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Cotton ceiling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cotton ceiling is the purported marginalization of trans women in queer sexual spaces.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] [excessive citations] The term has been the subject of criticism, with some arguing that the idea of the cotton ceiling is coercive.

History

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The term was coined in 2012 by transgender porn performer Drew DeVeaux, referring to the feeling of being invisible as a trans woman in queer sexual spaces.[9] The term gained wider use after a 2012 workshop at Planned Parenthood Toronto called, "Overcoming the Cotton Ceiling: Breaking Down Sexual Barriers for Queer Trans Women".[10][11]

Criticism

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British barrister Allison Bailey tweeted a criticism of the cotton ceiling with regards to the 2012 Planned Parenthood workshop. She wrote, "Stonewall recently hired Morgan Page, a male-bodied person who ran workshops with the sole aim of coaching heterosexual men who identify as lesbians on how they can coerce young lesbians into having sex with them. Page called [the workshop] ‘overcoming the cotton ceiling’ and it is popular."[12] She was asked by her employer, Garden Court Chambers, to delete the tweet and one other, the tweets, Bailey's gender-critical beliefs, and her treatment by her employers were subsequently the subject a discrimination action case.[13]

Rosie Swayne condemns accusations of the cotton ceiling being coercive, writing that the sexuality of trans women is so "policed" that entering into a discussion of the cotton ceiling will inevitably result in accusations "of being ‘rapey’".[14]

In her 2021 BBC article, "The lesbians who feel pressured to have sex and relationships with trans women" (initially titled, "We're being pressured into sex by some trans women"),Caroline Lowbridge wrote that the term cotton ceiling is "controversial."[15] In her article, Lowbridge spoke to lesbians who experienced internalized pressure into including trans women in their sexuality and, in at least one case, who's experiences of such pressure resulted in having unwanted sex with a trans woman.[10] [Note 1]

Notes

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  1. ^ The article itself was controversial.[16] The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit later ruled that the piece did not meet their expected standards because of its use of an unscientific survey, its failure to identify Get the L Out as an activist group with a specific agenda, and its misleading headline. The article was subsequently amended to address those concerns. However, the Unit also deemed that the article was a legitimate piece of journalism.[17]

References

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  1. ^ Trier-Bieniek, Adrienne; Householder, April Kalogeropoulos (12 July 2016). Feminist Perspectives on Orange Is the New Black: Thirteen Critical Essays. McFarland. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-4766-2519-5.
  2. ^ Srinivasan, Amia (19 August 2021). The Right to Sex: Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize 2022. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5266-4525-8.
  3. ^ Banerjea, Niharika; Browne, Kath; Ferreira, Eduarda; Olasik, Marta; Podmore, Julie (2019). Lesbian Feminism: Essays Opposing Global Heteropatriarchies. Zed Books. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-78699-532-2.
  4. ^ Beck, Koa (7 September 2021). White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-9821-3442-6.
  5. ^ Rossiter, Hannah (2016). The Cotton Ceiling and the Ghost Penis: Sex, Sexual Orientation and a Transwoman's Body. Conference of the Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand.
  6. ^ Steinbock, Eliza (2014). "Pornography". Transgender Studies Quarterly. 1 (1–2): 156–158. doi:10.1215/23289252-2399893 – via Duke University Press.
  7. ^ Kaas, Hailey (2016). "Birth of Transfeminism in Brazil: Between Alliances and Backlashes". Transgender Studies Quarterly. 3 (1–2): 146–149. doi:10.1215/23289252-3334307 – via Duke University Press.
  8. ^ Zamantakis, Alithia (2021-12-13). Thinking Cis: Racialized Cissexism, Cis-Heterosexual Men, And Cis-LBQ Women. Georgia State University (Thesis). doi:10.57709/26163765.
  9. ^ Steinbock, Eliza (2017-08-08). "Representing trans sexualities". In Smith, Clarissa (ed.). The Routledge Companion to Media, Sex and Sexuality. Routledge Handbooks Online. doi:10.4324/9781315168302. ISBN 978-1-138-77721-7. S2CID 158377654.
  10. ^ a b Lowbridge, Caroline (2021-10-26). "The lesbians who feel pressured to have sex and relationships with trans women". Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  11. ^ Sodha, Sonia (2022-05-29). "If a lesbian only desires same-sex dates that's not bigotry, it's her right". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  12. ^ Siddique, Haroon (2022-06-19). "Allison Bailey case is a microcosm of the wider debate about transgender rights". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  13. ^ "Allison Bailey: Barrister awarded £22,000 in discrimination case". BBC London. 2022-07-27. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  14. ^ Swayne, Rosie (2019). "Unqualified, middle-aged lesbian swerves abruptly out of her lane to talk about trans issues". In Banjerea, Niharika; Browne, Kath; Ferreira, Eduarda; Olasik, Marta; Podmore, Julie (eds.). Lesbian Feminism: Essays Opposing Global Heteropatriarchies. Zed Books. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-78699-532-2. I'd like to think it would not be necessary for me to utterly condemn any form of sexual coercion between individuals based on any form of ideology whatsoever, but hey, this might be on the internet – and where the 'cotton ceiling' is concerned, woe betide anyone who enters the conversation who doesn't want to be accused of being 'rapey'. But if you want to read some clarification on the issue, The Transadvocate offers some perspective with "Cotton Ceiling: Uncovering the Trans Conspiracy to Rape Lesbians" (Williams, 2013).
  15. ^ Lowbridge, Caroline (2021-10-26). "The lesbians who feel pressured to have sex and relationships with trans women". BBC. Retrieved 2024-07-16. The term "cotton ceiling" is sometimes used when discussing these issues, but it is controversial.
  16. ^ Parsons, Vic (2021-10-27). "BBC defends anti-trans article blisteringly condemned by thousands as 'fake news'". PinkNews. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  17. ^ Waterson, Jim (2022-06-01). "BBC says article on trans women did not meet accuracy standards". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-16.


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