Emi Koyama

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Emi Koyama (born 1975) is a Japanese-American activist, artist, and independent scholar. Koyama's work discusses issues of feminism, intersex human rights, domestic violence, and sex work among many others. Koyama is best known for her 2000 essay "The Transfeminist Manifesto", which has been republished in many anthologies and journals for transgender studies. She is a founder of the advocacy group Intersex Initiative.

Contents

Activism

In 2001, Koyama served as a student intern and program assistant for the Intersex Society of North America, before leaving to found her own advocacy group, Intersex Initiative Portland (ipdx). [1] The organization features classes, workshops, and speakers to discuss social, cultural, and medical issues faced by intersex people. [2] Koyama and fellow intersex activist Betsy Driver also helped found Intersex Awareness Day in 2003, commemorating the first official demonstration by intersex activists in North America. [3] [4]

Koyama is an advocate for third-wave feminism and transfeminism, with her 2000 publication "The Transfeminist Manifesto" being one of the earliest usages of the term. [5] As defined by her, transfeminism is "a movement by and for trans women who view their liberation to be intrinsically linked to the liberation of all women and beyond." [6] Alongside fellow Survivor Project member Diana Courvant, Koyama founded the website Transfeminism.org. The now defunct website was created originally to promote the Transfeminism Anthology Project, which aimed to create the first anthology centered around intersex and trans feminist perspectives; the website also served as a general resource surrounding discussion of transfeminism in academia and activism. [7]

Koyama is an advocate for the decriminalization of sex work, and is currently a member of the Coalition for Rights and Safety for People in the Sex Trade located in Seattle. [8] [9] Koyama was previously also a board member of the Survival Project, a now-defunct organization serving intersex and transgender survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence. [10]

In 2001, Koyama helped form the Third Wave Feminisms Interest Group at the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA); [11] the group aimed to "push forward the discussion about third wave feminisms by moving the focus away from generational politics or identity group and onto epistemological and ontological shifts made possible through adopting the label, 'third wave.'" [12] While Koyama has been a regular participant and speaker in NWSA conferences, she has also been notably critical of the organization. In 2008, she published a blog post titled "This is Not a Tribute to Audre Lorde", criticizing the conference's treatment of her and other women of color. [13]

In 2013, Koyama also spoke out against the Forging Justice conference, sponsored by the National Organization for Men against Sexism (NOMAS) and the Michigan domestic violence organization HAVEN. Conference presenters allegedly refused to live stream her panel on intersectional feminism, and had threatened to interrupt it entirely. [14] Koyama's writings on sex trafficking were also reportedly criticized by NOMAS co-founder Robert Brannon; she described Brannon as "violating her boundaries" during later interactions at the conference. [15] Koyama, along with other female presenters at the conference, created a list of demands to NOMAS advocating for reform of the organization’s internal policies to prevent the silencing and mistreatment of female activists. [16]

Since 2000, Koyama has spoken out against the infamous "womyn-born womyn" policy at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Her article "Whose Feminism is It Anyways? The Unspoken Racism of the Trans Inclusion Debate" criticized the festival's organizers for a policy that "essentializes, polarizes, and dichotomizes genders." [17] [18] Koyama also participated in a 2002 roundtable published in Bitch magazine focused on the festival, writing "women-only spaces are not as safe or free… but are rife with the same old racism, classism, ableism, and even internalized sexism acted on by women against other women." [19] Koyama advocated instead for an ambiguous "women-only" policy that does not institute or enforce a specific definition of women. [20] Koyama's blog Eminism features an archive that summarizes the debate and compiles historical documents related to the festival. [21]

Personal life

Koyama resides in Portland, Oregon with her two dogs. [22] [23] She writes about social justice issues on her blog, Eminism, and has an online store where she sells buttons, zines, and apparel designed by herself and other activists. [24]

In a 2014 interview with Source Weekly, Koyama describes herself as being a "runaway teen" and having engaged in sex work as an adult. [25]

Koyama uses the she/her pronouns, but does not identify with any particular gender, stating on her blog that "she thinks that having an identity—especially gender identity—is kind of weird: how she views herself depends on the human relationships and interactions that surround her, rather than arising from some intrinsic core sense of self." [26]

Koyama is bilingual, and publishes articles in both English and Japanese. [27]

Selected bibliography

Related Research Articles

Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other social divisions such as in race, class, and sexual orientation. The ideology and movement emerged in the 1960s.

Womyn is one of several alternative political spellings of the English word women, used by some feminists. There are other spellings, including womban or womon (singular), and wombyn or wimmin (plural). Some writers who use such alternative spellings, avoiding the suffix "-man" or "-men", see them as an expression of female independence and a repudiation of traditions that define women by reference to a male norm. Recently, the term womxn has been used by intersectional feminists to indicate the same ideas while foregrounding or more explicitly including transgender women, non-binary women, intersex women, queer women, and women of color.

The word cisgender describes a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth, i.e., someone who is not transgender. The prefix cis- is Latin and means on this side of. The term cisgender was coined in 1994 as an antonym to transgender, and entered into dictionaries starting in 2015 as a result of changes in social discourse about gender. The term has been and continues to be controversial and subject to critique.

This is an index of articles related to the issue of feminism, women's liberation, the women's movement, and women's rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catharine A. MacKinnon</span> American feminist scholar and legal activist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transfeminism</span> Branch of feminism

Transfeminism, or trans feminism, is a branch of feminism focused on transgender women and informed by transgender studies. Transfeminism focuses on the effects of transmisogyny and patriarchy on trans women. It is related to the broader field of queer theory. The term was popularized by Emi Koyama in The Transfeminist Manifesto.

Riki Anne Wilchins is an American activist whose work has primarily focused on the impact of gender norms.

Camp Trans was the name of an annual demonstration and event held outside the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival in Oceana County, Michigan. This demonstration was held by transgender women and their allies to protest against the Festival's policy of excluding trans women from attending, until the Music Festival's end in 2015.

The men's liberation movement is a social movement critical of the restraints which society imposes on men. Men's liberation activists are generally sympathetic to feminist standpoints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Serano</span> American writer and activist

Julia Michelle Serano is an American writer, musician, spoken-word performer, transgender and bisexual activist, and biologist. She is known for her transfeminist books, such as Whipping Girl (2007), Excluded (2013), and Outspoken (2016). She is also a public speaker who has given many talks at universities and conferences. Her writing is frequently featured in queer, feminist, and popular culture magazines.

Womyn-born womyn (WBW) is a term developed during second-wave feminism to designate women who were assigned female at birth, were raised as girls, and identify as women. The policy is noted for exclusion of trans women. Third-wave feminism and fourth-wave feminism have generally done away with the idea of WBW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transmisogyny</span> Intersection of transphobia and misogyny, experienced by transfeminine individuals

Transmisogyny, otherwise known as trans-misogyny and transphobic misogyny, is the intersection of transphobia and misogyny as experienced by trans women and transfeminine people. The term was coined by Julia Serano in her 2007 book Whipping Girl to describe a particular form of oppression experienced by trans women. In a 2017 interview with The New York Times, Serano explores the roots of transmisogyny as a critique of feminine gender expressions which are "ridiculed in comparison to masculine interests and gender expression."

<i>Whipping Girl</i> 2007 book on transgender issues by Julia Serano

Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity is a 2007 book by the gender theorist, biologist, and writer Julia Serano. The book is a transfeminist manifesto that makes the case that transphobia is rooted in sexism and that transgender activism is a feminist movement. The second edition of the book was published in March 2016.

Feminist views on transgender topics vary widely.

Transgender studies, also called trans studies or trans* studies, is an interdisciplinary field of academic research dedicated to the study of gender identity, gender expression, and gender embodiment, as well as to the study of various issues of relevance to transgender and gender variant populations. Interdisciplinary subfields of transgender studies include applied transgender studies, transgender history, transgender literature, transgender media studies, transgender anthropology and archaeology, transgender psychology, and transgender health. The research theories within transgender studies focus on cultural presentations, political movements, social organizations and the lived experience of various forms of gender nonconformity. The discipline emerged in the early 1990s in close connection to queer theory. Non-transgender-identified peoples are often also included under the "trans" umbrella for transgender studies, such as intersex people, crossdressers, drag artists, third gender individuals, and genderqueer people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intersex and LGBT</span> Relationship between different sex and gender minorities

Intersex people are born with sex characteristics that "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". They are substantially more likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) than endosex people. According to a study done in Australia of Australian citizens with intersex conditions, participants labeled 'heterosexual' as the most popular single label with the rest being scattered among various other labels. According to another study, an estimated 8.5% to 20% experiencing gender dysphoria. Although many intersex people are heterosexual and cisgender, this overlap and "shared experiences of harm arising from dominant societal sex and gender norms" has led to intersex people often being included under the LGBT umbrella, with the acronym sometimes expanded to LGBTI. Some intersex activists and organisations have criticised this inclusion as distracting from intersex-specific issues such as involuntary medical interventions.

The term womxn is an alternative spelling of the English word woman. Womxn, along with the term womyn, has been found in writing since the 1970s to avoid perceived sexism in the standard spelling, which contains the word man.

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References

  1. ↑ "Intersex Initiative: Portland State University Vanguard, 04/01/2003". www.intersexinitiative.org. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  2. ↑ "Intersex Initiative". www.intersexinitiative.org. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  3. ↑ Austin, Tyler (2016-10-26). "Today In Gay History: First Public Demonstration By Intersex People In North America". Out Magazine. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  4. ↑ Driver, Betsy (2015-10-20). "The origins of Intersex Awareness Day - Intersex Day". Archived from the original on 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  5. ↑ Stenberg, Shari J.; Hogg, Charlotte (2020-03-03). Persuasive Acts. University of Pittsburgh Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctvwrm691. ISBN   978-0-8229-8751-2. S2CID   216278951.
  6. ↑ Koyama, Emi (2003). "The Transfeminist Manifesto". In Dicker, Rory; Piepmeier, Alison (eds.). Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st Century. Northwestern University Press. pp. 244–259.
  7. ↑ "Transfeminism.org". 2000-08-16. Archived from the original on 2000-08-16. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  8. ↑ Cassell, Dessane Lopez (2019-11-26). "In Portland, An Annual Exhibition by and for Sex Workers". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  9. ↑ "Coalition for Rights and Safety". Coalition for Rights and Safety. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  10. ↑ "Survivor Project: Welcome!". Survivor Project. 2000-10-20. Archived from the original on 2000-10-20. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  11. ↑ "Constituency Groups- National Women's Studies Association". National Women's Studies Association. 2021.
  12. ↑ Koyama, Emi (2001-06-22). "Third Wave Feminism: Two Proposals for Consideration". Eminism.org. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  13. ↑ Koyama, Emi (2008-06-24). "This Is Not a Tribute to Audre Lorde: Racist Feminism at NWSA 2008". eminism.org. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  14. ↑ Mirk, Sarah (2013-08-19). "Interview with Activist Emi Koyama on Silencing and Male Feminists". Bitch Media. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  15. ↑ Koyama, Emi (2013-08-14). "Silencing and Intimidation of Women of Color at 'Men Against Sexism' Conference". Shakesville. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  16. ↑ "List of Demands to NOMAS (National Organization for Men Against Sexism) from Women of #forgingjustice". Shakesville. 2013-08-14. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  17. ↑ Koyama, Emi (2006). "Whose Feminism is it Anyway? The Unspoken Racism of the Trans Inclusion Debate". In Stryker, Susan; Whittle, Susan (eds.). Transgender Studies Reader. Routledge.
  18. ↑ Williams, Cristan (2014-08-17). "How TERF violence inspired Camp Trans". TransAdvocate. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  19. ↑ Koyama, Emi (2002-02-10). "Michigan Debate in Bitch Magazine: Politics of Safety in Women-Only Spaces". eminism.org. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  20. ↑ Koyama, Emi (2001-10-24). "Leave 'Women-Only' Rule Ambiguous". eminism.org. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  21. ↑ "eminism.org - Michigan/Trans Archive". eminism.org. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  22. ↑ "Portland Police's "Human Trafficking" Arrests Aren't What They Seem". 20 October 2021.
  23. ↑ "Emi Koyama | Intersex Society of North America".
  24. ↑ "Stuff by Emi & Co". store.eminism.org. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  25. ↑ Rook, Erin (2014-07-08). "Activist Emi Koyama on Addressing the Roots of Youth Exploitation". The Source Weekly - Bend. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  26. ↑ "eminism.org - FAQ: Basic Information". eminism.org. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  27. ↑ "eminism.org - Publications". eminism.org. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
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