Keepers of Womanhood: Missed Opportunities for Feminist and Transgender Coalition Building from the 1970s through the 1990s

Alliances between members of the transgender community and the feminist community were slow to form, as the groups clashed over definitions of womanhood and experiences of gender oppression. Although trans people saw the value in forming alliances with feminists to fight gender oppression, feminists did not recognize the parallels between the groups. The very ideas that could have provided a base for coalition-building, including gender-based discrimination, access to employment, and gender violence, instead divided the groups. Sexual orientation further complicated coalition-building, as many cis lesbians questioned the gender identities of trans lesbians, while some trans lesbians believed cis lesbians were their natural allies. Through illuminating the shared struggles that feminists and trans people faced and the prejudices that inhibited coalition-building from the 1970s through the 1990s, this essay suggests the value and limits of transgender and feminist partnerships.