Is a Trans Woman a Woman?

The question “what is a woman?” evokes different reactions from different people. For some, it brings up painfully long-held feelings of discrimination and oppression. For others, it triggers the desire to rewrite the definition so that they fit better within their own sense of who they are. For still others, it is a matter of personal choice whether or not they want to accept the label and its baggage and practise a certain way of living their lives.

A few weeks ago, the New York Times asked me to comment on a debate that had erupted over whether or not trans women are female. The debate was prompted by the decision of Cambridge Dictionary to redefine “woman” as someone who lives and identifies as female though they may have had a different sex at birth. This new definition flies in the face of biology and common sense. It is also absurd.

Women have fought for their independence from men in many ways, especially on social and economic fronts. Yet they are still facing difficulties in different parts of the world. They should be empowered to lead a fulfilling life that will bring about growth in the society.

Betty Friedan’s classic The Feminine Mystique described how many middle-class professional women felt trapped in roles that were limiting and unfulfilling. Her book launched a movement that encouraged women to seek careers that would allow them to achieve their full potential. Today, women are in the workplace in greater numbers than ever before, but they still struggle to reach the top of their professions. In a recent study of senior foreign-policy positions in government, the military, the academy and think tanks, Micah Zenko found that women hold fewer than 30 percent of these positions.

This disparity is a result of the skewed way we reward men and women in our culture for performance. When a man achieves success, it is typically seen as a sign of strength and greatness, while a woman’s achievement is viewed as a sign of weakness. In fact, in some fields, the failure of a woman to succeed is perceived as a reflection of her lack of commitment and a sign that she does not have what it takes to be successful in the first place.

The debate over whether trans women are women is a sign of how far we have left to go in addressing gender equality in our culture and society. We should focus our energy on empowering women on all fronts, and give them the opportunity to live a happy life by playing a role in their families as well as in their respective fields of work.

By empowering women on all fronts, they can take up the challenges and prove their worth. They can contribute to the development of the society in a remarkable manner. They can help in making the world a more peaceful place. This can be achieved by giving them the opportunity to grow on the social, economic and political fronts and provide a conducive environment to the women to become confident enough to express their views publicly.