Transfeminism

Transfeminism is a part of what is known as new feminisms. It expands the subjects considered within feminism to include others who are also oppressed by cisheteropatriarchy, who are not necessarily cisgender women. The movement understands the concept of gender as a social construction used to oppress and exclude. 

Transfeminists identify patriarchal oppression not within genders themselves, but in the inflexible binary system ‘man/woman’ and the fact that gender is associated to sex. Therefore, while transfeminism proposes the existence of as many genders as there are identities, gender critical feminism desires for there to be none.

Transfeminism highlights the fact that society privileges people who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth (cisgender people) and that, because it is a binary system, it only recognizes two genders (men and women), which marginalizes any other gender. However, it does not consider gender itself as good or bad. It defines it as a subjective personal and individual quality which should not be limited to masculine/feminine. For transfeminists, ideally there should be an infinite number of gender identities, which is why they recognize non-binary genders. They argue that the subjects of feminism are not just cisgender women—who identify with the gender they have—but also trans people and others who are oppressed by cisheteropatriarchy. 

Transfeminism believes that the foundation of patriarchy is heteronormativity, which identifies people as men or women to support the idea of gender. People are categorized depending on their physical appearance or genitals within gender binarism where gender is connected to biological sex. As a result, transfeminism seeks precisely to disconnect gender from biological sex.

The plural version of this concept is also used to reflect the diversity of approaches and the heterogeneity of the members of this social movement.