Single-Sex Spaces for Me, But Not for Thee
Single-Sex Spaces for Me, But Not for Thee If women expect men to defend female single-sex spaces, they should take a hard look at the erosion of male space Janice Fiamengo There has been a good deal of talk lately about women’s spaces being invaded by biologically male persons identifying as women. Some women’s campaigners claim that the trans phenomenon constitutes an attack on womanhood itself , an attempt to “erase” women and replace them with men who perform womanhood. Some even call it a new form of patriarchy . But well before women had their single-sex spaces threatened, something similar had already happened to men. Beginning in the 1970s, men’s spaces were usurped, their maleness was denigrated, and policies and laws forced changes in male behavior that turned many workplaces into feminized fiefdoms in which men held their jobs only so long as women allowed them to. The very idea of an exclusively male workspace or club—especially if it was a space for socializing (not so