#by the way beez if terfs find this I think you have to be the one to block them to keep them off this post

[e-the-village-cryptid]

Hello wonderful mutual! I’m so glad you asked!

The thing is, there’s no “official” way to be a feminist. Feminism is an ideology with the actions to back it up. You probably already know this, but I think it’s important to mention, especially if you’re discussing feminism with people online: there are two main groups of people that call themselves feminists.

The first group, the real feminists, believe in equality and justice for all genders. Because women are generally behind men in most rights and protections, a lot of that means working for women’s rights, like closing the pay gap, getting more women into STEM fields, etc. Then there are the issues that affect women and AFAB trans and nonbinary people, like reproductive healthcare and menstrual hygiene. There are issues that affect all genders, like domestic violence protections, and there even are issues that affect primarily men, like equal visitation rights for children of divorced parents. Also, it’s very important to protect the most vulnerable people in our community: trans women, women of color, and especially trans women of color. True feminism is intersectional, meaning we work for the rights of the most marginalized people within our community, not just cis straight middle class white women.

The second group believes all AFAB people are the victims of all AMAB people. You probably know this group as TERFs. They also call themselves radfems, radical feminists, and gender critical. They (incorrectly) believe that men can’t be feminists (except trans men, who they see as “female”). They are especially hateful towards trans women, who they see as “men trying to evade women’s spaces.” There’s a lot of transphobia and also racism in many of their views. They often believe men are inherently evil, abusive, and disgusting. But you have to remember: This group is a small minority of “feminists”. They make a lot of noise online, but that doesn’t mean we need to make concessions to them or allow their hateful views to make their way into mainstream feminism. That doesn’t mean they don’t have an impact— they often team up with transphobes outside of their TERF circles to pass laws like the recent UK anti-trans laws. Understanding how they manipulate people, especially teenage girls, into believing their ideology and spreading their hate is the key to keeping the spread of their bigotry at bay.

So what can we do? For you, as a young teenager, you’re probably not able to be donating to any organizations or working for any activist groups right now. (If you do happen to get the chance to safely go to a rally or march, then by all means go! It’s just less likely especially considering the current pandemic situation and all that.)

For now, though, there are two main things you can do: educate yourself and speak out. It looks like you’re already starting on that first one! If you want to learn more about feminism, there are plenty of resources online that can tell you much more than I can. You can also look online for people sharing their favorite feminist youtubers, such as For Harriet. Educating yourself also means you can help educate others.

As for speaking out, this mostly means standing in solidarity with women and trans people and being prepared to speak up for them if necessary. Someone misgenders a trans classmate? Politely correct them. A teacher or classmate says something sexist/racist/queerphobic, even as a “joke”? Be respectful, but explain why that was offensive. Speaking up is a really difficult thing to do, but if we all stand in solidarity with each other, we can have a big impact. (By the way, this doesn’t apply so much online. Arguing with TERFs, misogynists, transphobes, neo-nazis, etc. just gives them a platform. Block them, report them if they’ve violated the community guidelines, and move on.)

You can also examine feminism in your own relationships— if you start dating someone, are you both equal partners in that relationship? What do your parents think about these issues/who are they voting for? Could you talk with them about it?

This got really long but I hope that was a good start for you! If anyone has any additional information to add or corrections to make on anything I said please do so! 

Hello my wonderful mutuals (who are probably all older+wiser than me), I’m a little late to the party but how do I become an “official” person-that-helps-fight-against-toxic-gender-divides-that-have-been-screwing-up-the-world-for-far-too-long? How do I help? :3