ZestW

Alice Eve kicked up a hornet’s nest on controversy yesterday. This incident actually reminds me of the Patricia Arquette thing – Arquette attempted to make a feminist statement about wage equality, but instead of practicing intersectional feminism or inclusionary “yes AND” feminism, Arquette made it sound like wage equality was more important than LGBT rights or #BlackLivesMatter. Alice Eve was trying to comment on the Bruce Jenner situation with a feminist critique, but instead of making a statement of support for Jenner AND making some pointed feminist critique, Alice Eve came across like a transphobic bigot.

Star Trek’s Alice Eve has accused Bruce Jenner of “playing at being a woman” on her Instagram page. The 33 year-old says the former Olympic champion would not have “been a hero” if he had been born a woman.

“If you were a woman no one would have heard of you because women can’t compete in the decathlon,” said Eve. “You would be a frustrated young athlete who wasn’t given a chance. Until women are paid the same as men, then playing at being a “woman” while retaining the benefits of being a man is unfair. Do you have a vagina? Are you paid less than men? Then, my friend, you are a woman.”

“Your notion that Jenner is ‘playing’ at being a woman is honestly disgusting,” one user wrote on Instagram. Another said: “This is transphobia at its finest.”

Eve tried to engage with people before deleting her two posts.

“I do agree that the struggle for transgenders is unique and horrific,” she said. “However, I do want to also support a cause I strongly believe in, the right for women to have equal rights to men. The transgender equality struggle is the next one, as we all know. And very real it is, too.”

She then added a new Instagram post. In it, she said: “I’m not saying by identifying they are negatively impacting feminism, I am saying that we have to refine the language on this topic so all men, women and transgenders are accurately represented in their process of self-identification. Maybe this needs a little thought. Thank you for engaging with me on this subject, because I felt confused and now I feel enlightened and like I know what education I need to move forward.”

[From the BBC]

Ugh. Girl, know when to stop. I can’t make any excuses for her, nor do I want to. Her language is… wrong. It’s so wrong, it’s offensive. It’s so offensive, I don’t think her half-assed “thank you for enlightening me” statement is going to cut it. I don’t see how any self-identifying feminist can read “then playing at being a ‘woman’…” and think, “Ah, yes, good point.”

Here’s what I’d like to ask women like Patricia Arquette and Alice Eve: do you think there’s some kind of “limit” on the justice, tolerance and equality we can seek? Is it less of a feminist issue when an African-American mother buries a child gunned down by police? Is it less of a feminist issue to support transgender women against prejudice, bigotry and violence? Why does it have to be one or the other? It’s a big world and we can fight for many things all at once.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

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