Kai Green writes about the trans community, and specifically a relationship between Trans* and black lesbians. A lot of Green’s piece focuses on the language that is used surrounding Trans*. Green states that the use of Trans* is an attempt of a “decolonial demand; a question of how, when, and where one sees and knows; a reading practice that might help readers gain a reorientation to orientation” (67). Green shows the importance of the language used when exploring identity, which I think is important to this discussion. Green also states that black women have “not had the privilege of easy access to the category ‘women’; too big, too tough, too strong, too black, too masculine” (71). This conversation, as it relates to black lesbian women, is that Trans*, like black women, do not have easy access to a single category within the language that exists.
Green also centers much of the piece around a case example; Alycee Lane, who ran a magazine for black lesbians. A lot of the discussion of Lane’s magazine in relation to Trans* reminded me of discussions last week, of the sex wars. Green discusses the distinction between love and lovemaking, sensation and sensation with feeling. Lorde discussed the uses of the erotic, and made a comparison between sensation and sensation with feeling. Lane, on the other hand, believes that there should be no judgement of either, and that instead we should aim to make room for all of these experiences. This reminded me of talking about the sex wars, and wondering if sometimes sex is taken too seriously. I think from a lot of the conflicts that we’ve reviewed in class, inclusion and embracing conflict have been the key when feminist conflict has surfaced, and Green does a good job of presenting how this same process should be applied to this conflict.