recent articles. Stories like Cox’s are important narratives that should be empathized with however, it seems delusional and unreasonable to challenge Adichie’s summation because such narratives exist. In fact, more harm is caused by disregarding the aspects of the experiences trans women (and trans men) journey through in order to live in their truth.

Objectification of the female body is an essential part of the conversation and should be debated. While gender does not relate to the body, a child whose body produces breasts between the ages of 8 and 13 years old, will have to deal with a completely different set of obstacles in a culture that degrades and sexually exploits female bodies. A female bodied…