Summary
Enemy Feminisms by Sophie Lewis examines the feminist movement, highlighting its contradictions and historical alignments with oppressive ideologies, particularly the connection between gender-critical activism and the far right.
Enemy Feminisms by Sophie Lewis – a Quick Review
Enemy Feminisms by Sophie Lewis critically examines the feminist movement, revealing its internal contradictions and historical alignment with oppressive ideologies. A significant focus of the book is on trans-exclusionary radical feminism (TERFism), also known as gender-critical ideology propagated by gender-critical activists (aka “sex realists”) and its troubling connections to the far right.
Lewis argues that gender-critical activism while originating within a subset of radical American feminists in the 1970s, found fertile ground in the UK via the gender-critical movement before being re-exported to the US. She contends that American right-wing transphobia gained momentum through the appropriation of radical feminist language, framing, support, and vocabulary.
Lewis draws parallels between TERFism and historical “enemy feminisms,” such as the “femmephobia” of Mary Wollstonecraft and the 19th-century moral panic around “white slavery,” which led some feminists to embrace prohibitionism and xenophobia.
She likens TERFism to a “nationalism of sex,” characterised by a desire for rigid boundaries and a regressive vision of sex and gender.
Enemy Feminisms by Sophie Lewis – The Far Right
The book highlights how certain gender-critical activists have aligned themselves with figures on the far right, even to the extent of supporting Donald Trump.
Lewis notes that some trans-exclusionary feminists have lauded Trump for his attacks on trans rights, framing these attacks as a defence of women. This alignment is particularly alarming given the broader context of a growing global movement for state repression of trans people, supported by right-wing, authoritarian, and religious leaders such as Trump, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orbán, Giorgia Meloni, and the Vatican.
Enemy Feminisms by Sophie Lewis – Judith Butler
Lewis is not alone in recognising the connection between gender-critical activism and the far right. Judith Butler has cautioned against the growing movement against “gender” and the damage that feminist transphobia [defined as the dislike, prejudice, discrimination, denial of identity, hatred or violence towards people who identify as transgender or gender diverse] inflicts on the coalition-building necessary to combat fascism.
Enemy Feminisms underscores the historical context of gender-critical ideology (note the book invariably refers to TERFism), tracing its roots to earlier forms of exclusionary and oppressive feminism.
For instance, the book delves into the transition of some suffragettes who initially fought for women’s rights to embracing fascism. This shift was fueled by their impatience with the slow progress of women’s rights and their yearning for immediate change. Similarly, Lewis critiques the anti-pornography movement within radical feminism in the 1970s and 1980s and the rise of Islamophobic femonationalism. These historical examples serve to illustrate how feminist movements can be co-opted by or contribute to reactionary and harmful ideologies.
Lewis argues that gender-critical ideology provides an alibi for the far right to frame attacks on trans people as “defending women“. Some gender-criticals have openly welcomed support from right-wing figures, further illustrating the troubling alliance between these groups.
Enemy Feminisms by Sophie Lewis – Rethink
Enemy Feminisms ultimately calls for a rethinking of feminism. Lewis advocates for a feminism deeply rooted in community and care, one that confronts its internal contradictions and actively fights against all forms of oppression, fostering a sense of unity and support and the importance of standing together in the face of adversity.
She insists on the importance of drawing clear lines and naming the ‘enemies within’ the movement to better equip feminists for the struggles ahead.
Despite its critical nature, the book is intended as a ‘love letter to feminism,’ with the aim of strengthening the movement by acknowledging and addressing its darker sides, and emphasizing the importance of self-reflection and growth as essential elements of progress.
Going forward, I will be “deep diving” into Sophie Lewis’s book, which, sadly, because of the culture war against trans people in the UK by the right-wing media, will either be ignored or heavily criticised as it doesn’t fit the narrative of attacking trans people.
Enemy Feminisms by Sophie Lewis – a Quick Review
