Why Does Shaun Only Say 'Trans Men' Twice in a Video About Transphobia?

A trans man's response to Shaun on YouTube.

Shaun’s newest video “Kellie-Jay & the Neo-Nazis” [1] is great, but as a trans man, I found it a tad lacking.

As it stands, it is a superb exploration of the derangement and sickness that underlies transphobia generally. However, Shaun would have benefitted from seeking more input from trans men on the topic.

Where could Shaun have done better?

1. While discussing trans bathroom accessibility, Shaun cites the June 2023 instance of a man questioning a 9-year-old’s gender at a sporting event. He states, “Kellie-Jay Keen doesn’t mind these sorts of false accusations being thrown at cis women and girls.” I understand that this point was made in context to dispel rumors of Kellie-Jay Keen’s feminist leanings. However, Shaun would have been good to additionally cite an instance of a trans person being accosted in a public bathroom (such as the July 2022 assault of Noah Ruiz) to exemplify how this conversation specifically impacts trans people.

2. While discussing “people that [Keen] sees as women” (i.e., trans men), Shaun comes face-to-face with the masculine dichotomy, yet fails to call it out as such, perhaps lacking the language to do so:

“I have to admit, I chased my tail on this one for a while. One minute, [Keen] refers to trans men as poor little victims who need to be protected from damaging their own bodies, and the next minute, she refers to them as dangerous abusers who need to be sterilized to prevent them from reproducing.” (49:40)

When confronted with this point of oppression for trans men, Shaun consults his girlfriend, who is presumably NOT a trans man:

“…My girlfriend pointed out that Keen is operating on zombie rules. From her perspective, everyone starts out as a potential victim, but the moment they are actually victimized, as she sees it, they become infected and cease to be human. The key to understanding this contradiction turned out to be dehumanization.” (50:09)

This is not the full story.

The dehumanization of trans men occurs two ways: we are maligned as confused little girls, or we are maligned as dangerous men. The dehumanization occurs before the bite, to use the zombie metaphor. In short, it is not mere transphobia to call for the sterilization of “people that [Keen] doesn’t like.” It is a call for violence specifically aimed at trans men borne out of the masculine dichotomy. I question why Shaun chooses to analyze this issue through the lens of the bigot, rather than through the lens of someone affected by their bigotry. Overall, this section of the video could have been greatly improved if Shaun had considered the input of a trans man who has experienced this discrimination firsthand.

3. At one point, Shaun does flash on the screen a specific instance of discrimination against a trans man but does not label it as such. Despite the man in his screenshot declaring;

“I can be girly whether or not I’m a man.that [sic] being said, I AM.”

Shaun chooses to refer to him as simply a “trans person.” I would have appreciated more upfront language.

4. In general, I would suggest that Shaun research the experiences of trans men to the same thorough degree as other groups, like trans women—as exemplified in this video. He does a careful job to highlight the stories of individual trans women and rightly suggests that this is a by-product of a much more sinister oppression. I hope in the future he extend the same amount of curiosity and care to trans men.

It speaks to the strength of the piece how little I am able to critique. I commend Shaun for his thorough and uncompromising look at the transphobe known as Kellie-Jay Keen.

— C.

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Notes:

[1] Shaun’s original video is linked here:

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