Respond: Sarah Fraas, Trans Women at Smith: The Complexities of Checking “Female”
RESPOND •
1. In what senses does this selection represent a definitional argument? What is being defined, and what are the competing definitions that are the source of the argument? (See Chapter 9 for a discussion of definitional arguments.)
2. What evidence does Fraas offer for why the current definition of who may apply to Smith is problemati
3. In what senses is this selection a proposal argument? What is being proposed? How does the evidence discussed in response to question 2 support or fail to support the proposal that is made? (Chapter 12 will help you understand proposal arguments.)
4. The following information appears on the current Web site for Mount Holyoke College, another of the Seven Sisters, which has a different policy from Smith’s policy with respect to this issue. (Ze is a gender-neutral pronoun; unlike he or she, ze does not indicate the biological sex or gender identity of the person to whom it refers. It is one of several pronouns that transgender individuals sometimes use.)
Mount Holyoke College’s policy on the admission of transgender students states that it welcomes applications for its undergraduate program from any qualified student who is female or identifies as a woman. Can you clarify “who is female or identifies as a woman”?
The following academically qualified students can apply for admission consideration:
· Biologically born female; identifies as a woman
· Biologically born female; identifies as a man
· Biologically born female; identifies as other/they/ze
· Biologically born female; does not identify as either woman or man
· Biologically born male; identifies as woman
· Biologically born male; identifies as other/they/ze and when “other/they” identity includes woman
· Biologically born with both male and female anatomy (Intersex); identifies as a woman
The following academically qualified students cannot apply for admission consideration:
· Biologically born male; identifies as man
http://bit.ly/1rKYeDJ
In what ways does this list constitute a definitional argument? What kind of definition is it — a formal definition, an operational definition, or a definition by example? What criteria are involved? Why are they relevant in this case? Studying the information given in the headnote for this article (or consulting Smith’s most recent FAQ on admissions), assess the extent to which Smith and Mount Holyoke define “female” in the same way.
5. The Web site quoted in question 4 a lso includes the following question and answer. (Positionality is a term from feminist theory; it focuses on how society positions [and values] individuals who are members of a socially constructed category. Thus, each of the following groups is differently positioned [and valued] in our society: women/men; bisexuals/asexuals/lesbians/gay men/heterosexuals; people of different ethnic or racial backgrounds; people from different social classes; the able-bodied and the differently able; etc.)
Is Mount Holyoke College changing the fundamental nature of its mission as a women’s college by admitting transgender students?
Mount Holyoke remains committed to its historic mission as a women’s college. Yet, concepts of what it means to be a woman are not static. Traditional binaries around who counts as a man or woman are being challenged by those whose gender identity does not conform to their biology. Those bringing forth these challenges recognize that such categorization is not independent of political and social ideologies. Just as early feminists argued that the reduction of women to their biological functions was a foundation for women’s oppression, we must acknowledge that gender identity is not reducible to the body. Instead, we must look at identity in terms of the external context in which the individual is situated. It is this positionality that biological and trans women share, and it is this positionality that is relevant when women’s colleges open their gates for those aspiring to live, learn, and thrive within a community of women.
What arguments is Mount Holyoke making for the inclusion of trans women in its institution? How do these arguments link to the college’s understanding of its historical mission? How do they help us appreciate the complexity of this issue?
6. Although the admission of transgender students represents a particular challenge to institutions that have traditionally accepted only women or only men, transgender students face challenges on all campuses. Investigate how your college or university is or is not attempting to assist transgender students as members of your community. This investigation may include consulting print or electronic resources, interviewing individuals in various campus organizations — transgender advocacy, queer student organizations, student services, health and counseling services on campus. You may wish to focus simply on information gathering (leading you to write an argument of fact), but likely far more interesting will be efforts to trace the ways that members of your school’s community have been challenged to rethink their own ideas about gender and identity and about the ways this rethinking has or has not resulted in changed policies. In this latter case, you’ll likely write a causal argument of some sort. (Chapter 8 considers arguments of fact, while Chapter 11 examines causal arguments.) As in some previous cases, your class may find it useful to divide into pairs or small groups, each of which focuses on a different aspect of campus life. Be aware that this issue is by and large a new one for most of us, so we all have a great deal to learn about it. Likewise, if there appear to be no transgender students on your campus, it does not mean that they are not there; they may simply not have disclosed the relevant information. If your campus has not dealt with this issue, imagine how it might.