There’s a post going around that points out how terfism is a gateway to white supremacy and I wish I had it handy because it’s extremely good
I want to add that radical feminism came from the conservative religious right via Catholic feminists like Mary Daly and Janice Raymond (the latter being the author of the foundational TERF text “The Transsexual Empire”). There were other feminist movements centred around Black women, around LBT women, working class women, even around sex workers (who often experienced multiple forms of oppression) that radical feminism developed as a reaction against, Marxist/materialist feminism in particular - it’s been argued that radical feminism developed explicitly as a reaction against this movement.
Radical feminism intentionally shifted away from these due to conflicting class interests (radical feminists were primarily middle class and many were academics) as well as it’s incompatibility with other feminist theory; Black feminism (/womanism) couldn’t draw a clean line between men as oppressor vs women as oppressed because it had to contend with the fact that white women not only oppressed Black men (and women) but used their perceived fragility as white women to do it. This fact completely undermines radical feminism’s foundational premise that patriarchy is the most significant form of oppression from which all others stem, and radical feminism was widely criticized for its myopic analysis.
Further, despite radical feminism’s association with lesbianism, it separated itself from the gay rights movement (what we’d now call the LGBT community) not just because it included gay men (consider the impact of HIV and the fact that male homosexuality is usually criminalised while female homosexuality isn’t) but because radical feminists saw lesbians as replicating heterosexism via butch and femme embodiments. They rejected trans women for “appropriating womanhood” (“the transsexual empire” really cemented this), they rejected bisexual women for loving men, and they rejected the LGBT community for its overlap with other movements that were in direct conflict with their own interests; many LGBT people were and are working class, involved in sex work, etc. Feminists in the gay rights movement cared about gay and bisexual men, and the sex industries have always included gay and bisexual men as well. I’d argue that there was a cultural difference too; besides being part of the ruling economic class themselves, radical feminists look down on movements and communities occupied by poor people, many of whom were involved in things radical feminists looked down their noses at eg partying and drugs. The celebration of sexuality that’s always been central to the gay rights movement (as much as it’s been recuperated now) was in conflict with the radical feminist view that sex is a form of violence. Gay men, bisexual women, trans women, and lesbian women of butch and femme embodiments were all “having sex the wrong way” in their eyes.
It seems hypocritical to some that radical feminists collude with the right wing, and to some extent it is ridiculous that a movement ostensibly working for reproductive choice will work with anti choice groups, but the interests of these groups are more closely aligned to radical feminist ideology than truly radical feminisms like Black feminism, materialist feminism etc. Radical feminists oppose open expressions of sexuality, they oppose working class movements, they oppose movements that seek to liberate marginalised men along with marginalised women, and they oppose the things marginalised women must do to survive, including selling sex.
Radical feminism originally toyed with the idea that sex differentiation is socially constructed (eg The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer talks about this explicitly) but abandoned it when they realised it logically follows that trans women are real women.
The radical feminist lens views all men as oppressors of all women, and in this conclusion they excuse all forms of oppression women perpetrate against men and other women alike; white women can’t really oppress Black men, ruling class women can’t really oppress working class men they employ or extract rent from etc. So radical feminism has, and always has had, a vested interest in maintaining systems of oppression that white middle and upper class women benefit from. If they actually did somehow end patriarchy, they’d have to reckon with the positions of power they occupy and how they oppress others via race, class, sexuality, disability etc. So truthfully, it’s in their best interest to maintain these systems of control and instead try to transfer patriarchal power into their own hands
Edit: Janice Raymond wrote the Transsexual Empire, I corrected this above
“If they actually did somehow end patriarchy, they’d have to reckon with the positions of power they occupy and how they oppress others via race, class, sexuality, disability etc.”
oh, well when you put it like that then DUHHHH yeah its like when you do class reductionism to get rid of identity politics or focus exclusively on identity politics to get rid of class dynamics, it makes capitalism impossible to deal with/comprehend/find a strategy against… you need BOTH intersectionalism AND class-dynamics to be able to understand why vertical powerstructures suck and flat/directdemocracy power structures kick ass
Girl, I'm sorry that people are treating you like garbage but you can't comment weird horny shit on people's posts.
That said, the terfs and nazis harassing you can eat shit.
i……. i….. i didnt even realize my animated pixel art gifs came across as…. is that why this is happening? oh god thank u for telling me i legit had no idea tha….
wait hold on was it the PHOTO of me sitting next to my dog??????
i was just….. thats just how i dress 99% of the time at home!!!! bra and unders!!!!! its not like i can leave the house that much during covid-times…. am i supposed to dress differently just for a random selfie???? i……
oh god……… maybe i AM bad at being a woman…. but at least im getting treated the same as how an equally-fat equally-ugly ciswoman would if SHE made the same mistake, right? cismen dont get treated like this for making this horrible stupid ridiculous naive mistake that i made, right? does that mean i qualify as A Wo-Man???
im so sorry everybody i didnt even realize thats what was freaking everybody out i thought you were just all super reflexively transphobic, im autistic AND tourettic AND ocd AND adhd ok i make this kind of mistake a lot but im trying to learn i swear!!!!!!
i thought if it wasn’t nsfw-enough for tumblr’s new extreme nsfwcontent-filters to censor it was just fine!!!! i didnt realize i had to match the level of my content’s nsfw-ness to the level of the content i was replying it to, i thought as long the poster was above-age and didnt specify being triggered by something in my content i could just reply with something i thought was really-really-really relevent cuz it’s all just one big tumblr unless otherwise specified!!!! NEBULOUS RULE SYSTEMS THAT REQUIRE YOU TO ADAPT YOUR BEHAVIOR ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS OR YOU END UP CAUSING IMMENSE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL HARM ARE VERY DIFFICULT FOR THE RIGID-MINDED OK!!!! IM TRYING MY BEST IM SORRY THANK YOU IN GODS NAME AMEN THE END GAME OVER PLEASE INSERT SECOND DISC
these terfs are all assuming so much about me. a lot of it directly contradicting what im trying to convey, based on the assumption that im dishonest about myself. like… i didnt HAVE to put that cry for help in my tags for that post. i put it in there cuz instagrammers have been making infographics and fake text conversations since 2 days ago saying the jewish side of my family is harvesting babies for satanic stuff and that i was incarcerated and shit? like just making up stuff about me cuz they think its funny? and then DMing me “look im on your side i just wanna let you know that this other guy, who My Account is FOLLOWING ON THIS SITE RIGHT NOW, made these fake text conversations about you making you look like a david fincher movie villain & Sent Them To The Police, JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW CUZ IM YOUR BUD”
like…. dude, im Blocking That Account, youre obviously Bein My Buddy On The Inside because youre trans-harasser buddies needed a way to make sure i saw that post to cause maximum emotional damage to me cuz youre all 4chan nazi shitheads who get off on putting people like me in the hospital…..
so i put in this cry for help in my tags cuz the 4channers are mass-reporting ME over stuff They Know They Made Up, so i have no recourse other than a report-war but i know i’ll lose cuz they got a million people and a billion accounts with a quadrillion followers….. and what happens?
the terfs see that cry for help and think “oh this person is sayin that other people are callin them a pedo? Didn’t Realize This Person Was A Pedo” like COME ON HOW ARE YOU THE SAME FOLKS THAT REFUSE TO BELIEVE TRANS PEOPLE ARE OPPRESSED
terf: the transfemale community is not allowed to have the majority of their members be of average attractiveness or below, even though men are societally-allowed to be unattractive like that, and we consider you men. we hold an unrealistically high standard of attractiveness for transwomen just like cismen do for us despite you having a biologically-masculine obstacle to achieving that same attractiveness that we don’t face. look like a supermodel/hollywood actress or we will call you delusional
trans women: ok im gonna follow societal standards of feminine beauty super-rigidly in order to satisfy your insane standards. in fact, im going to make it my personal goal/aesthetic
terfs: YOU CAN’T DO BIMBO STEREOTYPE STUFF THATS NOT ALLOWED. WE GET A FREE PASS FOR BEING FORCED TO FOLLOW THESE STANDARDS TO KEEP UP AND OF RECLAIMING THEM FOR OURSELVES, BUT YOU DONT GET TO DO SOMETHING EMPOWERING LIKE THAT BECAUSE A PROTEIN IN YOUR CELLS IS SHAPED LIKE THE WRONG ALPHABET LETTER. IN FACT YOU ARENT ALLOWED TO HAVE ANY LIBIDO. ALL OF YOU TRANSWOMEN HAVE TO BE ASEXUAL SUPERMODELS WHO SIMULTANEOUSLY AVOID SEEMING LIKE STEPFORD WIVES, OR WE DONT CONSIDER YOU WOMEN. WE CONSIDER OURSELVES FEMINISTS BTW
you really think a doctor-regulated regimen of estradiol & cyproterone acetate doesn’t do anything at all? like, nothing whatsoever?
ive had d-cups since i was like 16. theyre the result of an autism medication combo i was prescribed that later turned-out to Not be approved federally for anyone other than schizophrenic seniors. it was a huge class-action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson pharmecuaticals. i was told over and over again that me having these boobs was “bad” and “embarrassing” and “detrimental to your manhood, which is Bad” so i was like ‘Uhhhhhh ok i guess i’ll grow a huge beard? If that’ll make you all stop bullying me about these?’ the fact that having huge boobs DIDN’T make ME feel bad didnt really occur to me as something to worry about so i didnt even realize i was a translady until like a decade later (when i got myself started on HRT as fast as i could).… despite the fact that i had been obsessed with body-transformation sequences/narratives since i was like a toddler, exclusively ones in which the transformee acquired a more vulnerable, supportive, relateable form than the aggressive, rigid, unrelateable, depended-upon one they had prior….. what can i say: being raised in an evangelical christian community primes your mindset to be pretty oblivious towards Queer Theory or Intersectional/3rd-Wave Feminism???
my HRT didnt give me these boobs!!!! they reduced the amount of hair my body (& face, to a lesser degree) grows, softened my skin, started redistributing my waist fat to my hips, and have DEFINITELY been changing my physiology lemme tell you…. i cry WAY more than i used to, i CONSTANTLY blame myself whereby before id blame somebody or something else… and simple pictures/drawings canNOT turn me on anymore, i have to make sure the entire context of the characters doin the sexytimes makes perfect sense in my head or it dont do nothin for me. its like porn doesnt WORK for me anymore but suddenly these romantic/erotic written-stories really Really DO.
seriously, you can say “biology textbook” all you want, but when you have HIGHER estro levels and LOWER androgen levels than the average ciswomen (to compensate for still havin balls) that changes a LOT about your body after a year or 2 or 3 or 40. there are a LOT of anecdotes on transwoman forums about things like feet growing in size (like what sometimes happens to pregnant ciswomen due to a huge sudden change in hormone levels), body parts feeling completely different at the touch, finding themself becoming attracted to men more & more as they get later on in their HRT regimen (this one is controversial obviously but we’ve had to accept that it does happen to us…. we usually just conclude “maybe they were always attracted to men, but when THEY felt like men they couldnt accept that about themselves due to internalized homophobia/societal pressures?), even the refractory period just straight-up shrinking away into 0 minutes & 0 seconds.
The fat didn’t get redistributed to your hips, you have a massive potbelly, and you’re just a creepy old man. Not surprising you’re autistic. Get a therapist & remember that you’re not and never will be a girl<3
im not talking about my potbelly omg you really think im delusional enough to get my abdomen mixed up with the fuckin side of my hips???? the hipfat takes a long time to come in and i dont have that much of it yet but this is a basic function of estrogens, to redistribute fat.
i got a huge-ass potbelly because 1) im really fat, 2) i eat more sugary foods than i should instead of getting my fat from things like butter & milk & cheese & olive oil etc which would distribute better, and 3) my gender clinic endocrinologist guy made me start on spironolactone before i finally convinced him to switch me over to cypro, and spironolactone is well known to fuck with fat distribution in the same way sugarfat does, it’s even referred to as “spiro-belly”
us transpeople could all transition a LOT more effectively/attractively/healthily if ancient, debunked pharmaceutical standards & transphobic “slippery-slope” government policies weren’t putting so many obstacles in the way….
the people who say “none of u actually look like women, youre all fat hairy guys in little-girl clothing” are the same people sustaining the laws and misconceptions & myths that are ENSURING every generation of transwomen turns out this way. if somebody had told me as a prepuberty kid i could take pills once a day or shots once a month to gradually become a lady when i grow up instead of a dude, i would have JUMPED at that chance, and i would have transitioned so much more naturally id pass EASILY…. but no, because i started HRT at 27 due to the constant misdirection & misinformation of our transphobic society, i look like an extremely unattractive semi-androgynous person and thus am somewhat depressed about it.
so dont go around claiming its my fuckin fault!!!! pointing it out like im LESS aware of it than you!!!! gender dysphoria does indeed lead people to suicide!!!! i didnt choose to have these unceasing feelings since i was a fuckin toddler!!! your political movements are what fucked me up like this, or rather what prevented me from unfucking myself up in an incredibly-misguided attempt to “protect me”
EDIT: im sorry for swearing like that. it was bordering on emotional abuse and i apologize. i could talk about how unfair/constant this kind of treatment is but itd just be making excuses for the harm i caused by talking so aggressively & with such a threatening-vibe. im sorry i lost control to my feelings like that, and of all the terfs throwing stuff at me today, youre the only one who has a legit justifiable reason to be mad at me/scared of me because of these words
“When I thought I was a dude” you are a dude, except now you have gross man boobs
you really think a doctor-regulated regimen of estradiol & cyproterone acetate doesn’t do anything at all? like, nothing whatsoever?
ive had d-cups since i was like 16. theyre the result of an autism medication combo i was prescribed that later turned-out to Not be approved federally for anyone other than schizophrenic seniors. it was a huge class-action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson pharmecuaticals. i was told over and over again that me having these boobs was “bad” and “embarrassing” and “detrimental to your manhood, which is Bad” so i was like ‘Uhhhhhh ok i guess i’ll grow a huge beard? If that’ll make you all stop bullying me about these?’ the fact that having huge boobs DIDN’T make ME feel bad didnt really occur to me as something to worry about so i didnt even realize i was a translady until like a decade later (when i got myself started on HRT as fast as i could).… despite the fact that i had been obsessed with body-transformation sequences/narratives since i was like a toddler, exclusively ones in which the transformee acquired a more vulnerable, supportive, relateable form than the aggressive, rigid, unrelateable, depended-upon one they had prior….. what can i say: being raised in an evangelical christian community primes your mindset to be pretty oblivious towards Queer Theory or Intersectional/3rd-Wave Feminism???
my HRT didnt give me these boobs!!!! they reduced the amount of hair my body (& face, to a lesser degree) grows, softened my skin, started redistributing my waist fat to my hips, and have DEFINITELY been changing my physiology lemme tell you…. i cry WAY more than i used to, i CONSTANTLY blame myself whereby before id blame somebody or something else… and simple pictures/drawings canNOT turn me on anymore, i have to make sure the entire context of the characters doin the sexytimes makes perfect sense in my head or it dont do nothin for me. its like porn doesnt WORK for me anymore but suddenly these romantic/erotic written-stories really Really DO.
seriously, you can say “biology textbook” all you want, but when you have HIGHER estro levels and LOWER androgen levels than the average ciswomen (to compensate for still havin balls) that changes a LOT about your body after a year or 2 or 3 or 40. there are a LOT of anecdotes on transwoman forums about things like feet growing in size (like what sometimes happens to pregnant ciswomen due to a huge sudden change in hormone levels), body parts feeling completely different at the touch, finding themself becoming attracted to men more & more as they get later on in their HRT regimen (this one is controversial obviously but we’ve had to accept that it does happen to us…. we usually just conclude “maybe they were always attracted to men, but when THEY felt like men they couldnt accept that about themselves due to internalized homophobia/societal pressures?), even the refractory period just straight-up shrinking away into 0 minutes & 0 seconds.
I really wanna know what's genuinely wrong with you
i mean i was officially diagnosed with tourette syndrome, OCD, ADHD (inattentive type, not the hyperactive kind i just zone out and have maladaptive daydreams for hours & hours against my will) and autism… and ive lived in psychwards 5 separate times since i was 11, so…..
is that enough to satisfy your concept of who i am?
