#trans womxn

[beyond-mogai-pride-flags]

MTF Trans Woman Pride Flag

MTF/M2F: male to female.

Trans: a modality for anyone experiencing a gender/sex identity that differs from the one in their birth assignment.

[labrysfemme]

a few days ago our tra teacher used the word woman in a sentence and proceeded to tell the whole lecture hall that ‘you should spell womxn with an x by the way. because trans women and nonbinary identities are included’.

i know i’m certainly not the first one who’s heard something similar said in an academic setting. now my question is, have you ever heard anyone say we should spell men as mxn? or men*? or is it just women who are expected to include anyone and everyone in our social class, from males in feminine clothes to regular males who just use they/them pronouns? i am so tired.

[itsalmostavengers]

Okay I’m thinking about starting an argument at work but I want to know if I’m standing in the right corner. What does everyone think of using the word ‘womxn’

[sirenium]

I'm a trans woman but in a 'I am so trans that every gender I experience is through a trans lens. Saying I'm just a woman wouldn't be accurate at all; without the trans prefix my womanhood is cancelled out and overshadowed even more by the other parts of my gender' kind of way, ya know?

Edit: this wasn't meant to other trans women and I apologize if it came off that way dkjdbd.

[quinntamsin]

A thai trans femme now owns Miss Universe!!! Long live the gay agenda!

[softbutchvodkasoup]

If imm not a womxn why do none of the men I work with listen to me when I call in problems to dispatch?? Checkmate radfems.

[nothorses]

I am once again begging people to stop replacing the word "women" with "fems" like it makes your shit "inclusive". it's just "womxn" 2.0. you do not know what you're talking about. talk to more trans people immediately.

[costaldeanzuelos]

🌈 @thereskateboards & @unityskateboarding 💕 // Dos compañías relativamente nuevas que han forjado un espacio en la cultura del skateboard que está motivado por la inclusión y el discurso progresivo relacionado con los problemas de marginación dentro del skateboard. Provenientes de Oakland, California, han reunido un equipo que ejemplifica este mensaje, compuesto predominantemente por skaters trans, womxn y queer. A pesar del énfasis en los skaters LGBTQIA+ dentro del equipo, no es exclusivo y es un faro para todxs, tal y como debería ser el skateboarding ❤️‍🔥 La cultura del Skateboarding está en casa! #111161 #skateboarding #trans #womxn #queer #skatecolombia #thereskateboards #inclusion #unityskateboarding #amor #costaldeanzuelos #skatecolombiano #skatebogota #skatedellin #skatecali #skateisfun (en Bogotá, Colombia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmriHEFOAAB/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[this-is-exorsexism]

this is exorsexism.

how is "women+" any different from "women*" or "womxn" or the many other variations of this? why come up with yet another term to forcibly include us in IWD and womanhood as a whole? if it's truly inclusive of nonbinary people, why still only call women by name? if it's about "anyone who doesn't identify as a man", why not just say that instead of centring women? and if it's supposed to include nonbinary people but not people who identify as men, what about nonbinary men?

also, if i see "women+" in the wild, how am i supposed to know who it's meant to include? like women* or womxn, it's very vague and unclear whether it's meant to include women and nonbinary people, women and all trans people, anyone oppressed by the patriarchy, or, like i've seen womxn or women* used before, anyone with a uterus. whichever option it is, it's forcing a lot of trans people back into womanhood and misgendering us.

"women+" doesn't make sense the way LGBTQ+ does. "women" is a single group of people, and it doesn't follow a pattern so we can determine who is included in the +. LGBTQ+ follows a pattern of listing genders and orientations that are rejected by cisheteronormativity, it's obvious to most people who is included in the +. then there's also terms like bi+, which includes bi people and people with similar orientations, i.e. anyone else attracted to multiple genders. if we applied that logic to women+, it would include anyone else with similar genders, basically still calling all nonbinary people women-lite.

apparently saying "nonbinary people aren't women lite" is no longer enough, we also need to start saying "we're not women plus" too.

[demilypyro]

The original intent of womxn is the same as latinx (rather than Latino or Latina)

It’s just a way to be more inclusive of women and trans women. Shorthand. Just everyone who identifies as a woman.

It’s kind of just a way to signal you aren’t a TERF.

Obviously it’s the internet so you’ll get some people who use it in a different way but that’s the broad common understanding of it.

See half these responses are saying it means you're not a terf and the other are saying it's a terf dogwhistle so like. What is the truth

[seraphic-sapphic-safehaven]

Dear Cis People,

Stop saying "folx." Stop saying "womxn" and "mxn." Stop saying "Latinx." Stop trying to be gender inclusive like this and attempting to make words gender neutral in the worst way possible.

Stop adding an "X" to words that are already inclusive of everyone, such as "folks"!

Stop adding "X" to words that don't need it because, newsflash, nonbinary people ARE NOT binary trans people! We are not binary men and women. We have terms like AFAB and AMAB to use instead of forcibly being lumped together with binary men and women! You wanna talk about women and AFAB enbies? SAY THAT! You wanna talk about men and AMAB enbies? SAY THAT! But please stop including us all together all the time!

Stop anglicizing languages like Spanish to make them gender neutral when there are better options, like saying "LatinE" or "Latin." And options like using an "E" instead of an "X" to neutralize gendered terms! Stop using an X when it literally doesn't make sense and is hard to pronounce anyway!

I get it; some of you wanna be inclusive of everyone. But this ain't it. It really is not. This isn't helping anyone and is so unnecessary. It is performative and, honestly, racist and transphobic/enbyphobic, whether it's intended or not. Please stop!! And PLEASE talk to actual nonbinary people on how to be gender inclusive towards us instead!!

[drdemonprince]

How can I better explain to people why it’s not helpful to say the phrase, “women and femmes”? In 99% of context I just correct and say- just say people who experience misogyny if that’s what you mean bc that’s not helpful. I feel like I struggle with a concise way to explain it and as a non-binary femme I feel weird being lumped in with women for everything. Thank you!!!

"Women and femmes" implies nonbinary and trans people must be 'feminine' in order to be in need of community inclusion

It centers women as the primary class being catered to and included, which usually in practice means cis women are defaulted to and everyone else is overlooked

It implies that the reason gender minorities are oppressed has something to do with their femininity, when in reality butch people and GNC nonbinary folks face their own struggles and are subject to violence just as much

It completely excludes trans masc people, who are also gender minorities and may be in need of inclusion but are being completely misgendered by this kind of language

Many trans femme people recognize this term as a dogwhistle that signals they will not be welcome and haven't been thought of; the people who use the term "women and femmes" are almost invariably cis women, and if nonbinary people and trans mascs are being that heavily excluded by the language, then the problems are gonna be even worse for them

A lot of people who are femme actually aren't included in events branded this way, because the organizers (again, largely cis women) perceive them based on their bodies as "men", no matter how they present

This essay of mine is about the term "womxn" (which...I'm seeing a lot less of lately? win..?) but really all of the same applies:

[dear-indies]

Hi & thank you for your help! I’m looking for a female faceclaim between the ages of 24-34 that has more of an edgy, badass, almost vampiric vibe to her rather than something cutesy.

FKA twigs (1988) African-Jamaican / White, possibly Egyptian - showed up for Mustafa's Artists for Aid Concert in London (Sudan and Gaza).

JuJu Chan (1989) Hongkonger - in Wu Assassins and Fistful of Vengeance.

Úrsula Corberó (1989) - in Money Heist and Snake Eyes.

Rina Sawayama (1990) Japanese - is bisexual and pansexual - has spoken up for Palestine!

Damaris Lewis (1990) Afro-Kittian - in Titans.

Sarah Kameela Impey (1991) Indo-Guyanese / White - in We are Lady Parts - has spoken up for Palestine!

Ruby Soho (1991)

Melisa Aslı Pamuk (1991) Turkish - has spoken up for Palestine!

Shotzi Blackheart (1992) Filipino and White.

Hari Nef (1992) Ashkenazi Jewish - is a trans woman - has spoken up for Palestine!

Abadon (1992)

Jessica Henwick (1992) Chinese Singaporean / White - in The Matrix.

Sky Ferreira (1992) Ojibwe, Cree, Chippewa Cree, Cheyenne, Brazilian of Portuguese and possibly other descent, Galician Jewish, Bukovina Jewish, White - singer and actress - has Chronic Lyme Disease.

Deb Never (1993) Korean - is gay.

Pınar Deniz (1993) Turkish [Lebanese] - has spoken up for Palestine!

Mina El Hammani (1993) Moroccan - has spoken up for Palestine!

Taylor Momsen (1993)

Jordan Alexander (1993) African-American and White - has spoken up for Palestine!

Mia Khalifa (1993) Lebanese - is bisexual - has spoken up for Palestine!

Zheani (1993)

Devery Jacobs (1993) Mohawk - is queer - has spoken up for Palestine!

Slick Woods (1993) African-American - is bisexual.

Dani Miller (1994)

Natasha Liu Bordizzo (1994) Chinese / White - in Ahsoka.

Lyrica Okano (1994) Japanese - in The Runaways.

Emma Dumont (1994) - in The Gifted.

Lily Sullivan (1994) - in Romper Stomper and Evil Dead Rise.

Coty Camacho (1995) Mixtec and Zapotec - is pansexual.

Kehlani (1995) Filipino, African-American, Blackfoot, Cherokee, Choctaw, Mexican, White - is a non-binary womxn and a lesbian (she/they) - has spoken up for Palestine!

Sasha Calle (1995) Colombian.

Adeline Rudolph (1995) Korean / German - in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Resident Evil.

Heather Baron-Gracie (1995)

Tati Gabrielle (1996) African-American, ¼ Korean.

Jasmine Sokko (1996) Chinese Singaporean.

Ruth Codd (1996) - is an amputee.

Emma Mackey (1996) - in Sex Education.

Rhea Ripley (1996)

Lauren Jauregui (1996) Cuban [Spanish, possibly other], likely some Basque - is bisexual - has spoken up for Palestine!

Mei Pang (1996) Malaysian-Chinese.

Kiana Ledé (1997) African-American, Swedish, Mexican, Cherokee - has spoken up for Palestine!

070 Shake (1997) Dominican - doesn’t like to put labels on her sexuality - has spoken up for Palestine!

Blair Lamora (1997) Ojibwe and Argentinian.

Sierra McCormick (1997)

Juliette Motamed (1997) Iranian - has spoken up for Palestine!

Ethel Cain (1998) - is a bisexual and trans woman - has spoken up for Palestine!

Andy Blossom (1998) Chinese.

Doechii (1998) African-American - is bisexual.

Brianne Tju (1998) Chinese / Indonesian.

Lauren Tsai (1998) Taiwanese / White.

Kenna Sharp (1999) - is a lesbian - ha spoken up for Palestine!

Baby Storme (2000) African-American.

Hope this helps!

[coochiequeens]

In their promotional materials, HER even began using the term “womxn” to be more inclusive of those who felt “woman” was an offensive term.“

Boasting 1.5 million users in 55 countries, HER is undeniably the largest and most recognizable lesbian dating app on the market. While debatable now, it appears to have been created with the best of intentions. The app’s founder, Robyn Exton, said she first set out to design an app that wasn’t just a female version of Grindr. 

However, over the last few years, HER has become less of a platform for lesbians to mingle and more of a case study in the contagion of gender identity ideology and how it uniquely harms the lesbian community. 

Launched in 2015 under the premise of being a female-run lesbian space, HER went through a subtle rebrand in 2018 in an effort to profit from the burgeoning trends of “queerness” and “inclusivity” — terms which had gained popularity from the social justice bloggers of Tumblr and into mainstream discourse. HER, which had ostensibly been designed exclusively for female users, began to add more “categories” and “identities” so it could attract a base that included trans-identified individuals, particularly men. In their promotional materials, HER even began using the term “womxn” to be more inclusive of those who felt “woman” was an offensive term.

Exton gave an interview at the time calling the queer community “amazing” and celebrating the fact that queerness was causing people to “question, challenge, and think about their identity.” But, what started with a spark of “inclusion” turned into a wildfire of compulsion.

On Exton’s app, there was a flood of men who identified as lesbian who felt welcomed to use HER as their new mating grounds. All the while, lesbians and bisexual women who were only interested in dating females were not provided any option to filter out these men from their searches.

Over the short years following, HER began mutating into an entity that was openly hostile to its lesbian users in an effort to signal its dedication to inclusivity. 

Without the ability to filter out men, who could pick any identity they liked on the app, some female users took it upon themselves to signify that they were only interested in other women by adding it to their bio or including a photo with logos that signified exclusive same-sex attraction.

These women found themselves quite literally forced off the app.

Jen, a lesbian user known on Twitter as @cbucksrules, told Reduxx was suspended after adding “no trans women” to her bio on HER because she was exclusively same-sex attracted.

Jen had joined HER in late 2021 looking for a female partner and assuming a lesbian dating app would be the place to go for such an endeavor. Finding a veritable smorgasbord of 5 o’clock shadows and head tilts, Jen attempted to ensure she would only be contacted by other female users.

“I [wrote] in my bio what I would not consider the opposite sex as a partner nor a woman who was not a proud woman as we would not be compatible.” 

Shortly after, Jen was suspended. She wrote to HER’s customer service and asked why, and received a snarky response from an agent named “Devin” berating her for using “hateful language” in her bio, and asserting “trans women are women.”

Jen was incredulous. 

“HER banned me, a lesbian for being a lesbian and not wanting sexual and romantic relationships with the opposite sex,” she told Reduxx.

But Jen’s experience is far from isolated.

Another woman, a vocal woman’s rights advocate known by her moniker DJ Lippy, told Reduxx that she had been suspended from using HER after she uploaded a photograph to her profile featuring a sign that displayed the dictionary definition of woman as an “adult human female.” Many trans-identified males reject the definition of woman as it excludes them as they are not female.

“You can pick any gender identity and sexuality you wish and exclude any you choose… just as long as it isn’t male,” DJ Lippy remarked to Reduxx. “It’s like opening an all you can eat vegan buffet but sneaking salami into all the dishes. When you complain, they kick you out and call you a pork exclusionary radical vegan.”

Another lesbian women’s rights campaigner, Aja, told Reduxx that she was suspended after adding that she was “only interested in biological women” to her profile as she says she had been receiving regular messages from male users who identified as lesbian.

“I was messaged by lots of blokes who I ignored … so I added ‘I’m only interested in biological women’ to my profile and added a picture where I was wearing my ‘adult human female’ t-shirt. Not sure how long it took them to ban me but they did,” Aja says.

Academic and feminist author Holly Lawford-Smith also had a similar experience using the app. In her bio, she wrote that she was only interested in matching with other lesbians and was suspended as a result.

When she reached out to customer service, they advised her that she had been reported for “transphobic” behavior.

The customer service representative, Samantha, went on to inform Holly that it is against their community guidelines to list who you were not interested in matching with, and also compared a lesbian not wanting to mingle with men to a lesbian excluding masculine women.

Speaking with Reduxx, Holly said: “Everything about the app is designed to force gender identity ideology onto the people using the app. You can’t choose a sex, only a gender identity. You’re pushed towards entering pronouns. You can’t filter out males. You constantly have to swipe past men.”

She added: “It’s incredibly sad that an app designed to bring same-sex attracted women together has now been completely infiltrated by, and has completely sold out to, men.” 

Other lesbians on social media have expressed similar experienced about being banned from the app for stating that they were exclusively attracted to females.

Even as lesbian users continue to express disappointment in the fact that a lesbian dating app appears to be forcing female users to match with males, HER has continuously doubled down.

Last year, the app announced that it was taking a hard-line stance on so-called “transphobic language and behavior” by adding “improved TERF controls” which made it easier for male users to report female users for being same-sex attracted.

They also surveyed their trans-identified users and asked them what their biggest “hurdles” to dating on the app was. The number one reason given was “trans-exclusionary dating preferences.” Many women expressed outrage that their sexual boundaries were being framed as a “hurdle” that needed to be overcome. But this is hardly the first time homosexual females have been branded as “discriminatory” for not including delusional men in their dating pools.

The HER saga reached a fever pitch, however, over the past few days as it decided to celebrate Lesbian Visibility Week by explicitly attacking and cyberbullying lesbian women who refuse to date trans-identified males on their official Twitter.

In what can only be described as an unhinged tirade, HER’s social media manager used the company’s Twitter to engage in targeted harassment against women. During their episode, they defended a child molester, sexually harassed women, encouraged doxxing, and made a strange comment about feeding gender-critical crabs to trans-identified males. The social media rampage resulted in the company being temporarily suspended from Twitter.

The incident began when HER quote retweeted DJ Lippy, a user who had previously been banned from their app, who had been remarking on how a trans-identified convicted pedophile had taken the name of a feminist activist after he transitioned. Despite the fact HER had not been mentioned in the original comment from DJ Lippy, the app’s official social media page appeared to have sought out her remarks about the pedophile, and responded with an incoherent, sexualized comment mocking the original user.

“Can the TERFs not afford knitting supplies? Somebody start a GoFundMe, left their gaping assholes catch a cold,” HER wrote.

Immediately, they garnered backlash, with people outraged that they appeared to be starting an argument because a user had criticized the actions of a notorious pedophile.

As they started to get criticism, they continued to post bizarre remarks, including that they “must stay young for pedos.”

As more lesbian users came to DJ Lippy’s defense, the user at the helm of the HER Twitter account began sexually harassing lesbians who criticized them.

The overtly homophobic and sexualized nature of the replies led to many on Twitter to speculate that a man was behind the account, with others still so perplexed by the lack of professionalism that they theorized the account had been hacked.

But, after being suspended from Twitter for repeated instances of harassment, HER took to TikTok to inform people that they didn’t care about the suspension and that no one was going to be disciplined for the abusive tweets. Their account has since been reinstated on Twitter.

On April 26, recognized as Lesbian Visibility Day, HER’s founder published a blog post saying that it was her goal to reclaim the word ‘lesbian’ from those who say that “only those assigned female at birth can be lesbians.” After a barrage of insults aimed at lesbians where she calls them transphobic, bigoted, hateful, and even fascist, Exton ends the screed by stating, “There’s no such thing as a real lesbian.”

Oh, how the mighty fall. Robyn Exton, a woman who designed the app in 2015 with the seemingly heartfelt mission of creating a space for female homosexuals, denying the existence of the very base she once tried to serve.

As nonsensical as that might seem at first glance, we must remember that Exton is a businesswoman, and her strategy of booting clientele who are exclusive allows her to expand her potential customer base significantly. 

She has no vested interest in stating that lesbians are a specific, definable group of people who actually exist. Doing so would only limit her app’s potential market. It wouldn’t be a far stretch to assume she has has no interest in excluding males from the app, either, as men are much more likely to spend money on a dating app.

HER has chosen their marketing strategy: to make the app as appealing to men as possible, then bully, harass and ban any woman who does not accept their new clientele’s presence. They released two notifications this week alone asserting “transphobes” are not welcome on the app. 

These notifications were celebrated online by trans-identified males who call themselves lesbians. 

“As a trans lesbian it feels good knowing HER has my back,” one man wrote on the Reddit board r/actuallesbian, a community that is known to have a 47%user overlap with the male-to-female board.

But while HER has been boasting about their trans-inclusivity to the seal-clapping of trans-identified males, even some liberal women have been grappling with how to approach using the app if they are genuinely same-sex attracted. On Instagram, one woman left a comment stating that some women only want to have a sexual relationship with someone of the same sex. 

She clarified that she wasn’t trying to be a “TERF,” lest she be labelled “transphobic.”

HER responded by telling her to “just swipe left” and went on to explain that she needed to reflect on why her sexuality isn’t “inclusive.” Perhaps most disturbingly, they told her she was welcome to use the app only so long as she kept the specifics of her sexual attraction “to herself.”

HER is effectively telling lesbians to stay in the closet about their homosexuality in order to avoid alienating male users. The company continuously promotes the importance of consent whilst viewing women’s sexual boundaries as an obstacle that needs to be either overcome or hidden. 

The rebranding of the app from a lesbian dating app to a queer dating app sends a clear message: sexual coercion is in, and sexual boundaries are out. Consent is important, but the reason you’re saying ‘no’ is wrong. You can be a lesbian, but keep it to yourself or you may scare off porn-addled male customers. 

The confusing, undulating messaging that borders on gaslighting is the point. It is reflective of how gender ideology operates in general, where blind compliance and devotion is prioritized above common sense. And, of course, all of the compliance and devotion is intended to herd people into a machine of sociopathic profit seeking that benefits a select few.

I have no use for HER, and my lesbian friends have long since figured out to steer clear of it. My concern is for those young lesbian women desperate to avoid accusations of “bigotry” who are now being unwittingly forced into a digital conversion therapy camp — all so Robyn Exton can make a few extra dollars from men in skirts. 

Maybe I will launch my own lesbian dating app. I’ll call it HIM to keep the men away.

By Shay Woulahan

Shay is a writer and social media content creator for Reduxx. She is a proud lesbian activist and feminist who lives in Northern Ireland with her partner and their four-legged, fluffy friends

[pigeonflavouredcake]

i'm so close to finishing the edits on my theory chapter so here's a extract about Terf witches

I'm directly taking this from my grimoire Book of Magic (BOM), literally just copy and pasted. I'm sharing this page specifically because I'm trans and I experience this everyday so understanding the signs of TERFism in the witchcraft community was something I had to learn.

All references will be at the bottom.

-Feminism Appropriating Radical Transphobes-

TERFism (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminism) and gender essentialist ideology in spiritual spaces are a common sight but often overlooked as a necessary part of spiritual practice. They’re not. There are some well-known dog whistles used by TERFs that are very commonplace; “we are the daughters of the witches you didn’t burn” “divine feminine” “pussy power”. Many TERFs deal with misogyny or internalised misogyny disguised as "pussy power girlboss" feminism.

The idea behind TERFism is that gender is a patriarchal construct and that your sex assigned at birth is the only thing that can tell you if you’re a man or woman. (Wynn, N. (ContraPoints). 2019)

The problem with that is that because no-one is able to tell what someone’s sex is at a glance, TERFs use gender essentialism and white centric stereotypes to point out who they think is a man or woman and often getting it wrong which puts both transgender and non-conforming cisgender people in danger, more so if that person is also a person of colour. Due to the racialization of masculinity and femininity and the pervasive white standards of beauty it makes it near impossible for feminine presenting people of colour to be perceived as such without leaning into hyper feminine styles akin to Barbie or Marylin Monroe.

How one would recognise a TERF out in the wild may be tricky considering many of them are self-aware enough to never share their true feelings out in the open. Many of them use covert statements or gaslighting techniques in order to portray the narrative I spoke about in my previous section on cults, a narrative of heroism. A TERF isn’t spouting dangerous ideologies that put transgender people at risk of political, medical, and social discrimination, they’re just looking out for what’s best for you, they want to protect young gay men and lesbians from being influenced by a predatory agenda and to fight for the rights of women. 

A TERF will do a lot to portray themselves as the hero of an oppressive regime in order to experience the power and respect they may have been denied in life due to their own minority status as women.

Examples of Transphobic/Gender Essentialist Ideology

(primarily: Cambridge SU. 2021-22. Other sources as specified)

Refers to themselves as gender-critical, radfem, adult human female/male.

Refers to trans/nonbinary people as ‘TRA’ (Trans Rights Activists), ‘TIF’ or ‘TIM’ (Trans Identified Female/Male). (Stone, G. 2020) 

Refers to trans-feminine people as predators and trans-masculine people as victims of the patriarchy/woke agenda.

Conflates gender affirming care with gay conversion therapy aka torture, another method of attributing transgender people to confused children or victims of an agenda. (Corry, W (Sci Guys). 2020)

Refers to trans women as ‘transwomen’, the removal of the space is an intentional othering and separation from women and womanhood. (Mildred & Thorn, A. (Thought Slime. 2023)

Disagrees with the term cisgender or asking for pronouns saying “i don’t have pronouns i’m a woman/a man/normal”.

Believes certain traits are, by nature, more exclusive to men/women and believes women are inherently more powerful because of maturity, periods, childbaring etc…

Sides with LGB spaces or argues to “keep penises out of lesbian spaces”.

Uses the term ‘womxn’ referring to women as people with XX chromosomes exclusively.

Uses 1st/2nd wave feminism to exclude the transgender/nonbinary/intersex/bi/pan/poly community from feminist spaces (essentially excluding anyone that could potentially not not have a vulva/uterus or who interact with people who may not have a vulva/uterus).

Covertly refers to nonbinary people as women adjacent through women and nonbinary spaces and stereotyping.

Uses dinosaur emojis and/or the colours of the British suffragette flag (purple, white, green). (Stone, G. 2020)

TERFism in Spirituality

In the witchcraft and pagan communities TERFs abound spewing this kind of nonsense with a spicey, new age flavour masking the rotten fruit beneath. You can learn about how TERFism is portrayed specifically in Hellenism on another page but generally speaking a TERF witch is one who excludes the title of ‘witch’ to cisgender women, denying and demonising anyone adjacent to men and masculinity, including cisgender men and the whole transgender and nonbinary community citing the points listed above. TERF witches believe that this community is a super special ‘girls only, no boys allowed’ club which gives them power over misogyny and sexism that caused them so much pain and frustration in their life however they forget that everyone is a victim of misogyny and sexism, including men and trans people. 

I am using Lisa Lister’s book Witch as an -admittedly obvious- example of how TERF rhetoric is displayed in spiritual spaces. In their book, Lister outlines who is a witch and her power as a force of nature and a “creatrix” making constant references to “divine feminine” periods, wombs and using exclusively she/her pronouns.

The Introduction

“The part of us that was once anaesthetized, domesticated and kept numb by food (or by shopping drugs and media) is now awakening in each of us. It’s our wholeness, our intuition, our magic and our power - the power that lies between our thighs” (p xiii)

“Waking up and reclaiming the witch within us takes really big ovaries. It takes womb-deep recognition that you are: a woman who is powerful: you bleed for five days and don’t die. A force of nature who knows the ebb and flow of the moon, the seasons and mumma nature and her own body….” (p xiv)

The Witch Wound

“The pelvic bowl is a witch’s most powerful magic making tool, a place where we create, make life and connect directly to the source” (p 90)

Lister directly infers that the title of witch is exclusive to women and only the ‘working’ cisgender ones. This is dehumanising by reducing a person's power to their genitalia and only if it ‘works'. This correlates with the TERF belief that women are inherently more powerful because of a female reproductive system as opposed to women being powerful because of their autonomy as human beings. If the latter is the case, then what is stopping cisgender men or trans/nonbinary people from becoming practitioners? The answer is nothing. 

My thoughts

While a spell or task one may find in specific kinds of magical/holistic practices may call for the excrement produced by a specific genitalia -such as menstrual blood used as plant fertiliser- I firmly believe an individual does not need any specific anatomy or gender to practise witchcraft. However I also think that believing your magical power comes from your own sexual anatomy isn’t necessarily bad if that is as far as the concept is taken. As long as you don’t take it upon yourself to enforce that idea upon others and deny different concepts of power and magic, it’s harmless, even empowering.

I personally try to avoid any reference to power coming from genitalia as I find the idea redundant to my own practice. I believe power comes from individual autonomy and what the natural world provides but that does not make nature a mother figure in my eyes. Nature simply is, it is its own force, always creating, destroying and recreating itself, always demanding balance. It is sexless, genderless and bodiless but it is none-theless a god.

Finally I cannot emphasise this enough, you cannot ‘always tell’ when someone is trans. Butch cisgender women being perceived as predators and harassed for using the women’s loos is evidence enough. (Maurice, E.P. 2021)

References

Cambridge SU Women’s Campaign (2021-22) How to Spot TERF Ideology 2.0. Cambridge SU. [PDF] https://www.cambridgesu.co.uk/pageassets/resources/guides/spottingterfideology/How-to-Spot-TERF-Ideology-2.0-2.pdf

Corry, W. (Sci Guys) (2023). The Science of Conversion “Therapy” | Sci Guys Podcast #239. Youtube. [Video] https://youtu.be/sFI5Ycs-nig?si=NYVKe0YydykcWsTp&t=3359

Lister, L. (2017). Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic. Hay House. London. [Book]

Maurice, E.P (2021). Butch lesbian harassed ‘tens of times’ in public toilets as anti-trans hostility spills over. Pink News [Web Article] https://www.thepinknews.com/2021/01/19/public-toilets-trans-bathroom-butch-lesbian-harassed-gender-critical-feminists/

Mildred, Thorn, A. (Thought Slime). (2023). Is This the Weirdest Transphobic Lie Ever? - Cringe Corner Ft. Abigail Thorn & Sophie From Mars. Youtube. [Video] https://youtu.be/EfzUtEcGluA?t=2039

Stone, G. (2020). A glossary of Transphobia. Medium. [Web Article] https://medium.com/@notCursedE/a-glossary-of-transphobia-a31a001d279

Wynn, N. (ContraPoints). (2019). Gender Critical. Youtube.com [Video] https://youtu.be/1pTPuoGjQsI

[wormmomma666]

WHAT IS GRUESOME GRRL?

Gruesome grrl is a queering and evolution of Riotgrrrl. Gruesome grrl is for the femmes that aren't usually accepted in femme spaces. This is for the femmes that due to their transness, their brashness, and their inability to compromise, exist on the edges of what 'woman' means. Some reject womanhood outright for an alternative nonbinary trans masculinity. Some see femininity as the absolute trap that it is. These are women who reject conventional femininity for something more butch, more futch and above all else transfeminine. I don't want this to be a binary punk movement. I want this to be something for the nasty nonbinary punks that have had femininity define their identity in some powerful and violent ways. This is for nasty gruesome grrls who have had their femininity denied. For the mascs and femmes who deny feminitiy outright for their own sanity. This isn't a movement just for cis women and they/thems, and womxn. this is a movement for transfems, transmasc, nonbinary freaks, trans androgynous art hoes, messy drag queens, sexy hermaphrodites, hard kink trans sex workers, the absolute nastiest femmes and mascs and enbies with shitty attitudes. This is something for the types of weirdos that are never platformed in cis lesbian spaces let alone trans lesbian spaces. Granted I'm just some angry trans sissy dyke with a chip on her shoulder known for starting shit, and pissing and whining with the best of them. But I want to make something, a movement with actual teeth. 

Alright everyone let's be honest:

RIOTGRRRL ISN’T FUCKING WORKING

Katheleen hanna is a fucking liberal now. She’s not jumping up and down and calling out her rapist live in the middle of the college quad and calling it a song anymore. She's shown her capacity and it isn't really to progress feminism in any way that's radical anymore. Le tigre made a fucking hilary clinton song dude!? LIKE FUCK HILARY CLINTON!

 Silvia Rivera's dead. pose is a great show but I wouldn't say finding a bunch of fishy black dolls to cosplay as the house labeija is a big countercultural shift. Play dress up with the clothes more radical women left in their closets before they were laid to rest. Make all the liberal art you want but that wont stop our genocide.

It's just more of the same when your a black transfem or a gruesome grrl in any regard you see two stories played out constantly:

You either live the beautiful conventional femme. She gets her liberal ideas displayed thanks to a system that wants to affirm all her middle of the road ideas. a patriarchy of creepazoid chasers loves controlling and acquiring there own fishy doll they can use to lash out at other femmes and all the girlies to fall in line.

Or you die the radical transfem. Your name in lights after fighting and screaming and fucking and sucking your way to get the movement to finally accept you, your enemies in the millions. other women who masculinize you and make you the aggressor. patriarchal men who want to acquire you and like it better when they can pay you to be at the height of their menagerie. And of course theres the cops who want you homeless and crazy or begging for freedom till they snuff you out like a light.

SO EITHER YOU LIVE TO BE HUNTER GODDAMN SCHAFER OR YOU DIE MARSHA P FUCKING JOHNSON.

I made my choice. Im dying marsha p but my run is gonna be historic and im gonna make sure every tranny remembers the Gruesome grrls. We’ll have the genderfucks dancing and fighting and moving and writing and drawing and singing and marching till there aint a single cop, or fucked up john or crazed lesbian terfy theyfab on the street. Either learn that the craziest trannies, the ones your afraid of, the one you make rumors about, the ones that are broke and barely surviving; are the ones you need to look out for or get the fuck off my block. The freakiest trannies have always led movements in the right direction and that's always been the case historically. so why in the throws of mass genocide, truscum infighting, theyfab memery, and terf videogame franchises is it impossible for me to find a single tranny that looks looks like me? Another femme or even a transmasc or enby that looks this black this fat this loud this punk this existentially mistreated and maligned? In the streets on twitter on tiktok on facebook on tumblr not a single tranny with the same look or attitude. I refuse to believe that im this isolated. With that being said whether you identify as a girl, a boy, a cat, an eldridge lovecraftian hellbeast, or all those things at the same time (i know i do) you are now officially a Gruesome grrl! A transfem led movement for transwomen, transmascs, cis women, she/theys of any kind really anyone who's been femme  in the past, present or future. I just want to hear your stories of femininity and how it affected you, defined you or even hurt you and how you're using those lessons to fight against a shitty conformist  patriarchal heteronormative society. 

ITS GRRL NOT GRRRL THIS IS FOR THE BITCHES AND TRANNIES THAT DON'T GET THAT THIRD R! WHETHER YOUR BEING TOLD YOU DONT DESERVE THAT THIRD R OR YOU PLAINLY DON'T WANT IT THE GRUESOME GRRL TRANNIES WILL ALWAYS BE HERE FOR YOU! 

how do i join gruesome grrl?

hit me the fuck up its @gruesome_grrl on all platforms