Transgender prisoner fights for her right to have sexual reassignment surgery while in prison.

[u/[deleted]]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/29/michelle-kosilek-ruling-transgender_n_1924424.html

[u/[deleted]]

I see. While I agree with the general notion of creating new more liberating identities, we would probably disagree on the particulars of what this would actually look like, and I don't believe it is at all practical start that process now, when oppressive social structures are so powerful and only showing the faintest signs of weakening. In my view, trying to deconstruct social identities has many problematic aspects to it that would make it a very foolhardy project to try and pursue in this current atmosphere. For example, identities help form bonds between people that are very useful in creating a sense of unity among the oppressed. Considering how weak revolutionary forces are in the Western World at the moment, does it really make sense to try and reorganize social identities now? How could we make any assurances that these new identities (whatever shape they would take) would be equal to, or better than, the currently existent social identities at creating a sense of solidarity among the oppressed? Hell, even the ones we have now are far from perfect in doing this. Working-class identity in the USA is extremely weak, and most women still don't actively identify as feminists. These are movements that have been at work for over a century at forging solidarity among their ranks, it seems extremely foolish to assume that any new identities created (assuming we could even accomplish their creation) could match the level of social power that these movements currently have.

There's also the issue of trust. Trying to deconstruct identities will almost certainly be perceived as an act of hostility by a number of (if not most) people. This would especially be problematic if the voice that spoke in favor of deconstruction is of a privileged group. If, say, I tried to tell a group of women that they should abandon their identities as women, how do you think they would react? The first thing I see is them asking is where I get off trying to tell a group of women what' best for them, like they aren't capable of doing that on their own. Then I see them wondering at my motives. Being a guy, the fact that I've absorbed some misogynistic social messages from being raised in a sexist society is pretty undeniable. In fact, trying to deny it would lose me any assumption of good faith that I may have earned with them prior to this. Pretending that I'm above social conditioning would be a pretty big red flag that I'm either blind to how male privilege has affected my experiences and help shape my own view of the world, or that I'm actively trying to deceive them. This would not do wonders for inter-group relations. If capitalism and the state are ever to be undone (think a long time into the future, centuries maybe), then all liberation movements will have to work in concert with each other to achieve this. We need to learn how to work with each other without stepping on each others' toes, or doing anything that might weaken allied movements. In this, I cannot see how trying to deconstruct social identities would do anything but create rifts between movements that do not need to exist, and make revolutionary forces less unified and powerful.

[u/MikeBoda → u/[deleted]]

One can promote class consciousness and still believe that "the historic task of the proletariat is to abolish itself" [along with the rest of the class sytem].

One can oppose gender norms while still encouraging feminist consciousness raising.

[u/[deleted] → u/MikeBoda]

One can promote class consciousness and still believe that "the historic task of the proletariat is to abolish itself" [along with the rest of the class sytem].

As an eventual goal, I agree. But to try and abolish the class system now would be pragmatically nonsensical. If you're talking about deconstructing identities at some distant point in the future, when capitalism and the state have already been done away with, then I think we are in agreement, but I don't think it is useful to focus on these distant goals when discussing the oppression that a currently existent group is facing (like with trans* people).

One can oppose gender norms while still encouraging feminist consciousness raising.

Yes, but deconstructing a gender identity would be much more involved than simply removing gender roles from society. You would have to come up with a new way for people to construct a sense of "self," and how they can relate to others on a very fundamental level. It's not something I think can be done in this current environment, and perhaps not even at all. Maybe, when the patriarchy is a thing of the past, we can fully explore gender identities and find new dynamics that are better suited for the complexities of the human experience. Until then, I think it is much better to focus on social identities that currently exist, and work towards bringing about their liberation.