Watch: ‘Being A Woman Isn’t About Biology’ – The She Word Explores Women & Identity In Controversial Episode
The She Word’s latest episode explored a controversial topic relating to the identity of women. Guests engaged in a very current and divisive debate essentially boiling down to the questions asking, “What is a woman?”
Lecturer Maria Pisani gave a very eloquent and interesting opinion, tracing back earlier waves of feminism to explain that limiting the idea of a woman has never been conducive to the message of the movement.
“The argument that biology is destiny has been very damaging to women and to the feminist movement,” Pisani said responding to beautician Sue Caruana who essentially said that a man who changes their sex to become a woman will be a “transexual in their own right” but never an “actual fully-fledged woman.”
Caruana argued that she feels like the female identity is being overshadowed and that all the strides taken by women historically and to this day to reach equality and independence are being pushed aside.
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“I’m a woman, I had periods, I had a hysterectomy – a man who changes his sex into a woman is never going to experience those things,” Caruana explained, essentially boiling down the essence of being a woman to biology.
However, Pisani completely disagreed with this line of thought, arguing that this link between womanhood and biology has never helped the feminist movement. She further relayed her own experiences where this rationale was used as an attempt to limit her.
“I can remember being told as I was growing that my destiny was to be a mum, to get married first, and to have children. A career was never on the table – working was but not really a career – and there were certain jobs that I was interested in but told that I could not do.”
“For instance, and this is ridiculous, I was working in shipping and I wanted to work physically in the docks but I was told that I wouldn’t be able to drive a truck because I’m a woman and my brain isn’t wired that way,” she explained.
Pisani went on to say that up until recently – 1947 in Malta’s case – women weren’t allowed to vote because it was believed that they were not “biologically fit enough” to vote.
“They were told and held to a limited definition of what a woman can and should be.”
Pisani continued to admit that there are aspects of these conversations that confuse her and that she cannot say are her areas of expertise, for instance, pronouns, gender identities, and so on. But, she said, “As an intersectional feminist I recognise the different experiences of different women that are to a great degree affected by space and time.”
To illustrate this, Pisani explained that the experience of a 25-year-old woman in Malta in 2023 is very different from her experience at that age in the same country.
“The experience of a 25-year-old gay woman today is totally different to the experience of a 25-year-old gay woman in 1995; because space and time matter.”
“Since the beginning of the feminist movement, we’ve been about expanding the definition of a woman not narrowing it. Yes, women can drive a fucking truck, and yes a woman can choose not to have children and that doesn’t make her any less a woman. Just because a woman was born with no uterus, has never had a period, has had a hysterectomy, loves other women, loves many women, loves many men does not mean that they are any less of a woman.”
“By that what I’m arguing is that there is no one definition of a woman, it’s our experience determined by space and time, and these intersectional aspects (different vectors of power, racism, mobility, social class, gender, age) there is no one definition of the experience of being a woman.”
And this further tied into the conversation of trans women because Pisani explained that trans-women can call themselves women too, the same way a cis-gendered woman can.
“Can they talk and relate about periods? No. But I can tell you about many women that can’t talk about periods too, they can’t about migraines in menopause either.”
Women may not always relate to all feminine experiences in the same way, but that doesn’t mean that they cannot relate at all.
“They may not be able to talk about those things, but perhaps they can talk about sexual harassment.”
The podcast went on to discuss different aspects of this complex and intertwined subject. For instance, the fact that now parents are registered on birth certificates as parent one and parent two rather than mother and father.
Caruana, as well as other mothers, have expressed disappointment with this official change, stating that they want to be recognised for carrying and delivering a child, as well as dealing with the postpartum.
Meanwhile, co-president of pan-European political party Volt Malta, Alexia DeBono, explained why she considers herself gender fluid, saying that sometimes she doesn’t exactly feel like a woman and more like a “human blob”.
“I don’t always want to be fully acknowledged as a woman, I just want to be seen as human.”
With that being said, Debono ensured that being referred to as a woman would not offend her.
The She Word returns this Thursday.
Do you agree that the argument of biology limits women?
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