This is a speech given by Andrea Dworkin in San Francisco, 1978, first published in Letters from a War Zone.

Introduction:

***Please note this recording contains explicit content.***

Female Erasure, Reverse Sexism, and the Cisgender Theory of Privilege

by Elizabeth Hungerford

"Cis theory of gender denies the lived experiences of millions of women who despise the social role 'woman,' instead framing non-trans women's gender identity as a privilege. The theory is blind to how these seemingly benign 'gender identities' operate as a hierarchy of social roles and interactions whose end game is the unequal distribution of power between male and female humans. This essentialist, ahistorical assessment of gender identity short-circuits women's ability to recognize themselves as oppressed by gender-based roles. It denies us use of the language and concepts necessary to describe women's specific exploitation as women."

Elizabeth Hungerford is a feminist writer at sexnotgender.com and ehungerford.com. She is also the co-founder of a public discussion group about the contentious politics of gender. As an attorney, she is particularly interested in class-based analysis of gender, identity, women-only spaces, and the philosophical contradictions created by protecting "gender identity" as a matter of law.

Andrea Dworkin (September 26, 1946 - April 9, 2005) was a US radical feminist philosopher, activist, and writer. She is best known for her analysis of pornography, although her feminist writings, beginning in 1974, span 40 years. They are found in a dozen solo works: nine books of non-fiction, two novels, and a collection of short stories. Another three volumes were co-written or co-edited with US Constitutional law professor and feminist activist, Catharine A. McKinnon.

This is a speech given by Renee Gerlich in Brisbane on October 12, 2019. The event was hosted by the International Women’s Day Brisbane Committee.