Thank you for including me in this conversation. I feel so grateful for this community and the many hours and years of work that so many people in this group have dedicated to creating space for lesbian and bi women, trans women, gender queer, non binary, and trans people. This is a very special space and I cherish it deeply.

I’m not able to come to the meeting, so I compiled the following resources for our group to discern how transphobia is in play at cis-only events, and how to orient to the target/agent dynamics.

I hear in the group “I think it’s okay to have cis-women-only events because we have POC-only events,” so I want to start there by saying that having a cis-only event is equivalent to having a white-only event because it excludes the target group and uses the organizational resources to create more space for the agent group.

trans and non- trans women, please check out: For a short 1-page read on understanding target/agent betweenand non-women, please check out: Transmisogyny Primer

(If the group wanted to have a white caucus, or a cis-women’s caucus for the purpose of processing and self reflection……that would be something different. If desired, people of color or trans people would be allowed to be present/not excluded, and the intention would be to do self work for the purpose of confronting white supremacy or cisgender privilege.)

Another way I hear justification for cis-only events is from experiences of men’s violence against women.

trans women from women’s spaces on the basis of prior experiences of men’s violence against women. Trans women are not men. Trans women experience death and violence at extremely high rates, specifically because they are women living in sexism, misogyny, and transphobia. The concept that trans women are “really men” is a lie perpetuated to marginalize and stigmatize trans women and to divide the collective power of women. For more depth, please visit Julia Serano’s 2017 article It is a mistake to excludewomen from women’s spaces on the basis of prior experiences of men’s violence against women.women experience death and violence at extremely high rates, specifically because they are women living in sexism, misogyny, and transphobia. The concept thatwomen are “really men” is a lie perpetuated to marginalize and stigmatizewomen and to divide the collective power of women. For more depth, please visit Julia Serano’s 2017 article “Debunking ‘ Trans Women Are Not Women'”