Cis Women and Trans Women are in the Same, Overpoliced Boat

Our bodies and freedoms are under attack. And our very lives are on the line. It is time to come together.

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Please note that this post contains descriptions of transphobic and misogynistic violence.

The Trump administration’s attack on trans people—particularly trans women—has been swift and brutal. A flurry of executive orders attempt to ban gender-affirming care for minors, dismiss trans people from the military, keep trans female student athletes from playing sports, deprive trans folks of their right to use a restroom that reflects their gender identity, and negate their very identities in legal documentation. (I say “attempt” because these measures, and others, are being subject to vigorous legal contestation.) At the same time, Trump has already reneged on his promise to leave abortion to the states, and has moved to withdraw government funding from any federal program that is held to “promote” abortion, such as family planning counselling. He has also reinstated the so-called “Mexico City Policy,” which bars funding any international aid organization that “performs or promotes” abortion. And he and his administration are surely only just gearing up in their assaults on reproductive care, at least if Project 2025 continues to serve as their blueprint.

This dovetailing of attacks on the bodily freedom and safety of trans people—again, particularly, trans women—and cis women is no accident. And we need to understand why, through the lens of feminist and trans philosophy.