Earlier this week, I was on a local radio show called BYOB in San Francisco when Latashia Govan, one of the shows hosts, interrupts our discussion on drag and burlesque to read the latest talk worthy news headline to cross her twitter feed. “Parents of NAACP chapter head say she lied about being black.” … We immediately burst into laughter. I mean, it sounds pretty ridiculous, doesn’t it? A white person masquerading as a black person and heading a chapter of a national black civil rights group? Latashia’s next words perfectly described how we all were feeling, “You just can’t make this s*** up!” But after the initial surprise, we had some real questions, like, “Wait… Does she really identify as black?” Followed by, “Hmmm… Should I be mad? If someone can be transgender, then can someone be transracial? Is that a thing?”

The next day, when the news really hit on social media, I began reading more about Rachel Dolezal and this idea of “transracialism.” As I read, it became clear to me that this person has some pretty serious issues outside of how she identifies (can we talk about the shady, seemingly made-up hate-crime reports & the plagiarized artwork?), and yet I couldn’t help but reflect on her internal racial discord and how that might be compared to gender dysphoria. After some thought, and a bit of research, I came to the conclusion that the two, while seemingly similar on the surface, are actually not the same at all.

Before comparing Rachel Dolezal to the likes of Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox, we need to consider these two generally accepted statements: 1) A person’s race does not effect their brain chemistry or the way their mind works. 2) Sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation are all linked to biological factors like genetics and hormones that do in fact alter the structures of our brains and the ways in which we think and feel.

In other words, men and women don’t just look differently on the outside, their brains are built a bit differently too, and this physical difference can actually be seen in trans people. More specifically, transwomen generally have parts of their brains that are shaped more like those of cis-gendered women (women who were born female) than cis-gendered men (men who were born male), and similarly trans men have brain structures more similar to those of cis-men.

If it is true that there are no structural differences in the brain associated with race, and there is no gene or hormone that informs our sense of self that we are black, white, or other; it then follows that this so-called trans-racialism is not an intrinsic biological predisposition (as being transgender seems to be), but rather something that is wholly psycho-social in nature. In other words: she was not born this way.

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When it comes down to it, I don’t really care if Dolezal wants to be black. If Dolezal wants to tan her skin blue-black, perm her hair, broaden her nose, and do whatever else she feels necessary because she has a deep seeded admiration for [her idea of] black beauty, then I am so down for her to do that. It’s her body and her right to self-express as she sees fit. In regards to her use of a black identity to occupy spaces she feels are reserved for black people, however… well, I’ll save that for a post about power, privilege, and entitlement.