This Trans Femme Has Never Felt Part of The Sisterhood
Unpacking the difference between sisterhood and solidarity
I remember one of the first times I went into a female bathroom. It was in a library, and an older woman came in with a walker. She looked me up and down and then loudly asked if this was the women’s bathroom. I don’t know if she was being cruel or simply oblivious, but it made me feel like shit.
Since then, I have never felt comfortable in women’s spaces. Even as my hair and boobs grew out and people started referring to me as ma’am and miss, there was always a hesitancy I had: Am I femme enough?
Do I deserve to be here?
I see so many people calling me and my fellow trans peers sisters, but sometimes it’s hard to believe that these words are anything more than talk.
Can trans people be part of the sisterhood?
One of the stereotypes I grew up on is the idea of the “sisterhood.” I would see this camaraderie among some, though certainly not all, women in movies (and in real life, as I grew up with sisters). Women would go into the bathroom together to gossip and provide aid when men were unnecessarily cruel. They would counsel each other through the misogyny of modern society. There was a sense of care…
