Every March, we celebrate National Women’s Month in the Philippines, marking the celebration of all the contributions women have made towards women’s rights and the fight for gender equality. But just like every year, most people still criticize Women’s Month, and one of those is whether to include trans women in the celebration.
On TikTok, a content creator has gone viral over her post that says trans women are included in the celebration of Women’s Month because they’re also women.
“‘Pag sinabi kong ‘Happy Women’s [M]onth, kasama ang mga trans [women] doon ‘cause trans women are women (When I say ‘Happy Women’s Month, trans [women] are included ‘cause trans women are women),” the video read.
@thejamiecasino Don’t forget to also greet your trans friends “Happy Women’s month” tomorrow 💖✨. #trans ♬ original sound – Teehayyz
The post sparked heated debates across social media platforms, particularly on TikTok and Reddit, with most people arguing that trans women shouldn’t be included in the celebration of Women’s Month because they already have Pride Month and Trans Awareness Month.
Others, on the other hand, defended the content creator, and one of those who joined in the conversation was Bahaghari Philippines chairperson Reyna Valmores Salinas, who slammed critics for excluding women in the celebration.
In a lengthy Facebook post, the activist pointed out that acknowledging trans women are women won’t affect the rights of women in general.
“Ang human rights o karapatang pantao ay hindi po buko pie na kapag binigyan natin ng karapatan ang isang tao na nakakaranas ng abuso ay kabawasan na ito sa karapatan ng iba (Human rights are not like buko pie, where granting rights to a person who is suffering from abuse means taking away the right of others),” Salinas said.
She then highlighted that while we celebrate mothers in this special month, people should remember those women who couldn’t bear a child, who chose to adopt and those who simply don’t want a child of their own, and that women shouldn’t be defined by their body parts.
Salinas also argued that recognizing trans women as real women won’t “take the spotlight from real women” and that they’re not the real enemies.
Elsewhere in the post, she reaffirmed her commitment that she and the whole trans community will continue to fight for women’s rights and protect them from violence, abuse, and hate crimes, among others.
“Sa lipunan kung saan kinukutya ang babae, trans man o hindi, mas maraming dahilan para magkaisa tayo upang lalong palakasin ang boses ng mga kababaihan (In a society where women, whether trans or note, are ridiculed, we have even more reasons to unite and come together to amplify the voices of women),” she wrote.
“Hindi magkalaban ang trans women at ang women in general. Magkasama tayo. May pagkakaiba man sa mga karanasan (at kahit ang mga pinanganak na babae ay iba-iba ang karanasan), ultimately, magkasangga tayo. Parehas ang adhikain natin para sa pagkakapantay-pantay (Trans women and women, in general, are not enemies. We are united. Our experiences may be different (and even among those born female), ultimately, we are allies. We all share the same goal for equality),” she continued.
“Trans women are women. Kasama ang trans women sa dapat kilalanin ngayong Women’s Month, at kasama rin ang trans women sa ipaglalaban ang kababaihan as a whole sa buwan na ito (Trans women should be recognized this Women’s Month, and trans women are part of the fight for women’s right). And I sincerely hope […] that we all find it in ourselves to keep an open mind and an open heart for others this Women’s Month and beyond,” Salinas concluded.
If there’s one thing this whole forum has revealed, at least for me, it’s that the extent of internalized transphobia among some people—including biological women—is so extreme.
It baffles me how some women invalidate trans women when we should be the first people to understand their struggles because, at some point, we all experienced misogyny, sexism, and some forms of abuse. And as Salinas pointed out, recognizing trans women as real women doesn’t make us less of a woman, a person.
Let’s not treat this historic event as some kind of competition because if we continue to see trans women as a threat to us women, the only winner would be the oppressors who would continue to embed patriarchal practices in our society, hindering us from achieving what we’re fighting for: equality.
We are so much better than this.
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