Periodic Reminder That If You Think One Type Of Trans Person Is "more Oppressed" Than Another Type Or

Hi, I'm genuinely looking for an explanation here and not looking for an argument /srs

Can you explain how calling a transfem a TERF for spreading ideology that I genuinely assumed was included in the definition of TERFism is othering ? Not to be that guy, but I'm autistic and I'm having a very hard time connecting the points you're making, and I genuinely want to learn and understand what you're saying /gen

Again, I do hope this doesn't come off as hostile, I am genuinely trying to learn and understand better, and I want to be able to fix misconceptions about what a TERF is in my own mind, and I haven't seen anyone bring this point up before /gen

You absolutely do not have to answer this, but I hope you have a fabulous rest of your day, and I do apologize for what I said, as it wasn't necessary for me to comment on the situation.

Yeah totally! Okay, I got a lot of this from Ibram X. Kendi's "How to be Antiracist"* where he talks about describing "racist" as an identity means that hardly anyone is going to ever "identify" with it, even if they are a racist. It's much more helpful to talk about actions being racist or anti-racist. Someone committing racist acts speaks far more to the vulnerability of anyone to cause harm, rather than it being something ONLY reserved for someone with the identity of "racist". For example, Clarence Thomas, a black man, has done untold amounts of harm to the black population in the US. If we subscribe to the "oh, (X) can't be racist, they are (a minority)" train of thought, it means people are less likely to understand that Clarence Thomas commits racist acts. In the same way, describing yourself as an anti-racist is not enough, as it can let people be comfortable with racist actions because they think "oh, I'm an anti-racist, I can't commit acts of racial harm." That's why it's more helpful to describe acts as racist and anti-racist rather than framing them as identities.

In a similar way, describing someone as the label of "TERF" can have a similar effect. Because it's specifically a label centered around being anti-trans, transgender people of all kinds will easily assume they cannot be transphobic, because the label of TERF is ideologically opposed to their existence. It invites ridicule rather than introspection. By saying actions can be transphobic, I think it helps a lot more because it's easier to understand that trans people can be transphobic. For example, Blaire White is right there. Despite being a trans woman, she is actively doing transphobic acts. By calling out an action as transphobic rather than describing someone as a "TERF", it helps fight back against the idea that being trans means you cannot be transphobic. For a super duper simple example, I can step on my dogs tail, but it doesn't mean I hate dogs, it means I committed an act of harm against my dog. Describing me as a dog-hater when I LOVE dogs would invite ridicule more than it would a tendency to watch my step when my dog is in the house. I hope this makes sense!

*I'm not trying to say the Black and Trans experience is exactly the same, just that like any oppressed group, there is a lot of overlap in tactics and thinking, especially for people who are Black and Trans. Reading about other groups can really give you a ton of helpful insight on how to work within your own identity!

People who deny the existence of transandrophobia tend to focus on 2 types of trans men:

Pre-transition or very early-transition men, who are often closeted/treated as women by society.

And post-transition men, who are stereotyped as passing perfectly and having all of the privileges and power of cis men.

They use the post-transition man as an example of the supposed “systematic power” they believe ALL trans men hold, claiming he directly oppresses him and benefits from the patriarchy. They ignore the fact that in order to maintain any semblance of this he must be closeted and hide the fact that he is trans at all times. They ignore that he will still inevitably face medical discrimination, as the medical field is notorious for treating transmasc individuals poorly. Because this man is indistinguishable from a cis man in their eyes, it becomes morally acceptable for them to hate him.

And they use the pre-transition trans man as a punching bag. They stereotype him as a “whiny, privileged he/they” that “weaponizes and clings to his femininity” and always plays the victim. Notably, they echo all of your standard truscum bullying tactics. They mock his choice of name, stereotype his interests as “cringe” or childish. They treat him not as a trans man, but as a future detransitioner, a future terf, a cringey teenage girl. And if they can make themselves believe that he’s not truly trans, he becomes the perfect “acceptable target.” After all, trans people can’t really bully their oppressors, so when they do it, they’re actually punching up.

Now, their perceptions of these men are bullshit, obviously, but what’s even worse is their refusal to acknowledge the third and most common group of trans men in the community: Mid-transition/visibly transgender men.

Men with visible facial hair, low voices, and breasts. Men who have traits that are commonly regarded as both feminine and masculine. Men who cannot afford or do not personally desire top surgery, but have decided to hormonally transition. Men who have fully transitioned, but enjoy dressing in clothes society deems “feminine.” Men who have not transitioned medically, but have masculine haircuts and clothing and names. Literally any trans guy with visible top surgery scars.

The list goes on.

The people who claim transandrophobia isn't real refuse to acknowledge that visibly transgender men even exist, because these men don’t fit into their worldviews and weaken their arguments.

At the end of the day, society hates anybody they can identify as trans, most often anyone who’s visibly GNC and/or visibly transgender. Cis people react to your existence with disgust and fear. It doesn’t matter if you’re a trans woman, a trans man, nonbinary or intersex- if they cannot sort you neatly into the categories of “man” and “woman”, you are regarded as something that’s not truly human, an enemy. And because it’s all based on perception, even perisex cis people are caught in the crossfire of this- especially if they’re POC.

Those who deny this are contributing to the erasure of trans men and enabling future violence against them.

for no reason whatsoever here’s a reminder that if you consider yourself a leftist/punk/abolitionist/anarchist/radical in any sort of way and get called into jury duty, you are to become the most square person on earth during the jury questionnaire!!!

don’t be that guy who says fuck the police in the jury questionnaire! that just gets you sent home! if you want to generate change, interact with the case and use your jury vote for good! ESPECIALLY if it’s a high profile case!

Are you actually ‘unsafe’ because of the mere existence of trans men or are you just still wrapped up in gender essentialism and don’t want to do the work of breaking down and reevaluating your bigotries and biases?

Bigots in the tag, with their full chest: "Trans men only use the word transandrophobia to complain about trans women!"

Actual posts in the tag:

"My ex assaulted me when I came out as trans, because he thought getting me pregnant would make me stop taking T."

"My mom told me that transitioning would make me aggressive and sexist, because testosterone is an evil hormone."

"I wish people here were nicer to trans men. It feels like the farther along I get in my transition, the more I am excluded by the LGBT+ community."

Like, go ahead and say you've never actually listened to a trans man when he's talking about his oppression. Transandrophobia is NOT about trans women, it's about the struggles trans men and transmascs face.

Them having a word doesn't hurt you, stop being a massive pissbaby.

straight transmasc people i love you so much and your attraction to women is not inherently "icky" or "dirty" or whatever other word terfs are trying to throw into the queer community nowadays

I'm so over self described "TME" folks, who are beyond white, making posts either:

- "We are less oppressed bc (makes up a person of color), is more oppressed so tmes- (proceeds to be transphobic) (white savior moment)

- Wishing to commit hate crimes against supposed "TME"s

- Generally being horribly transphobic hiding it behind "protecting trans fems" or "THEYRE WHITE THEY/THEMS" etc

Like you just sound like a toxic asshole. The amount of trans folks who call themselves tme just projecting their insecurities, jealousy, etc. on other trans masculine folks, esp those talking about their own oppression?

They're being transphobic, straight up. Even racist as a treat.

Nobody asks you to do this, it is detrimental and also just plain nasty, like congrats your transition was so easy, you think this is so easy? Sounds like you just want a reason to be nasty and continue to not unlearn internalized everything because you're white and had an ~easy~ time transitioning or whatever.

"Trans men and women are both suffering" and "trans women are often specifically targeted by bigotry and harassment even within their own communities and deserve to be able to talk about their own unique challenges without being talked over" and "trans men are often erased from conversations about how bigotry and transphobia targets them and are not exempt from all the horribly draconian laws transphobes are attempting to pass" and "being trans doesn't make you immune to participating in horrible transmisogyny even and especially if you aren't aware you're doing it" and "holy shit don't reinvent bioessentialism but for trans people like holy fuck men are not destined to be evil and women aren't automatically incapable of harm" are all opinions that can and fucking SHOULD coexist

Would you consider the ridicule and degradation of people with micro penises a form of intersexism??? Cause ive been thinkin about it a lot and the opinion of an intersex person would be nice (and any other intersex people who see this if yall would like please!)

Yes, it's definitely a microaggression. (For those who don't know, a micropenis is enough to qualify someone as intersex given it is two standard deviations below average for their body size). I personally don't really care and make small dick jokes about myself with my friends all the time but I do believe it's just another form of body shaming that people find acceptable.

My general thoughts on small dick jokes are that yes it's intersexist but there's much worse forms of normalized intersexism to focus on. People are always gonna say mean stuff about other people's bodies, and in the grand scheme of things, making fun of guys in huge pickup trucks for presumably having a tiny penis doesn't hurt me any worse than those jokes about people with blue eyes being scary.