Does liberal feminism exist anymore? In Texas, the existing structures of feminism have been in a drought due to the conservative and Confederate ideals that govern the state. In Texas prisons, the feminist movement exists, but in dire oppression. But transgender inmates like myself continue to fight for liberation and equality.
As a trans man in a Texas women’s prison, feminism is often incorrectly assumed to be the bane of my existence. My identity makes those around me consider it an act of mutiny when I fight for my rights by speaking out or filing complaints.
Because I am a trans man, my being a feminist is considered a joke. I’m perpetually ridiculed with demeaning questions like, “What are you?” “Are you a man or a woman?” or “How can you be a man yet be a feminist?” But I do not let these insults deter me from fighting for equality and equity.
Democracy has a mechanism for defeminization, and the confederacy that built the state of Texas established structural inequality when it comes to transgender folks, women, and any other marginalized group. It often feels like there is no opportunity for reform. In the eyes of Texas, gender equality is a farce. Texas has always been an anti-feminist state, and even more so since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. On top of that, it is basically against the law to be trans here.
Within the prison system, feminism is considered treason, and transgender folks are punished for espionage. Any actions that cite feminism as motivation are regarded as inciting an insurrection or riot. Anything pertaining to feminism or politics will result in the shutdown of the inmates’ secure phone/message communication.
I’ve been denied recreation, purposely put in broken cells with no working toilet, and have had my phone/email line cut. I was maliciously told that “feminism is considered an act of attempting to interfere with prison operations” by an employee.
In response to my beliefs in the freedom of speech and press, I’ve been the victim of many physical attacks. Several times, I’ve been a victim of physical gang assaults by officers because I’m vocal about the Constitution, human rights, justice, and anything political. I’ve been beaten up, kicked, stomped, spit on, and have suffered from unhealed wounds.
My principle is to support and empower marginalized inmates at all costs so none will be victims of genocide and none will become extinct.
The distinction between feminism and transgender rights? There is none. They are one and the same. Both embody the practice of radicalism, the fight against political and cultural anarchism, and a demand for revolutionary justice. This is a topic many choose to ignore, roll their eyes at, or simply forget about. It is imperative not to have the forced sterilization of speech. Opinions and truth are parallel.
For a woman to be forced to carry an unwanted child – even if it’s a product of rape or incest – is outrageous. For a transgender person not to have the right to identify as they please is ludicrous.
And where does the Constitution exist in prison? Is it okay for an officer to shout transphobic slurs and threaten trans inmates with rape? Is it okay for a woman to be verbally brutalized and socially ostracized because she fights for the right to an abortion?
When a transgender inmate is raped by an officer, that officer may shout that God made women to procreate and that nobody will believe them if they say they were raped.
Immorality is rampant inside the prison walls of Texas. Unconstitutional and biased, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is corrupt and utilized to suppress and oppress women, transgender people, and other minorities.
An appropriate response would be to abolish the prison system and come up with a network of reform for those who are convicted of a crime. But, of course, this is wishful thinking.
It appears that anti-feminism, fascism, antiabortion, transphobia, white supremacy, misogyny, sexual violence, economic inequality, capitalism, and confederacy are the norm in Texas and will never be alleviated. The movement lives on in high demand for redemption, although it is suppressed. It demonstrates the primitive collapse of justice in America, the extremity of subjugation, and the repression of equality.
To exist within capitalism but be without capital is the paradox of prison.
A mass mobilization of feminism, abolition, and internationalism are core values that could truly make America great again while quashing white supremacy, transphobia, racial capitalism, imperialism, and fascism. An emergent strategy for this global struggle to organize in solidarity would be an asset for a revolution. We need not just a political revolution but social, economic, and cultural ones, too. They must be synchronizing movements of collective leadership, partnership, and adaptability – a vast network of influence and transformation.
The first step in a revolution like this – one that demands global resistance against inequality – would be to tackle Texas, the second-largest state in America that holds so much influence and power within the United States. Something must be built to break down the infrastructure of the Confederacy, authoritarianism, and republicanism within the state.
A few organized activities that can possibly alleviate these problems and initiate a revolution would first be to desegregate LGBTQ+ people by nullifying housing placements in solitary confinement. Another way would be to completely abolish prolonged solitary confinement. LGBTQ+ people, mainly transgender folks, should be treated as equal and not ostracized. Most importantly, prisoners’ 1st Amendment rights should not be violated. We are the people of America, the land of the free. We are just like any other citizen, regardless of being incarcerated.
Moving toward practices of equality and reform like other states have done – such as Oregon, Minnesota, and California – would be the first step toward generating a large-scale systemic shift toward justice.
Xandan (Britney Gulley) is a female-to-male trans person and writer who is incarcerated in Texas state prison. Xandan has been held in solitary confinement for over seven years due to his gender identity and as retribution for his published exposés that unveil the inhumane conditions that transgender prisoners face. Some of his articles can be found in the San Francisco Bayview, Texas Letters Project, Southern Cultures Journal, and Prison Insider. You can write to Xandan at: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Britney Gulley 01601283, PO Box 660400, Dallas, TX 75266.
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