#(there are so many references to rad feminism and gender criticism)

[maslows-pyramid-scheme]

I’m reading Tell Me I’m Worthless by trans author Alison Rumfitt and, while I knew it would be bad, I didn’t realise it would be one of the most disgusting books I’ve ever read. It’s not ‘transgressive horror;’ it’s just sexualised gore.

(Example under the cut)

Here’s a passage from the book, where husband Edmund punishes too-young wife Emily for her curiosity (women keep disappearing in his study and she wants to know why) (he ties her up in the middle of the room and leaves):

Emily was frightened. The most frightened she had ever felt. She opened up her eyes again, and began to try to scream, but the gag was tied too tight around her mouth to even breathe properly, let alone cry for help. Her eyes registered something undenable. It blotted out the light that shone down hot from above her, it cast a shadow across her face. Was it Edmund? It was dark and faceless and red, the red of it dripping all around her, lling up her eyes and her mouth, investigating between her legs, pushing into her, waves of red owing up inside her cunt like cum, but so much more cum than could ever have been produced by a man, ballooning her useless womb until it was ready to burst inside of her. Red tore the fabric of the gag and slid down her throat, into her lungs and her stomach. Albion reached inside her, all around her, nestled against her, gnashed its teeth and ripped at her esh. You’re useless, you’re useless, you’re fucking useless, it screamed close in her ears, so she could feel its hot breath against her skin. This was what happened. That was what it felt like.

They found Emily’s body a week later beneath one of the pine trees near the house. Her womb and vagina had been surgically removed, although where the organs had gone was not clear.

I’d like to say it’s the only graphic description of a woman being ‘punished’ for something, but... it’s not. In one scene, a ‘lesbian terf’ rapes and chokes another woman with a strap-on (which makes her realise she’s actually trans too!); in another scene, the ‘lesbian terf’ is molested by a gender critical woman in a pub bathroom after a gender critical rally.

[scum-man-of-pesto]

i am genuinely curious how u can be radfem without being anti trans

I mean pretty easily? Radical feminism has some core tenets, like being against the sex trade, recognizing institutional sexism, being critical of things like kink and heterosexual power structures, and so on and so forth. In any instance it's critical to recognize that sex is an axis of oppression and those who are born and raised female will face that oppression no matter what in a patriarchal society.

That being said though, I'm not of the mind that transness relies solely on "sexist stereotypes" of men or women. I feel like in these (as in radfem) communities it's easy to be exposed to the absurd neoliberal ideologues concerning gender and be blackpilled into being against the trans community because at that point it's hard not to perceive the greater trans community as anything but the TRA caricatures that you inevitably have to debate with on any hellsite.

The thing is though, prior to those neolib types of people popping up within the last 10 years, we still had people transitioning to help with their dysphoria, and it's no secret that there were plenty of people who that did aid. Dysphoria is also something that goes much deeper than these "feminine = woman and masculine = man, except when it doesn't and that's also fine none of this is definable" sorts of takes that are prevalent in certain subsets of trans communities now. When I've tried to discuss in depth this subject with a TERF (as in explicitly anti-trans), the solution for dysphoria is always a non-solution, and that doesn't sit well with me. "They can go to therapy and find healthier ways to cope!" okay but many have done that a d it doesn't work, so now what do you propose? And that's never met with a direct answer.

In short, I think that trans people are real, often valid, and I understand that not everyone can transition medically. I see nb people as valid in their own right but not necessarily trans (although sometimes too). I think a lot of these topics need more nuance than either "side" is willing to give. I think it's absurd to be against transition for those who are struggling while not even being able to offer a better or proper alternative. But I also think it's absurd to say that transness is a choice or expression rather than something innate, because how could that be an axis of oppression then? I think it's a problem to obscure "woman" into something undefinable while it still exists as an axis of oppression as well. I feel that having the definition being based on femaleness frees women of many expectations and all of societal gendering, but I also have no issue including those who are struggling and transitioning as well. Radical feminists that I interacted with 10 years ago largely held the same sorts of opinions (well, not concerning nb identities bc most hadn't been exposed to that yet), but have shifted dramatically in the past several years. Many will admit it now too, I just reject it still. Also it's more common to be pro-trans or pro-nb amongst gen z rads. I know several who use pronouns that aren't she/her predominantly but are still radfems. They'll call themselves like, "transmasc woman" or just "dysphoric woman" bc they recognize and identify a tie to transness but also recognize that class structures are based on the way oppressors class them, not determined by them themselves, so they also refer to themselves as women. I think it's a more ideal model that anything we've used either 40 years ago or 4 years ago.

Anyway I've sort of rambled about nothing because I'm actively working while typing this, and I'm fairly certain that I've not worded a lot of this correctly too, so feel free to ask for clarity/elaboration on things or further discussion in general

[what-even-is-thiss]

I’ve been double checking I have all the right people blocked and it got me thinking. I have a lot of TERFs blocked and there’s a problem with people unknowingly reblogging radfem posts. So here’s a little guide by me. Feel free to add on if you have any tips and do reblog! I’m not tagging this because TERFs have a tendency to check tags about them.

Things to look out for in urls to avoid TERFs:

(All example usernames are ones I made up. Any real ones are coincidences. Keep in mind you should still look at the blog to double check. There are some people that just happen to have these elements in their usernames or are parody blogs)

The term radfem or parts of it by themselves. Ex: rad-billymayes, radfemdisney, femcandy-corn

The term terf itself. Ex: terfyladies, marvelterfs, terf-safesupport

References to hurting men and/or their private parts. Ex: smashingcocks1998, phallusdestroying, yeskillallmen

The term gender critical or gender crit. Ex: gender-critical-cat, gendercrittonystark, all-dogs-are-gender-crit

Women spelled as womyn or wombyn. Sometimes womxn, but that one is sometimes more trans inclusive so maybe not. (and some ppl don’t know about why trans people don’t like the history behind the spelling of womyn) Ex: womynspace, lez-wombyn, loveblanketsandwomyn, womxnofmarvel

Sometimes references to being an evil lesbian but you know, that one is less so and there are a lot of evil lesbians that aren’t mean to trans ppl so *shrugs* I’m not gonna give examples for this one.

Things to look out for in icons:

Diagrams of the female reproductive system

An artsy depiction of a uterus, sometimes with flowers as the ovaries

Lesbian looking classical paintings with lady breasts poking out (this one is less prevalent than the uterus thing but it’s a pattern I noticed. Keep in mind that most ppl with sexy renaissance paintings as an icon aren’t TERFs but it is a trend for some reason)

Things to look out for in posts themselves:

(Many TERFs don’t have obvious usernames or icons. Some of their blogs might even look like fandom blogs on the surface but once you look at them it’s clear that they’re transphobic. Their posts tend to have patterns. As usual, remember to check the blog to be sure. A banner saying TERFs don’t interact might not keep you safe)

Use of the term “gender critical”

Criticism of gender as a concept. Asserting that all gender is learned, expressing how gender as a concept hurts females and not males, etc.

Assertion that men are inherently awful

Talking about men getting into women’s only spaces/why women should have safe spaces

Discussing in detail why they think gender should be abolished

Talk of female genital mutilation to refute a point in an argument

Failure to realize that there is more than one female experience, over generalization, assumption that all females have had awful lives, no nuanced understanding of intersectional feminism, etc.

Asserting that feminism is only for women rather than a movement for everyone that should put most of its focus on women because they’re historically the more oppressed of the mainstream genders. Along this same vein they may assert that men need to get out of feminism and start their own separate movement.

Talk of violence against amab people. As a joke or otherwise.

Anti-religious sentiments. Not posts about being atheist, posts about wanting to eliminate all religion and focusing heavily on how some aspects of some religions are sexist. May or may not say nasty things about Islam or Christianity specifically.

Asserting that the OP they’re replying to is a homophobe with no real evidence provided or sketchy evidence at best (especially if OP is trans, a trans ally, and/or dating a trans person)

All of the sources they provide might come from the same website. If it’s not a mainstream news source look at some of the other articles on it. It could be a transphobic and/or misandrous website or blog.

Discussion of bi women that date men and criticism of them

Criticism of asexuality or pansexuality

Criticism of the split attraction model

Taking cheap jabs at their opponent’s hobbies or urls in replies

Criticism of neopronouns

Using “she” or any other pronoun in quotes when talking about a transgender and/or non-binary person

Discussion of people that have chosen to detransition

Discussion of children that want to transition and criticism of the adults that help them do so

Add on any you think I missed! Stay safe out there and don’t go reading through those blogs any more than you have to. They can be really scary or discouraging especially if you’re a trans person and/or have a loved one that’s trans. Again, reblog if you found this useful because I’m not putting it in any tags.

[thetrashiestoftrash]

Here are some signs that someone might be a terf. Most of them aren't conclusive, but they're a clue that maybe you should check their blog before reblogging their feminist takedown of whatever.

Referring to "males" where a normal human would say "men." This is a big one.

Discussion of gender that unnecessarily bring up sexual anatomy.

Vague criticisms of liberal feminism. There are valid criticisms (like the exclusion of women of color, or cozying up to megacorporations), but sometimes what they mean is "liberal feminists say we have to respect trans people"

Says "genderists" or "gender critical"

While we're at it, don't reblog from people who literally have "transmed" in their URL

Emphasis on keeping women safe from men. I know this sounds like a good thing, but make sure they don't really mean "keep trans women out of women's restrooms"

Known terf talking points, like "male socialization"

URL contains "rad." It sucks, rad is a cool word, don't let the radfems keep it.

URL contains words like "womyn"

URL has references to vaginas or other reproductive organs. Sometimes this is just a porn blog. Sometimes it's just someone who made a sex pun. Check it out.

URL contains, shall we say, the antifeminist stereotype of what a feminist is, like "yeah I'm a manhating lesbian who doesn't shave, so what?" Manhating lesbians who don't shave are super valid, I love you, but someone whose entire online persona is built on that probably has a fixation on all the dicks they haven't touched.

Be careful around discussions of sexual attraction and consent. A popular bit of terf rhetoric is "trans women are FORCING lesbians to have sex with them by playing the victim when we don't want to touch their penis!"

Is everyone spelling kung pow penis in the notes? He's not a terf, he's just a regular transphobe.

See if their info block is written in the same style as alt-right dudes with hentai icons. You know, "you might as well block me now, I'm everything you hate"

Sometimes people who say their gender is monster truck and their pronouns are rev/rer/revs are trolls. Wild, I know.

A definition of feminism that emphasizes women. I know it sounds counterintuituve, but when someone says "feminism is about freeing women from the patriarchy! Femininity isn't oppressed, womanhood is, and only women need freedom from that oppression!" it's a sign.

Just sort of. Read any discussion of gender, sex, and feminism critically. Check OP's blog. If the search bar ever gets its act together, search their blog for words like trans, gender, radfem.

It sucks that this is the world we live in. Terfs have co-opted a lot of feminist and LGBT+ talking points. Many of these aren't definitive signs of anything, so just because someone has a url like "bigmeanhairydyke" and complains about men doesn't mean they're a terf--it's like verbal terf bangs. The hairstyle itself is harmless, it's just popular with the wrong crowd.

But please, please check the blogs. Usually it's pretty obvious, no need to turn it into a witch hunt.

[snarltoothed]

I am well aware that roleplay is a hobby, yes. I was RP’ing to you to point out that you are a 20 year old RP’er likely with no formal education on the subject (which is fine! i’m also self educated, but if you cared about me actually having the “correct” information you would’ve tried to educate me or linked sources instead of passive aggressively painting me as someone without any knowledge or critical thinking skills from which I can form my own perfectly valid, albeit differing, opinions). If you consider yourself a feminist I don’t understand why you are going out of your way to aim scorning digs at other female and AFAB folk - I assume you were trolling the radfem and terfs interact tags looking for someone you’ve decided is exempt from your choice feminism because you disagree with them to argue with.

I don’t know where you got the idea that radical feminists are incapable of empathizing with female people who contribute to their own oppression, I try to stay away from the “rad fems” who base their ideologies on hatred of other women, as it is actually quite anti-feminist to tear your sisters down because they’ve had separate experiences and formed separate opinions. That’s what you mean by “critically” looking at a woman’s options and respecting her “choices”, right? (I feel like you meant prostitution - I have no hatred or judgement towards sex workers but framing prostitution of any form as a choice and not a desperate act of survival wildly misrepresents the majority of sex workers.)

As for respect toward trans people, I have no issue with gender nonconformity and I believe trans people deserve just as much respect as they afford others (which is how I view respect with EVERYONE). Certainly there are radical feminists who don’t respect trans people, as I’ve acknowledged already there are certainly people attracted to the movement because it provides an excuse to be inflammatory and disrespectful, but that can be said of any movement that has opposition. However, from what I have seen most of us have compassion for trans people, concerns for trans people (specifically regarding inadequately informed consent about medical procedures that can cause lifelong issues or fatal disease or medical emergencies), and many of us are very open to trans- and nonbinary AFAB people asking questions about rhetoric and theory and would be quite glad to include these groups in our discussions of gender, dysphoria, medical treatment, and sex-based oppression. We just dont happen to believe that an AMAB person forfeits all of their privilege as a male when they transition, or somehow obtains a lifetime of female socialization when they ask others to refer to them as she/her.

As far as there being no sex positivity in pop feminism that’s... just clearly untrue. Wasn’t it like, a feminist motto not even five years ago to “be a slut, do what you want!” as if what all women want is to sexually service every man they can because that is sooo empowering. All the scantily clad “feminist” personalities who claim revealing their nearly nude bodies to crowds at a sold out show or on camera for thousands of men to wank to that claim doing so is not at all damaging to the psyche, not at all damaging to their own self esteem or the self esteem of other women and ESPECIALLY young girls, but instead that it is an empowering position to be in - I’m thinking from early 2000s pop stars all the way to onlyfans. Sex positivity and sex work positivity have undeniably infiltrated feminism in the past 20 years and it’s successfully created a massive influx of teenaged girls trying to sell their bodies in one way or another because it’s “empowering” to be a sex object.

I do believe strongly in intersectionality in terms of race, sexuality, gender expression, and class. Many of the radfems I see are POC, most are gender nonconforming. Radfems simply do not believe AMABs can face sex based oppression. Kind of like how white people cannot face race based oppression, to put it beside a similar example.

Anyways, my apologies for the loose use of terminology, it was really not a well-thought out and thoroughly researched essay, just kind of a quick observation of my own development as a feminist and statement that my opinions are my own and no one coerced me or brainwashed me into having them. Good on you for completely ignoring the point and nitpicking because I used the wrong words to describe the wave of feminism that was mainstream in the 2000s and early 2010s though.

i can vividly remember arguing on some forum when i was like 10-12 (a decade or more ago) that despite “identifying as a woman” anyone born male recieves male socialization and cannot relate to the struggles of natal women/girls who have recieved female socialization... i had never heard of radical feminism and actually aligned with libfems for a few years in my teens before realizing that third wave feminism actually has nothing to do with liberating women from sexism and oppression and is a purely performative form of “activism”. despite condemning third wave feminism i did not immediately align with radical feminism or “TERFs” and shucked the idea of feminism as activism completely for another few years. tell me how exactly my fellow radical womyn brainwashed me

[burningtheroots]

This man really projects his own, misogynistic, violent fantasies because he knows that he‘s in the wrong.

Also funny how TRAs NEVER talk about these things although they accuse us of it despite the fact that no "TERF" has ever written/done something like this.

"Listen to trans women" is such a good thing because they expose themselves. Of course, TRAs only listen to themselves or secretly enjoy their protégée's misogyny …

I’m reading Tell Me I’m Worthless by trans author Alison Rumfitt and, while I knew it would be bad, I didn’t realise it would be one of the most disgusting books I’ve ever read. It’s not ‘transgressive horror;’ it’s just sexualised gore.

(Example under the cut)

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