#Transfeminism

[thetransfemininereview]

THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION. Censorship affects all of us, and if Project 2025 gets its way, the entire trans publishing industry is at a significant risk of criminalization. In this article, I lay out the problem and the stakes, and suggest a broad action plan with dozens of potential response ✊

[trans-androgyne]

Being trans does not make you immune from being called out when you say the literal exact same things about trans men and transmascs as TERFs do.

I’ve seen TERFs call “he/they females” “grossly misogynistic” and would you look at that, trans folks also use “he/theys” as a noun meaning “misogynists.” As though not wanting to be called “she” makes us sexist instead of, yknow, just transgender. Transmasculinity is not misogyny. People act as though transmasc transitions mean climbing up the gender ladder and kicking women on the way down, when in reality so many of us including myself have it worse than before.

It is not true that there is no way for us to transition without Joining The Side Of The Oppressors. We are still marginalized for our gender identity, just in new ways now; we do not suddenly stop being oppressed under misogyny once our egg cracks. Nobody is saying trans men and transmascs can’t weaponize misogyny, everyone of every gender can, but we are saying it is not required for our manhood and masculinity. We are saying we do not categorically benefit from misogyny the same ways cis men do. Please stop believing the radfems when they say the only way for men to exist is in opposition to women.

[croifox]

Do men understand that terfism and feminism are different

This is the single most misogynistic comment section I've seen in my entire life

[catsonja]

I am depressed as hell

Donate to me, I am a trans girl with cancer

[ellevandersneed]

the bastard thing of it all is that the model of ideal "trans woman" is so intentionally tied up with capitalism against the will of trans women, and that people who claim to understand both marxism and queerness place the blame for this subjugation onto trans women, and call them bourgeoisie either to discredit trans women or to discredit marxism, in order to claim that marxism and trans identity are incompatible (because trans identity is "intertwined" 🙄 with capitalism).

So this subjugation happens on at least two levels:

1) Any healthcare system in any capitalist society that does not cover free hormone replacement therapy and gender affirming surgery intentionally subjugates trans identity to capital, forcing the trans individual to spend their own money (and thus intentionally attempt to restrict the amount of people who can transition) and thus spend their own time earning said money, on gender affirming care. Transmedicalist ideology and systematic transmisogyny reinforce the idea that expensive gender affirming care is absolutely necessary to achieve "true womanhood." Hormone therapy on its own can do a lot if administered at a young age, which is why hormone therapy for minors has been intensely scrutinized and demonized, because it both feeds back into capital ("you have to buy surgeries x y and z") and so that it can dissuade individuals who are interested in transition but "are too late." This demonization exists as the reinforcement of capital and, more overtly, as population control.

2) "Womanhood" in general is deeply intertwined with capitalism. Makeup industries, fitness regimens, weightloss surgeries, fashion trends, healthcare access (tampons, pads, etc), scented deodorants, hair products, and laser hair removal. To be a trans woman is to pass. To pass is to purchase as much as possible. To purchase as much as possible is to be a women and, as they say, women be shopping. It is reinforced, even in irony. To fail to pass as a transwoman does not inherently equate to violence but violence against trans women does not have to physically be present in order for it to succeed in its aim, which is to keep the trans woman in line or in the closet, under constant fear of that violence manifesting itself. The trans woman must work harder than the cis woman, must exercise her body and buy every necessary product and perform at peak "womanhood" in order to not risk this violence. This violence coerces trans women to rely on capitalism, because womanhood is defined through capitalism, and trans women are threatened with violence if they do not comply with the capitalist ideal of womanhood.

Trans women are subjugated by capitalism via the threat of violence. If socialized medicine were to universally include gender affirming care, things would only partially improve, because womanhood would still be defined narrowly and in relation to capital. If womanhood were to completely escape right wing expectation and were untangled from capitalism, things would only partially improve, if gender affirming care was not administered freely. In either case, the underlying threat of violence will need to be addressed, or else the conditions of trans women internationally will not improve. Socialized healthcare and a disentanglement of womanhood from capitalism (this is always in the process of happening, if it makes anyone reading this feel better), would alleviate a lot of the stress of being transfem, but until this underlying violence is addressed, that stress will not disappear. I believe, at least, that these two problems being solved or at least directly addressed and worked on in a critical capacity would directly lead to the underlying violence against trans women to truly begin to die off.

[cryptid-catnip]

the average tranasndrobro yearns for conversion therapy for lesbians

[ellevandersneed]

I think even when you could charitably say that this person isn't themselves intentionally writing from a transmisogynistic perspective, there is still a level of presumption that the idea "trans women are men who are pretending" is a generally agreed upon social perspective that they can pull from consciously or subconsciously. It's the idea that you've already mentioned, where this "generally agreed upon social perspective" 'must' have some level of truth for this person (or why else would they feel less insulted if they were seen as a trans woman instead of a cis woman?) I think what makes it worse is that it's transmisogyny as neutral or even positive identity reinforcement. Someone else sees this person as transfem and it isn't a challenge to their identity "as a trans masc" because to be the transmisogynistic caricature is to succeed on some level. To be identified as such acts as reinforcement. The "base" (coercively assigned gender) and "superstructure" (self assigned gender) have been flipped in regards to what is being challenged by this transmasc person being "seen/referred to as a trans woman" and thus acts as a psychological reinforcement of the "superstructure," but to approach trans identity and trans experience from a "base" and "superstructure" perspective without understanding that the "base/superstructure" conceptualization of trans identity is itself deeply flawed and cannot be quantified (qualified?) biologically (or via ocular patdown) is to play right into the hands of transphobia as a whole, and it admits to a worldview that approaches trans identity from a transphobic perspective. "You'll finally be allowed to be seen as a woman once you push past x y z personal barriers, when no one can tell you're a man...!"

To then feel some subconscious level of relief from the presumption that you (this trans masc person) is transfem is to then co-opt transmisogyny and apply it to oneself in a way that no trans woman will be able to comfortably experience. I've thought for myself that I can shrug off a certain level of transphobic abuse (I wish there was none!) during various attempts at presenting more feminine when I was younger because it felt that I was at least being seen as trans instead of the thing I had been seen as before, a gay cis man. It was as if I were being met halfway towards what I wanted, but really what happens is that you become capital T TRANS with the tiny word "woman" next to it in the eyes of these people, and eventually you slide back to just being "a queer man," or a womanish man, as you put it. I think this will eventually catch up with this person, in some shape or another, but they are still, in an ultimately self defeating but still fairly contemptible way, profiting off of transmisogyny. They will not experience what a transfem experiences by being "identified as a trans woman" because there is no fear of being forcefully backslid (either overtime, instantaneously, or there is no backsliding and the assumption is automatic) into that "immutably male body/mind/soul" perception by others, and the particular abuses that arise from that. By feeling comfortable enough to openly say that being called a transwoman is less of an insult than being called a cis woman, they intentionally and willingly perpetuate transmisogyny for the sake of reinforcing their own identity. The *act* of saying what they are saying is the actualization of this transmisogyny. It is the admission of comfortability towards something that could mean violence for a trans woman. I think the "I cannot quite articulate why without sounding stupid" is an attempt at deflection from genuine introspection because, let's be honest, what other conclusion could you come to besides "this was a transmisogynistic thing to admit," but I think you already covered that.

99% of the time when a transmasc says this its because they dont view trans women as real women. they see us as womanish men, we're "genderfuck" because we put an artifical feminine affect on top of our, in their eyes, immutably male bodies. their attitudes toward us are identical to transmisogynistic caricatures, they just think that the caricature is "goals."

theyre literally just saying "i wish i was seen as biologically male, like trans women"

no wonder they can't elaborate why without sounding stupid.

[filmydidii]

HIIIIIII I had a quick question for you! If you don't feel comfortable answering that's totally fine but I'd really appreciate you answering!

What exactly are your beliefs on this entire transphobic, trans, terms stuff? I'm just sorta wondering because I've seen your posts with other people and was sorta confused! If you could just clear it up for me that would be amazing!

Hi. Thanks for questioning in good faith.

My beliefs are that no one is entitled to their assigned sex at birth. They are only entitled to individual experiences.

Saying "I am afab" brings baggages of implications, such as "the world has been unfair to me" and "i struggle biologically (gestation, periods, etc)"

And that's pretty lame.

You see, there is this idea in all of us, that "male and female" are opposites. These ideas have been beaten into us since childhood. "Male is big, female is small. Female is nurturer, male is stoic" etc. "Male and female are opposites."

When someone says "I am afab," they are telling you to assume their life as the "average female life."

And here is my issue:

At my birth, A doctor looked at my genitals and said that I am male, which I am not!

When someone says they are "afab" (thus "female," emotional, understanding, quiet, nurturing etc) they are automatically saying "I WAS GIVEN THE FEMALE ROLE AT BIRTH. YOU WERE GIVEN THE MALE ROLE AT BIRTH." And so, I become "amab" (thus "male," stoic, violent, scrutinising, mansplaining etc)

But the main problem?

I am a woman. I am female. And I may be trans, but that doesnt make me any less female. I do not have male privilige; I have been physically and sexually assualted my entire life because I am a woman, and I have been silenced my entire life because I am a transgender woman.

If you believe that a trans woman being assigned the male gender matters, then you believe that she, somewhere, in some way, is male.

Cisgender men benefit the most in conservative environments where they are gladly ready to carry out the succesful male roles handed out to them. And women find it hard to speak in these environments.

But here is the thing.

Almost no transgender woman gets to adorn those successful male roles. We don't perform those roles.

We do not get male privilige because we don't perform those roles.

We get called faggots and sissies. We get our clothes pulled and we get groped. We get yelled at and we spend all that time confused, and wondering if we will ever be allowed any empathy. We learn to get by our lives as masculine women who are percieved as male. We get into unhealthy relationships. We disassociate and fall into deep depression. We can't take good opportunities because they all require you to be hand of the patriarchs.

I personally had become an extra wife of my single father, he would beat me and yell at me and make me do all the chores. He didn't talk to me either. (If you let your thoughts wander into the previous points, you will know the dynamic taking place here.) And, I had to literally do sex work in my boys only highschool to survive the hostility of the boys.

—

In queer environments, queer people take refuge from the patriarchy and cisheteronormative judgement; The patriarchy is bad, the patriarchs are priviliged, and so they do not get to speak.

When you say "I am afab" you are putting fake privilige on the transgender woman. You are calling her "amab." You are saying that she is priviliged, and thus, does not deserve to speak.

Trans women can't speak in queer environments, and can't benefit from male privilige either. We learn to stay put and learn our places as doormats. And no one saves us.

This, is called Transmisogyny.

—

Also, as someone who is intersex, I want to make another important point:

Your AGAB does not define your life, your genitals, your body type or the rest of your life.

I was assigned male at birth without any confusion, but it turns out I have ovarian and uterine tissue in me, and that I might have XX chromosomes.

Alot of intersex people are assigned a different gender, without their consent, later in life.

And sex is social. And a spectrum.

Stop spreading misinformation, everyone.

Respect trans women and intersex people a little bit more.

[8aeddel-vriska]

Updated an older image I made since I remembered the massive document that leaked a while back. (It's directed at TERFs, if it wasn't obvious enough.)

[taliabhattwrites]

The Third Sex

After months of research and painstakingly connecting the threads of transmisogyny theory, queer activism, and field-wide epistemic injustice, I would like to present "The Third Sex": my treatise on a third-world transfeminism.

[femme-ressentiment]

“unlike Other Men, we [marginalized] men are actually structurally incapable of misogyny” is a disturbingly common belief that goes unchallenged on here

[intersexfairy]

can't help but think about the trans palestinians who are excluded by the constant use of phrases like "men and women" and "boys and girls." so here's to remembering them. to every palestinian with neglected gynecological issues who isn't a woman or girl. to every nonbinary person who's fallen. to everyone who's lost access to their hormones, who wasn't able to get their gender affirming surgeries - intersex palestinians, too. to every unidentified trans person and every trans person who never got to be their true selves. to all of them, the martyred, and those still struggling just to survive. free palestine - trans and intersex palestinians included.

[trans-androgyne]

I continue to consider myself a vocal feminist. But first and foremost, I am an anti-sexist.

I believe feminism should be about dismantling the patriarchy. To do so, obviously we need to fight for women’s rights and acknowledge their severe oppression and disadvantages under this system. But self-proclaimed feminists have been constantly telling me that feminism is exclusively about women. I keep begging people to consider the various ways sexism impacts folks of other genders, including cis men and all trans people. Time and time again, they refuse.

I am tired of being excluded from mainstream feminism even by those who say they’re trying to be inclusive. I just read an article by the HRC about how to make your feminism trans-inclusive, and it was all about how trans women alone should be included and centered. The only mention of people of other marginalized genders was at the end, mentioned along with men as groups feminism indirectly helps. I read several more about the term “inclusive feminism” that were still all about including all women rather than just cis white women. This is not enough.

As a transmasculine non-binary person I am a direct target of sexism. I may not identify as a woman anymore, but I am frequently still treated like one. I still get sexually harassed, I’m still at higher risk for sexual assault and being underpaid than even cis women. We need a movement willing to work not solely for women, and certainly not against men, but against sexism in all its forms. Whether it’s by expanding the mainstream view of feminism or forming a new movement, I hope for one to develop and will do my part to see that happen.

[slayercain]

When a straight man lashes out after dating or having sex with a trans woman, he is often afraid of the implication that his sexuality is joined to hers. When a gay man anxiously keeps trans women out of his activism or social circles, he is often fearful of their common stigma as feminine. And when a non-trans feminist claims she is erased by trans women’s access to a bathroom, she is often afraid that their shared vulnerability as feminized people will be magnified intolerably by trans women’s presence. In each case, trans misogyny displays a fear of interdependence and a refusal of solidarity. It is felt as a fear of proximity. Trans femininity is too sociable, too connected to everyone—too exuberant about stigmatized femininity—and many people fear the excess of trans femininity and sexuality getting too close. But sociability can never be confined or blamed on one person in a relationship; it’s impersonal, and it sticks to everyone. The defensive fear and projection built into trans misogyny, whether genuine or performed, is an attempt to wish away what it nonetheless recognizes: that trans femininity is an integral part of the social fabric. There will be no emancipation for anyone until we embrace trans femininity’s centrality and value.

Jules Gill-Peterson, A Short History of Trans Misogyny

[thetransfemininereview]

And we're live! If you've enjoyed watching me read all these fantastic books by black transfemmes over the last few days, then definitely check up this write-up of all the black transfeminine novelists on my radar and their work ❤️

[velvetvexations]

Gender is entirely made-up and I don't understand why some people are so fixated on it being "true" in the sense of like...are trans women women? Of course they are, insofar as "a woman" can be said to exist in the first place. But people have gotten obsessed with proving objectively that a trans woman is a woman, when the actual core of trans liberation is that anyone forcing their preferred gender on you is fascist. It's missing the forest for the trees. When all you do is play the "I am [x] really truly deep down just like everyone else" game you're meeting the transphobes on their level and accepting their premise that "man" and "woman" are distinct, tangible things.

To be clear, it's not that you CAN'T feel gender is a kinna spiritual force within you, or something to that effect. I think we all do on at least some level. But my point is that trying to rip that spiritual force out of our bodies to dissect it and prove all the haters wrong because look it was here all along is just a waste of time and effort.

The truth of the matter is that the goal is not to get people to see trans women as women, it's to get them to stop feeling like clothes and pronouns and names and locker rooms should be dictated by what some asshole wrote down on your birth certificate.