#How trans activism harms women

[genderqueerdykes]

if you are a trans man or masc, masculine nonbinary, genderqueer, genderfluid or other gender non conforming identity, masc gay, a bear, a butch, stud, or boi, or other masculine queer person and don't feel welcome in any queer spaces, you're not alone.

the communities both irl and online have become EXTREMELY hostile toward mascs and men to the point of straight up excluding us and changing their wording to justify their violent exclusion. from renaming nonbinary spaces to "femme & them" and "she+" spaces, to telling men & mascs that they would "Scare" the women and "nonbinary" folks just by being there, as if masculinity and manhood are inherently traumatizing to be around.

masculine and male nonbinary folks have it so hard- most nonbinary spaces are almost definitely women's spaces who also conflate womanhood with nonbinaryhood, and often times just view nonbinary people as confused women. we are not inherently traumatizing to be around: masc enbies need places to go. we are still nonbinary and still trans and still queer for fucks' sake

nonbinary has never and will never mean femme or woman-adjacent inherently. nonbinary means what it means: people who don't or refuse to adhere to the gender binary, regardless of what side it is. masculinity is included in this, femininity is not the only way to be nonbinary.

masc queers do not have to bend over backwards to try to be more feminine and thus "less threatening" in order to have places to go. that's dysphoric and just inaccurate to a lot of queer folks' identity and presentation. it blows my mind because it makes no sense, anyway, even within the gay community, hypermasculinity has been present and even sought after by some people who find it very attractive, twunks, hunks, bears... but between the periods in queer history people started viewing masc gay leathermen and kinksters as the ones who were responsible for spreading AIDS and thus removing them from pride parades,

AND the lesbian separatism moment picking up to remove butches & male & masc lesbians from lesbian spaces identity, paving the way for modern rdical femniism, we've only entered a downhill landslide of hating men and mascs and ultimately trying to erase us from the queer community entirely.

the queer community is not the "women & femmes community". the queer experience is broad and vast, it includes a wide variety of masculine and male experiences, as well as genderfluid, multigender, completely ungendered and other gendered experiences. the lesbian, trans, bisexual, nonbinary, gay and general queer communities aren't the "safe place to hide from men & mascs community" like estranged rdfems and terfpilled trans folk like to tell you they are.

this is the QUEER community and it includes ALL forms of queerness, masc, femme, butch, male, neutral, bigender, neutral, and all. he/shes and he/hims and he/theys and he/its and so on are just as much of a part of this communities as she/hers and they/thems. you can't cast a blanket of "inherently abusive" over all men and mascs and one of "inherently abused/incapable of being abusive" over all women and femmes because that just traps you in a fantasy land that doesn't exist AND it prevents mascs and men from getting the help, resources and community they NEED.

men & mascs are hurt and abused by women & femmes every day and we refuse to speak about them because we live under a white cisheteronormal patriarchy and have complaints about how that functions. the complaints are legitimate but assuming that all men and mascs are oppressing all women and femmes and that women can never be oppressive is a false as hell narrative that actively damages people.

enough is enough. this mindset is hurting people. it's leaving masc and male queers to be estranged, harmed and even dead. i care about you if you're being affected by this mentality and these behaviors. you deserve community, safety, and a sense of belonging, you do belong, even if we struggle to form our own spaces due to unjust hatred. we will do our best to band together and keep each other safe. we must

[punkitt-is-here]

I think it's kind of hilarious how the exact kind of people you are talking about in the post are the ones that are so wildly misinterpreting your words. tumblr never changes I guess! stay silly

Yeah, I had some folks confused why I specified "trans women" in my post and it's like well!! There they are! I'm really glad Ibram X. Kendi had a whole, like, chapter specifically about "being part of a group does not make you immune to causing harm" in "How to be Anti-Racist"* because reading that in college fundamentally changed the way I approach activism and discussing issues, especially queer ones.

*I am not comparing Black and Transgender issues in a direct 1-to-1 fashion but merely talking about how anti-racist practices have a lot of very universal principles that can be applied to your own activism! It's important to read about these things to gain insight on the struggle of the poor and disenfranchised in general

[vintage-bentley]

David Tennant is a perfect example of how gender ideologists are their own worst enemy. Repeatedly, it’s their own awful behaviour that turns people against them. Look at JK Rowling: it wasn’t just what she said that got people siding with her, it was the reaction from gender ideologists. If they had just brushed her off and ignored her, I don’t think she’d be as relevant in the debate as she is now.

So now we have Tennant, hailed as an amazing trans ally to the point that he wins an ally award for textbook performative allyship. And he decided to call gender critical feminists “little whinging f------” (no idea what the f word is, this is from the Telegraph), continuing with “who’re on the wrong side of history and they’ll all go away soon”.

Women who are simply concerned about our sex-based rights. About the protection of women as a class in law. About the ability to organise together without the presence of male people, which is crucial for class consciousness and therefore feminist progress. Lesbians who are being told we’re bigoted for not being attracted to males, and that we need to change (who I mention because lesbians have been very vocal in this debate for this reason).

This is a heterosexual male who is looking at these women, and deciding that our very real concerns are just “whinging”. Because of course he is, our concerns don’t affect him. Of course he claims we’ll “go away soon”, presumably because men like him will silence us. This is the same shit that was being said about the suffragettes. About the Me Too movement. About any kind of feminist movement. That we just need to shut up and go away.

And we’re supposed to believe that this typical male view of women is super progressive this time, because it’s in the name of trans activism?

Less and less people are willing to believe that. More are starting to see the misogyny and homophobia that fuels gender ideology, all because the people who advocate for it are always so quick to let it show.

They are always so quick to claim that their biggest enemies are feminists, and not the violent men that actually wish them harm. They are always so quick to attack women first and foremost.

And people are noticing. They noticed when JK Rowling started to speak up, and they’re noticing now that a male celebrity has gone on record voicing hatred for feminists in the name of gender ideology. They’ll notice again when the next celebrity either speaks up or bashes women.

I hope Tennant enjoys his shiny ally award, all while his actions are causing women to turn against him and his cause.

[genderkoolaid]

part of transmasc erasure is the assumption that because we aren't "the most vulnerable" in a specific context, we are already having our needs met in that context, so there's no need to bring us up at all.

trans men, particularly Black & otherwise multiply marginalized trans men are at higher risk of murder because of their (intersectional) transmanhood. yet you rarely hear people discussing transmasc relationships with violence especially IPV, how anti-transmasculinity is related to femicides, how erasure leads to trans men dying and never being known as trans men so they are not included in the data. because they aren't the most at risk, so why bother, right?

but they still suffer greatly and that suffering comes from + is compounded by the work of erasure. there is throughout the world a severe lack of transmasc/FTM-centered resources, especially as it relates to topics associated with women such as femicide, menstrual poverty, sex work, etc. there is an implicit assumption that if transmascs are the most affected, then we don't need support directed at us specifically. but we do & that support by and large does not exist. because neither the perpetrators nor the allies see beyond erasure.

so where do we go? how do we seek healing? justice?

and then of course there are the contexts where data suggests we ARE the most affected. and still no one brings it up. multiple studies show transmascs having the highest rate of suicidal ideation & attempt, yet personally I rarely see people specifically talk about anti-transmasculinity when talking trans suicide rates. there are people who consider themselves pro-trans, pro-choice, intersectional feminists, yet never think about how transmascs are uniquely affected by lack of access to menstrual care or reproductive care. it's almost like the goal of erasure as a systemic tool is to make one's oppression unspeakable and unthinkable. it doesn't actually protect us at all.

we are more vulnerable than cis women, but still deemed unimportant enough to ignore twice. we are hated enough to be hurt without repercussions and disposable enough that no amount of harm is proof that we are victims deserving of a voice. even those that should be our allies see our absence as natural and comfortable, and when we insist on our presence, call it artificial and unnerving.

solidarity with transmascs means bringing us up every time we are denied a seat at the table we are actively dying beneath. assume transmasculinity is always relevant.

[thehmn]

I’m intersex and I’m very hesitant to make this post because it could very quickly turn into a shitshow if I don’t word my thoughts correctly, but I’ve noticed a small, slowly growing trend and I think it’s important to talk about this before it gets out of hand.

I’ve seen a couple of posts with a lot of likes and reblogs where trans people accuse intersex people of being transphobic when they want hormonal treatment or surgery for themselves to look more female or male. It’s never about forced surgery on intersex children, but specifically about adult intersex people who want treatment for themselves. In these posts people see it as subconscious transphobia because they think this mindset is supporting the gender binary and harms trans and nonbinary people who technically get intersex bodies once they start to transition with hormones and surgeries. In their eyes not only are intersex people who use hormones/surgery to visually get out of the intersex sphere abandoning trans people, they’re also working agains nonbinary people who use intersex people as proof that there are more than two sexes which justify the existence of more than two genders.

The fact that there are a lot of similarities between trans and intersex people should be obvious. Both groups are saddled with bodies that doesn’t necessarily represent their gender and both can experience severe body dysmorphia, but at the end of the day the biggest difference is that the bodies of intersex people change on their own.

If you’re trans, imagine if you were assigned your preferred gender at birth and was perfectly content and happy in your gender experience when you suddenly hit puberty and start developing sex characteristics that goes against your gender and suddenly people around you start telling you you’re not actually the gender you think you are. Basically, imagine the way you felt before you came out/transitioned, except reversed.

I can for the life of me not understand why a trans person who thinks hormones and surgeries are acceptable for trans people can’t extend that mindset to intersex people.

It’s an ongoing debate among intersex people wether we belong in queer spaces and I can see both sides. A lot of intersex people consider themselves cishet people with a birth deformity who aren’t any more queer than people with dwarfism. Other intersex people feel more at home in queer spaces because there’s generally more acceptance of people who fall outside the norm.

But at the same time, in my experience, you get a lot of the same questions in both spaces. Both queer and cishet people often assume intersex means nonbinary, and I’ve been asked more than once how intersex people can call themselves cis or trans when their bodies fall outside the two majority sexes, forgetting that it’s all about what gender you were assigned at birth.

This leads to situations where you’ll meet trans men with functioning penises and trans women with natural breasts. A child might be born with something that looks like a vagina with a big clitoris and be assigned female but once they hit puberty the big clitoris becomes a small penis.

And even if they’re trans and start developing sex characteristics more in line with their true gender they might not be ready for it yet. As a teenager you become a target if you stand out so if you’re a trans girl living as a boy and you suddenly develop breasts that can be horrifying.

I personally experienced a much milder version of this. As a child I was perfectly content with people calling me a girl but I also felt like a different kind of girl. Not in a “not like the other girls” or tomboy way. More like a girl with something else in the mix. It was a very physical feeling because I was naturally stronger and more boyish looking than other girls and I didn’t really feel like I fit in with either boys or girls but at the same time it didn’t bother me when I was grouped in with the girls during school activities. I’d play around with makeup in my room, giving myself a beard and chest hair without wanting to be a man. It just felt like the right mix. Then I hit puberty for real and developed breasts and hips but also a full beard and chest hair. Despite all the times I had done it to myself I was mortified. This wasn’t something I could take off. I stood out wether I wanted to or not. Shaving left me with stubble. People looked. People commented on it. And my breasts didn’t grow super big and a lot of my body fat sat on my stomach like on a man, which meant if I didn’t wear a very flattering bra and feminine clothes I was sometimes mistaken for a chubby guy with manboobs. I was NOT ready for that. I was already struggling to fit in at a new school so this was like a social death sentence, not to mention I wasn’t sure about my own gender yet. It was something I should be allowed to work out on my own in peace when I was ready for it without people constantly asking what I, a child, had in my pants.

So hormones was a gift that allowed me to “transition” when I was ready for it at a later age. I’m off those hormones now and live as a “woman with something extra” like I always knew I was, but the things I had to go through as a child makes me very sympathetic to intersex people who does not feel that way and just want to be a man or woman with nothing extra because that’s their gender and like everyone else they want their gender and gender expression to align.

I don’t think it’s fair to expect people to be a martyr for other people. Most intersex people think trans rights are important but that doesn’t necessarily mean they belong in that debate. I know a lot of trans people who think women’s rights are important but feel no obligation to help the cause by sharing their experience of what it was like living as one gender and then another and how much respect and dignity they gained or lost after they transitioned.

So while I understand the natural instinct of wanting intersex people be part of a lager cause I also think it’s unfair to call intersex people who want to look like their preferred gender transphobic.

I really hope I made myself understood and that this isn’t an angry post. I just saw this “intersex people are transphobic for taking hormones” opinion with little to no understanding of the intersex experience and I’m hoping to shed a bit of light on that ❤️

[genderqueerdykes]

I saw a post fairly recently about how trans men can't reclaim the t slur because it's not directed at them. Trans mascs rightfully got in the comments and called them out for it, talking about their own experiences with getting called. Op clapped back with "think about when the average person here's the term they're thinking of a trans fem stereotype."

A piece of me wishes I could've snapped back with, "the same could be said about the word trans itself." I've met far too many people who are hateful talk about how it's so interesting that "men want to be women" but it's not the other way around. Never mind the fact that I a trans man who lives stealth was sitting next to them. Trans men are so far removed from the conversation that by that logic Trans doesn't belong to Trans men/mascs because the average person is going think of trans women a majority of the time unless they are active in the queer community or have a loved one who's a trans man.

yeah that's bullshit because trans men get called ugly tranny dykes literally all the time. people are so proud to admit they've never once tried to look into transmasculinity and transmasculine history period. like i'm calling people out on their shit. you know nothing about transmasc, trans male and butch history if you seriously think we're not affected by tranny. we're also tranny fags to others. we constantly get called tranny faggots. i'm not sure why people think transness only applies to transfeminine people. like. people DO catch on to the fact that transmasculine people are on hormones sometimes or are presenting as men and call us trannies.

like once people do catch on to the fact that there are transmasculine people and trans men, they call us trannies all the same. it also affects trans men and mascs who are perceived as trans women and transfems. it affects intersex people. it affects nonbinary people. it affects genderqueer people. it affects drag kings

I've met far too many people who are hateful talk about how it's so interesting that "men want to be women" but it's not the other way around. Never mind the fact that I a trans man who lives stealth was sitting next to them.

say it. it's just way too common. that's how uninformed cishet people view transness and i don't know why we're propagating it inside of our own community. some people want to control the narrative so bad, it makes me wonder if the reason people are attempting to silence transmascs is literally for that exact purpose. like transness comes in multiple forms.

testosterone is also a hormone. HRT is not synonymous with estrogens. changing your body with testosterone is transsexuality/transness. masculinizing is transness. presenting as a man is transness. we have to stop associating trans with purely feminine. this leaves out SO many butch trans women. so many masc and genderfluid trans women. it leaves out so many people on all sides.

there's not one way to be trans. trans men still face transphobia, and yes, including transphobia unique to transmasculine experiences and those interpreted to be transmasc.

the trans community is not the trans woman/transfemme community. that is the trans woman/transfemme community. those communities are plentiful and right there.

we have to let go of whatever this control freak desire is to shut other people out but it's not hurting us to exist alongside other people and not police their language. you're not literally being harmed by being exposed to transmasculinity and trans manhood. can we as trans women and transfems exist alongside other trans people WITHOUT telling them what they do and don't experience, and policing their language.

this is so old. stop it. there's no reason to be this hostile. we don't own transness. it's a diverse spectrum. you're literally holding yourself back by feeling this way. it's not helping you toward feeling comfortable as a trans woman. you're making your entire life about your suffering and nothing else. you're not more legitimately trans than other people because you're very oppressed. transness is not on a scale of least to most oppressed in terms of legitimacy. let go. liberate yourself.

[kick-a-long]

Leftists and tankies talk about Israel like maga and republicans talk about trans people. They hyperventilate about shit that doesn’t affect them that they do not understand and only want more harm to fall on not just Israelis and Israel but also Jews and anyone that doesn’t exactly participate in their hierarchical bullshit. Just like bigotry against trans people spills over to hurt all gender identities, sexual orientations, women generally as well as men who don’t perfectly perform gender no matter how cishet they are, the far left’s antisemitism has fucked over any goyim who doesn’t want to live under christofascism or throw themselves or their community into the fire (literally, anti Israel ppl ask ppl to light themselves on fire) for the sake of a complex subject that the far left actively avoids learning about themselves. Oh! And let’s not forget the terrorism. Both domestic, foreign, and hate crimes that trans ppl and Jews have been facing for just doing community service/outreach or living their lives.

On top of that, the hate has a hugely negative impact on the groups the hate is meant to be “defending.” Hating Jews and Israelis makes life worse for Palestinians and hating trans folks makes live worse for kids. Gender has become MUCH more controlled since I grew up and more kids kill themselves because with trump in office they don’t see a future where they can live truthfully, not just trans kids. Palestinians are now glued to Hamas in the minds of their “advocates” as terrorist raping and suicide bombing asses. Trump is in office. He wants to erase trans people or jail them, wants to nuke the whole Arab world, with max civilian casualties, and deport any left in the us. And there’s less chance than ever of authoritarianism in America or the Arab world being replaced with human rights, stability and self governance.

I only see a lot of harm and bigotry and messing with minorities for the power trip of it. I’m sick of coddling these presumptuous deluded power tripping assholes. That’s my “both sides” take.

[hummingbird-hunter]

A thing that really saddens me to see is how many young trans people lose faith in feminism, from believing it obsolete to actively thinking that feminism is harmful to them. I don't want to throw words "chronically online" around, but in its core, that belief is directly caused by the (very loud) presence of terfs and radfems in online spaces, misappropriating the term to fuel their hatefulness.

Go outside, talk to some real people, and don't let the bigoted bioessentialism of a few conservative women colour your opinion of an entire (still very important) social movement. Feminism is your ally, not your enemy.

[spiderfreedom]

I honestly owe detrans people, and especially detrans women, so much, because reading about their experiences has taught me a lot about... well, everything? About myself and my own trauma re: femaleness, autism. About the factors that lead people to transition. About resilience and moving forward and making a life for yourself in a world where there's no space for you.

Some of my favorite writings from detrans people:

somenuancepls (Michelle Alava, active on substack) has multiple great posts, especially on resilience and growth for detrans people. I recommend "Actually I was just crazy the whole time" (on the mindset that leads medical transition to be viewed as a panacea), "We Shouldn't Have to Be Here" (on how detrans people are expected to act as martyrs) and "Let's Talk About How We Talk About Detransition" (on how to ethically and compassionately talk about transition and detransition without harming (de)/transitioners).

destroyyourbinder (no longer active) has so many amazing posts that I really can't list them all, but "Unriddling the Sphinx: Autism and the Magnetism of Gender Transition" was genuinely revelatory for me as a gender non-conforming autistic woman. (It also kinda sent me spiraling for a few days so if you are also an autistic gnc, read with caution)

funkypsyche has been writing a lot about 'woke' culture in a way I don't agree with, but "The Archetypal FTM Sensitive, Quirky, Artistic Weird Girls" (on the type of people attracted to transmasc identification and the ways society fails them - do you see also see yourself in this list?) is a good read. As a supplement, there is "The History of Tumblr: Gender and Woke Indoctrination, Video Essay", and if you can get through the parts about, well, 'woke indoctrination', it provides a perspective on tumblr and its relationship to mental illness and gender. You do not realize how much mental illness is normalized and glorified on tumblr until you see someone explaining it from the outside and you go "huh, I did not realize that happens and that I do that, too..."

Max Robinson wrote "Detransition: Beyond, Before, and After", the only academic text on detransition to my knowledge. An in depth view on factors influencing transition such as lesbophobia, and the relationship between gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia and how the latter is treated as frivolous and vain while the former is treated as profound and serious.

And there are a lot of tweets I've collected I can't really link here, there are many detransitioners on Twitter. I really do recommend reading a broad variety of detransitioned people, detrans women and men. Even read people who retrans like CrashChaosChats, who once wrote on detransition but then retransitioned after finding that she was unable to deal with dysphoria. If you actually care about dysphoric people, trans people, and detrans people, you need to read broadly to understand the full range of reasons people transition or detransition or retransition.

Feel free to reblog with your additions of writings by detrans people, or people you follow on Twitter or other social media if they don't have long-form content.

[lizzy-frizzle]

Just to be clear, I'm not going to deactivate this blog, or any blog. I'm incredibly frustrated, but I don't believe that deleting my blog would do anything meaningful besides erase myself. Enough people do that to us. It's also really disheartening to see a social media go down a path that could lead to erasing a ton of historically significant information - twitter, tumblr, hell even myspace when it used to be a thing. The loss of a social media site is more than just the loss of your friends, it actively harms anyone trying to look back and learn from mistakes. Social media could be a really helpful tool for future historians to be able to see our culture right now. But if tech bros keep plummeting their sites into the dirt, it's going to be a massive loss for all of humanity. You can argue that the internet isn't that serious, or that books still exist. But how many trans women are able to write books that get published? How many news sites even have physical media these days? I fear for the massive loss of information. Information is very powerful and important, and the more we lose the worse we are for it.

[plaidos]

I am a transmasc, and I have kinda been struggling with a question that I obviously don't wanna ask any other transmasc cause I can't trust them to not be biased, but I also am afraid to ask my transfem friends because I don't want them to feel bad about it. I've been feeling pretty weird about my social place and responsibilities in multiple friends groups that are majority trans women. I sometimes get scared that my transfem friends are like, too comfortable around me and might not understand the threat that I pose to them. I hear a lot of stories about transfems who don't know what's being done to them until it's too late, and I don't want to condemn my friends to that fate, but I also don't want to treat them like they don't know any better. For this reason, I sometimes feel like it's my responsibility to subtly encourage them to pursue transfem-exclusive spaces, and from there they might organically integrate into a social system that is safer for them, so they won't feel like they need me and other TMEs for social connection.

At the same time, I've been feeling actively more avoidant of the two other transmascs that I know. I kinda feel like transmascs are "invaders" in some way, and that it's my responsibility to actively push other transmascs away from trans communities, and encourage them to further push even more out. I don't feel like transmascs really belong there, as they take up space and offer nothing to trans people as a whole, and that further fuels my thoughts on encouraging transfems to pursue places that don't have us in them.

The one time I brought a portion of this up with a transfem friend, she seemed to think this was some kind of self harm, and that I shouldn't pursue this. I'd normally be inclined to agree with her on these things, but I feel like if she'd been massively abused by transmascs like most other transfems, she'd probably feel differently.

For months, I have constantly debated with myself over whether these thought processes are just or if they are flawed. Were I not so limited in my mode of talking about this personal issue, I certainly wouldn't have come to tumblr about it. It definitely doesn't feel good to make a transfem feel like she needs to play teacher just for this one problem, but I've gotten a bit desperate. If there's a better place to talk about this problem, do let me know!

there’s a lot to talk about & unpack in your ask, but i think the first and most important thing to remember is that being male (whether you’re a cis guy or a trans guy) isn’t like this inherent sin or danger (and indeed no serious transfeminist is suggesting these things i promise you lol); indeed the things that are dangerous are the power structures & how they encourage, reproduce & justify potential abuse rather than the individuals, right? when you see transfems talking about the abuse they’ve experienced (& that has been justified & normalised by the world around us) from transmascs, you shouldn’t internalise that as inherent to transmascs interacting with transfems (because this too justifies & enables it by acting as though it is inevitable) but rather reflect on what social power structures & beliefs have encouraged & enabled this abuse to take place.

it sounds to me like you’re mired in a lot of personal guilt problems (or it seems that way from somebody who chronically suffers with that due to a religious upbringing) and getting that mixed up with politics. if you’re in a lot of spaces that are mostly filled with transfems, then the chances are most likely they feel safe and comfortable to have you around.

saying this as kindly as possible: you might wanna reread what you’ve said here with the phrase “white knight” in mind. we categorically don’t need transmascs being our bouncers, we don’t need to be protected by you unless you’re being like asked explicitly to walk one of us home etc, we need solidarity with you, to be seen on the same level & listened to, not looked over like a flock of sheep.

if you wanna really really be helpful to transfems as a group you can start by doing some transfeminist reading — that will help you more effectively recognise the mechanisms that enable transmisogyny, which thus in turn helps you recognise if/when you or people around you are benefiting/disbenefiting from those systems & how to prevent & mitigate that when it’s within your power. if your doll friends aren’t already on transfeminism you could even (as non condescendingly as possible) share quotes and snippets from the texts you’re reading that you think they’d think were interesting or relevant to them etc.

remember to be in conversation with us. we’re all from the same planet

[sspookyspoonss]

Hello I am a non-binary person from terf island. I’ve seen a few misconceptions about how the decision concerning the Equality Act came about. I think it’s important in the wake of this devastating decision to point our activism in a useful direction and make sure people are aware of the protections they still have. So I’ve written this.

How the decision came about:

The UK Supreme Court (UKSC) does not work like the Supreme Court of other nations like America. It cannot overrule a direct act of Parliament. Instead, it interprets the meaning of legislation to resolve legal issues. This is under the logic that judges arent elected, MP’s are, so are better placed to make policy decisions. They are also democratically accountable, unlike judges, so they can be voted out if they do something the public doesn’t like (this comes up later.)

To make a long story short, the decision is a result of this interpretive role. The Equality Act does not define sex or gender. Therefore the court had to decide a definition for what Parliament intended to be the outcome for cases like this using the legislation. They found (due to things like the use of ‘sex’ in the section granting protection on pregnancy status, makes more sense in the judgement) that the Equality Act could not be read as certified sex, instead it could only be read coherently by using biological sex.

Why does this matter? Well, it means that the decision is limited to the meaning of who is protected under ‘discrimination based on sex’ in the Equality Act for protection against things like sexism. Don’t get me wrong, still dire, but it is not removing the recognition of trans peoples genders entirely.

It is stated in the judgment that ‘gender reassignment’ is not limited to those with a gender recognition certificate. In this way, while still awful, the decision is not as bad as first seems. Trans people still have protection via the category of ‘sexual reassignment.’ This is important to reiterate. You are not completely without protection, if you face transphobic discrimination, you still have some legal protection. This needs to be said so people continue to bring action for transphobia they face and so transphobes don’t think they can get away with transphobia. Not knowing what protections remain helps bigots because they will go without consequence.*

*(Keep in mind that obviously bigoted people still get away with their actions when legal action is brought. However, the point of deterrence and the ability to bring a case under public scrutiny by bringing it, regardless of outcome, is important)

HOWEVER:

Process of the court:

First of all we cannot remove the court of all blame. Yes, they were interpreting legislation however the process of doing that was REALLY flawed. They refused to take evidence from trans people. This should have been considered because of the UKSC’s power to make a Declaration of Incompatibility. Basically, this says ‘Parliament this Act violates ECHR, fix it.’ Because of the impact this decision is going to have on trans people when it comes to things like sex segregated spaces (see below), I think making one should have been considered at the very least. Really, I think here one should have been made.

The Act itself

The court also stated that the Act recognised a conflict between the interests of different protected characteristics. This reveals that the Act is written in a manner that pits the interests of trans people and interests of cis people against each other. This is an issue. Trans people and cis people (particularly cis women because that’s what this case arose about) are not enemies. Blaming trans people is obviously scapegoating to protect other forces that harm both groups. Really, having sex and ‘gender reassignment’ as two categories rather than ‘identified gender’ in an Equality Act was bound to cause this conflict. We need a better Equality Act that doesn’t pit trans people and ‘women’s interests’ against each other.

This judgement just highlights how poor the Equality Act is in terms of protecting trans people. Although only being from 2010, the Equality Act has bases in the Sex Discrimination Act from 1975. This means there are far older perceptions of trans people at play here. These flaws have been revealed by this case.

There are provisions in it relating to sex segregated spaces with no consideration about how this would impact the ‘gender reassignment’ category, despite sex also being used in defining eligibility under that categories’ protection. We’ve been acting on an unstable presumption that trans people were included. This has collapsed in this case because of how rules of interpretation function. This shows we need a new Equality Act, one that doesn’t leave space for interpretation that trans people are any less of a man or a woman and thus don’t deserve equal protection.

The impact

This has been ceased upon by transphobes to be a ‘victory for women’ and authorising same sex spaces. People can explain far better than me why the former isn’t true. However, sadly, the latter is true. We can only wonder what the UKSC will decide when a case gets brought concerning the ‘gender reassignment’ categories and these spaces. I can only hope a declaration would have to be made then, or ECtHR would rule against the UK. However, these future events do not impact the harrowing impact this is going to have before any case like that is brought. This court case, despite the above, is still undeniably tragic.

Why does this matter?

There is a point to make that the process doesn’t matter, the outcome is still the same. However, it is important to remember that democratic accountability element. My fear is that the way this has been reported is allowing politicians to hide behind the court for their own failures. Failing to not consider how trans people are protected by the Equality Act. Failing to pass further trans rights legislation like self recognition. Increasing restrictions on gender affirming care. They can point their fingers at the courts and say ‘look they‘ve okayed this!’ In reality, all the court has done is highlighted Parliaments sloppy work in protecting trans people because of the way they had to interpret the legislation.

It is important to point out the flaws are within the Equality Act. Minority groups rely on this legislation, including trans people. This case has highlighted it does not represent trans people or suit our needs. We need an Equality Act that is capable of protecting us. Not one as flawed as the current one so we are able of relying on it, without the semantics of ‘oh what does sex mean.’

Obviously, the court is not blameless. I’ve mentioned why. However, we cannot do anything about who’s on the court. We CAN do things about what legislation Parliament makes. We cannot let them hide behind the UKSC. Doing so means they avoid the democratic accountability that is the whole reason why the court has to follow the meaning of Parliament.

We need to channel our anger to places where we can make an impact. Write to your MP demanding a better, comprehensive Equality Act that protects trans people. Legislation that doesn’t view a persons biological sex as determining whether they are a man or woman. Legislation that doesn’t pit cis women and trans people against each other.

Sign petitions. Look up and attend local protests. When the time comes, even at council elections, vote for trans friendly candidates. Call out transphobia. Donate to charities which have platforms to give better resources so they can try and petition legislators.

This situation is dire. Trans people need a hell of a lot of comfort after this. But we need to know what protection we still have so we can use them. We also need to know where the problem lies so we can work for change as effectively as we can.

Know that you are valid. And that you can fight.

[genderkoolaid]

hey about that ask and post about how trans lesbians dont have any real in to the community to start figuring out their identies i think your missing a bit of the point because yes trans gay men dont have an automatic connection either and mlm and fandom spaces are pretty bad about 'cishet women' consuming alot of mlm content or relating to mlm ships and characters but while theyre there they are kinda (probably in a harmful way) learning about queer identites at least hearing the words to look up and research on their own but thats a different thing to trans lesbians not even having a space to get that close to queer people if at all without being kept out of conversation about queer identies and so never or much more rarely having space to find out about trans lesbians or given space to relate to wlw or queerness

of course most trans men in either of these spaces are celebrated for coming out unless they find groups of transmen in fandom even but i dont think that makes these experiences all that similar i think we should appreciate these as diffrent experiences without lessing eithers impact

I mean. there are closeted trans lesbians who have an awareness of queer identities through their friends or through online communities from the perspective of an ally. This is not the same as being able to identify oneself with queerness and feeling that you are accepted as an insider in those spaces, but that feeling isn't necessarily handed to closeted gay trans guys being read as heterosexual cis women either. And still, it's not as if there aren't any "straight" "cis" "men" who have queer friends or engage in communities frequently by queer people.

And I feel that having this conversation on Tumblr biases us, seeing as this is The Website for "straight" "cis" "women" who get really into MLM shipping. What about gay trans men who aren't chronically online in that way? Who live their lives as "normal" straight cis women, and whose only exposure to transmasculinity is the vague concept of "butch lesbian becomes masculine straight man"? Outside of Tumblr culture, I do not see gay trans men being given much visibility, with the "ex-lesbian" narrative still having a strong grasp over how most trans men are perceived.

I just feel like this argument is working off a very specific and local-to-Tumblr idea of the experiences of a gay trans man. Like, there are (in my experience), more gay trans men active in Queer Tumblr than gay cis men, and the same is not true for cis lesbians vs trans(fem) lesbians. But if you go to the vast majority of areas, where gay cis men dominate, gay trans men are not always being given space or visibility.

[nothorses]

Do you have any advice on finding queer community when it keeps going badly?

Ive had really bad experiences trying to be involved in my local queer community (cis queer men not allowing me to join a queer men's group because it's "for queer men to have a space away from delusional little girls", and group of cis lesbians taking bets on which would be the first to "have" me and how many of them it would take to "make a good lesbian" of me. A non binary person telling me they want to rape me to "teach me not to be a man." A group of trans women telling me that "tboys are only good as fuckdolls". Several trans men separately telling me I'm not really a trans man because I'm gay/feminine/have 'nonbinary vibes'/ etc.)

I want to be involved in a queer community, but I live in a small, very conservative town, and I'm out of places to go. I've tried online stuff, but I don't do very well with that. I feel like at this point, I'm better off just keeping to myself, but I don't really want to have to do that.

That's entirely fucked, I'm sorry. Nobody should have to go through any of that. And it's admirable that you're still seeking connection & putting yourself out there despite that.

I wonder if there are groups or activities/events in your area that aren't queer-specific, but that you might connect with queer people at anyways? Politically-oriented groups might be one avenue, but just seeking out things you're interested in could be an even better option. D&D, board games, crafts you like, hiking or nature connection-type stuff, volunteer opportunities, sports (roller derby is REAL gay!)... stuff like that? It's possible there are people in your area who've had similar experiences with those queer groups, and it's also possible there are lots of queer people who just haven't bothered with queer groups at all.

Another option might be group therapy oriented towards queer demographics, which at least come with a therapist who could be more likely to stick up for you if/when harm occurs.

Maybe some other folks have more experience with this sort of thing, though, and can offer insight & tips?

[gatheringbones]

[“When I asked Janelle, “Would you be hesitant to introduce a trans woman partner to your friends or coworkers,” she responded:

Janelle: Friends or coworkers, no. I mean when I like people, I have to show them off, so like, I mean, if I like her, Ima show her off, but [pause] you can still like show people off [pause] and be brave but still be scared. You know?

alithia: Would you be scared about being a woman with another woman or scared for how they’d react to her being a trans woman or?

Janelle: Her being a trans woman, because you know people [pause] like people are trained to discriminate people based [pause] I don’t, they’re like doing a lot of things in law that has to do with like if you like [pause] depending on your sexuality, you can be fired from a job or things like that, so like that’s very scary or and also the family like just so many factors. It’s just like anxiety-driven for me. So yeah, I, I, I feel like [pause] being scared or timid is [pause] justified in this sense. In this world that we live in.

Janelle was not afraid of how others would perceive her for being with a trans woman. Instead, she worried about them both living in a society that punishes individuals who deviate from cisgender, heterosexual norms of dating and relationships. Such fears of being harmed were perhaps more pronounced for her, with her and a hypothetical partner being two women vulnerable to the harms of cis-heteropatriarchy. These fears, though, were not simply about whether they would be accepted by others, but whether they would be able to survive and thrive, as LGBT people, particularly trans people, do not have workplace discrimination protections in many states across the United States.

Peaches connected such fears to race. I asked Peaches, “If you were with a woman and knew she was trans, and y’all had been together for awhile, would you be hesitant at all to introduce her to your family?” Peaches responded:

Peaches: No. That’s a lie yes. Like my family are, they, they can be ignorant and like my mom especially, love her to death, but she says like a lot of insensitive things. My mom’s White. She doesn’t think before she talks a lot. So, if anything, I would just be like a little bit hesitant to like take her around my family, because I wouldn’t want them to say anything in front of her um that could make her feel uncomfortable.

alithia: Okay would they do that whether it was a cis woman or a trans woman?

Peaches: Um I think it, they wouldn’t do it as much with a cis woman, yeah.

Peaches was raised by a White, Portuguese mother and a Black father, and she noted her mother’s whiteness as integral as to why she microaggressed others. Peaches was referring to gender and racial ignorance and highlighted a fear of how her mother would treat a trans woman partner. Her connection of this ignorance, cissexism, and racism is part of a larger epistemology of White ignorance that functions to protect “those who for “racial” [and gendered] reasons have needed not to know” how their understandings of the world deny the lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, and other cisgender/transgender people of color and other transgender people. This White ignorance produces a misunderstanding of reality as inherently binary vis-à-vis sex and gender and an inculcated “alexithymia,” or a socialized inability to feel empathy for racialized Others. Thus, Peaches’ mother’s repetitive “[saying of] a lot of insensitive things” is not so much about a hatred of trans people/of color but the result of an actively developed ignorance.”]

alithia zamantakis, from thinking cis: cisgender heterosexual men, and queer women’s roles in anti-trans violence, 2023