Street harassment, and the ways in which women feel unsafe in public spaces, is finally getting some much-deserved attention and dialogue in the mainstream. For example, a video following a woman in New York City for ten hours revealed a disturbing amount of leering, inappropriate comments, and just generally disgusting behavior. Though the video is not without problems, I think the conversation being had is an important one. However, there’s been something consistently missing from those critiques. I believe this and the many other viral street harassment videos and articles I’ve seen are lacking something: namely, the understanding that street harassment is not just a cisgender lady problem.
Somehow we’ve forgotten the burden that trans women in particular carry when they walk down the street – not just from leering men, but from everyone, including law enforcement. Overwhelmingly, trans women carry a burden of harassment and violence on the streets. If a trans woman steps out into public, there is an 8% chance that the street harassment she is facing will turn violent, and a fairly good chance that no one will do a damn thing about it. If she’s confronted by law enforcement, it can be expected that she will be unfairly interrogated because apparently all trans women are sex workers, simply by virtue of walking and being a transgender woman.
In other words, walking as a trans woman is not just a dangerous act – it is apparently a criminal act, too.
It’s not a surprise that trans women feel unsafe – street harassment is not just a threat to their emotional well being, but a serious threat to their physical safety. Trans women, and particularly trans women of color, are murdered every year, and it often starts with words on the streets, as was the case with CeCe McDonald. Yet these struggles are coined “transgender issues” by most, considered a special problem that trans folks need to figure out on their own.
If CeCe McDonald taught us anything, it’s that street harassment isn’t just a cisgender issue – it’s every woman’s problem, and a burden that is especially and unjustly carried by trans women of color. And if you care about all women, and you care about ending street harassment and violence against women, we need to include trans women’s voices in this conversation — not as separate tokens with a special problem, but as equals who have something valuable to offer us.
If you simply say “all women experience street harassment” without very specifically addressing the concerns of trans women, that is not inclusion. And if every hidden camera video follows a cisgender woman, and every woman you interview is a cisgender woman, and every article about street harassment is written by a cisgender woman, and every study only represents cisgender women, guess what? You are not being inclusive. If you are committed to ending street harassment that targets women, you need to invite EVERY woman to the table – not just cisgender women, but trans women, too.
This points to a larger problem of essentially telling trans women that their concerns are not women’s issues, but rather, special transgender problems that they should have to deal with on their own. However, trans women are women, and the same feminists I know that continually assert this are also the same feminists who have, intentionally or not, left trans women out of the conversation on street harassment. If you believe that trans women are women (which you should, because they are), that means that their struggles with street harassment and violence are not separate issues to be ignored, and that trans women are not a special interest but rather, your interest, as a woman or an ally that is fighting for women.
That’s not to say that the violence faced by transgender women should always be lumped into this broader context, but to exclude trans women from the larger conversations about street harassment is problematic. Feminist peers, what we’re talking about here is intersectionality.
Trans women are women, and therefore, their struggles, in addition to being shaped by transphobia, are also an issue of misogyny. Conversations about sexism that leave out trans women are doing a disservice to everyone, because transgender women have been at the forefront of calling out sexist bullshit for many a decade, and their perspectives are invaluable.
Street harassment doesn’t just stop at cisgender women – it overwhelmingly impacts the experiences of trans women as well. So when we’re talking about street harassment, conducting an academic study, or making a video about it – we need to ensure that trans women are not left out of the picture. Amplify the voices of transgender women and bring those women to the table. Their experiences and their lives matter. It’s time that you step up and include them – not just when it’s convenient for you, but whenever there is something at stake for trans women as well (hint: always).
In the comments today, I’m hoping folks will include relevant articles, voices, and resources. I am by no means an expert on the experiences of trans women. To start you off, here are a few links: Laverne Cox speaking on bullying and harassment, and an interview with CeCe McDonald and Laverne Cox, discussing how “black trans bodies are under attack.”
EDIT (10/30/14): I wanted to address the comments that have questioned my choice to focus on trans women in particular. While I recognize non-binary, gender non-conforming, and more generally transgender people encounter a lot of street harassment — I myself am genderqueer and encounter harassment on the regular — I wanted to focus on the hypocrisy of feminists who talk about “all women” but exclude trans women. I narrowed the scope of the article because trans women have a specific experience of misogyny that deserves focus and attention. This is not meant to erase other struggles, though, and I encourage you to give voice to your experiences without derailing the conversation. This conversation is about trans women, sexism, and misogyny, and is intended to create a safe space for trans women to share their stories.
Let's Queer Things Up! 
Thank you for starting this dialogue. I have several friends who are trans women who live with the fear of harassment not just when they walk down the street, but at work, in public restrooms, in restaurants – basically, in public. It is important not to judge others who have fears based in the reality they face.
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It is a problem and sadly, it works against anyone with good intentions greeting someone on the street. Our society continues to grow away from one another and stay secure behind the screen of a smartphone….sad.
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In addition, walking while genderqueer/gender fluid/gender-variant/non-binary can be equally problematic for trans (AFAB & AMAB) and cis individuals (femme men, butch women) alike.
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Completely agree with you there — I encounter street harassment left and right as transmasculine. Thought about including that in the article, but felt that I wanted to focus on women in particular this time around.
We could write a whole book on the experience of being trans in public for sure!
If you have any links to relevant articles or videos that discuss it, feel free to share them in the comments!
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This is so wrong and soo heart breaking, thank you for writing such an important post!
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I think the problem is a general one re respect, tolerance and acceptance. Which is obviously lacking in our society…
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I think it’s important to mention it’s not solely a women’s issue, or a trans women’s issue. Even if it isn’t the focus of the article, it particularly erases non-binary people, who reported 31% (here: http://www.thetaskforce.org/static_html/downloads/release_materials/agendernotlistedhere.pdf) that they are harassed by police (as compared to 22% in the whole survey, 20% for trans women, and 26% for trans men–see page168 of this survey: http://www.thetaskforce.org/static_html/downloads/reports/reports/ntds_full.pdf). I wish there was a graphic that showed both gender identity and race at once because that a changes stats alot too, but it’s important to recognize that we should devote space and time to people who aren’t women and who are facing harassment due to their gender(s) or lack thereof.
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As non-binary and genderqueer myself, living in a major city, this is my everyday experience. However, I wanted this article to focus on the way feminists erase and ignore trans women, because I think that’s important and deserves a focused article.
I will amend the article to reflect the intentionality of this choice, because I can see how my approach is potentially confusing if I’m unclear about it, and could make others feel invisible.
Thank you for your feedback!!
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For sure! It’s totally important to focus on one kind of erasure in an article–as long as we’re clear that we’re doing it. Thanks for making it clear. 🙂
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Just a thought here, as a cisgender as you put it, and binary woman (I had to Google those terms) we are not always aware of the struggles human beings outside of our own “group” experience. This is perhaps not ideal.
I find that if society allows harassment or discrimination of any minority group in society that this is a big problem. If harassment of the minorities is allowed and accepted then it will soon spread to a bigger majority…..
That said, when people make a video like this they will often show it as they see it from their own point of view. People have difficulty putting themselves in an others shoes.
Your points are very valid. The rights off all kinds of woman should be taken into account.
I believe in human rights of all people. Men, woman, trans woman, non-binary, genderqueer, black, white, no matter what religion,etc. Human rights for everyone! As a society we should learn to respect and love the differences in our neighbors.
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“Amplify the voices of transgender women and bring those women to the table. Their experiences and their lives matter.”
Yes, they do, Sam. One of my closest friends is transgender and I constantly fear for her safety.
Her life matters.
Everyone’s does.
Thank you for this post. Truly.
With blessings,
Dani
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“Over at Jezebel, Collier Meyerson writes about that controversial Hollaback video on street harassment and new response from a group of women of color: …black and brown women were excluded, as if we do not exist, or are not affected by street harassment when, in fact, we are more endangered by it. Black and brown women, women of color of size, and trans women are among our society’s most vulnerable. Black women are at a greater risk of domestic violence. For trans women, even leaving the house can be fraught with emotional and physical violence. Women of color, regardless of gender expression, have an extra layer of fear and anxiety when walking down the street. The Hollaback video’s omission of white men, and the omission of black and brown women, worked together in an sinister alchemy to reinforce centuries-old stereotypes about who needs to be saved and protected and who needs to be feared and controlled. […]”
http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/11/video_woman_of_color_speak_out_about_street_harrassment.html
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Thank you for sharing! 🙂
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I’m not going to try and sound like I know more about this subject than I do, which is very little indeed, but I do know about the fear of unwarranted violence in ones life, and the destructiveness it causes. So I thank you for your post, and all it does to educate those like myself who are presently somewhat uninformed on the subject, so that with this information, we too can join in the battle to stop those who wish to continue such a disgusting practice.
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Reblogged this on freedombyanymeans.
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