#what’s the point of making ppl suffer endlessly and continuously

[tearingdread]

the crazy thing is that the way the world is makes it seem impossible to actually do the work to get better and be at peace with yourself and be comfortable in your skin.

[keepawideopenmind]

Tweets from Patrick Strudwick 12/02/20, re: 'gender critical' radical feminism

"We're not transphobic, we just think you're a danger to children, women, society, lesbians, gay men, feminism, yourselves, and should be excluded from everywhere we decide you shouldn't be, and should be denied treatment, demonised, pathologised, ridiculed + debated endlessly ... It's DEFAMATORY to call us transphobes but we call you misogynists, homophobes, lesbian-erasers, women-haters, perverts, Nazis, zealots, child abusers, and The Trans Taliban for defending trans rights ... We’re progressives! We’re on the left! We’ll just happily take money from hard-right organisations to call for trans ppl to be excluded! We’re the real feminists! We’ll just write for Putin-backed or Trump-supporting outlets that oppose abortion cos then we can say no to trans!"

This. It's gotten to a point where, although of course there is still a way to go for women's rights, it seems like a small group (ie. TERFs) have decided they actually quite enjoy being victims, so they'll make every possible baseless argument to enable themselves to indulge in self victimisation. I watched a video the other day of awkward celebrity interviews from maybe a decade or so ago. I was horrified at the way women were treated - invasive sexual questions, inappropriate invasion of space... it's immensely different from how things are today and I think it's easy for people to ignore just how far we've come. And yet, look at interviews with trans people and often you will come across similarly inappropriate questioning.

The hostility from 'gender critics' is exhausting and more harmful than individuals seem to realise. Nothing will change; trans people will always exist and with that knowledge, despite all evidence indicating that trans people (at least in western societies) are the 'more oppressed' group (which I hate to say because it's not a competition and there are many many other factors at play), they will continue to delude themselves with the idea that they're more oppressed than anybody else. Wake up. You are an individual, look at yourself, not just your group. Acknowledge your privileges.

What makes me 'unprivileged'? What causes me most suffering? I'm trans. I'm not straight. I have disabilities. I experienced abuse throughout childhood and continue to endure unjust treatment as an adult.

But I am privileged.

Why am I privileged?

I am socially perceived as a cis male, so I am not often the target, in-person, of transphobia.

I identify as a binary gender, so there is always the right box available for me to tick and without fear of people's reactions.

I am white so have never been a target of racism.

I am educated - I went through private education which helped me get good grades, leading me to a great university which pushes me to achieve top grades and improve job prospects.

I grew up in a financially comfortable environment - I never went hungry, I always had a roof over my head.

On the whole, I was accepted when I came out as trans - I wasn't kicked out, I wasn't told I was wrong, I wasn't held back from doing what I needed to do.

I have free access to health services thanks to the NHS, which also covers transitioning.

I was able to medically transition, and I was able to skip extremely long NHS waiting lists for top surgery by going privately with an incredible surgeon.

I am healthy.

I am English and grew up in England so never faced xenophobia or significant language barriers.

I am atheist, so never faced discrimination based on religious beliefs.

I'm sure there are many more...

This is not a fight between sexes. This isn't "oppression of cis women". You may not understand, you may have your concerns - that's fine, just make the effort to overcome those worries by engaging with the community (I am more than happy to chat with anyone). But I encourage everybody (trans, gender critical, neither...) to take a moment to list the reasons why you are privileged. It doesn't have to be a comprehensive list; just show some gratitude for the position you are in - it's healthy. As an extension, why not message somebody who doesn't have the same privileges as you do, and discuss the ways these absent privileges impact each other's lives? What better way to understand how we can make this world a better place for everyone?

N.B. If the 'check your privilege' comments annoy you, it is generally an indication that you are in a more privileged position and could benefit more than anyone to take part in acknowledging what those priviledges are.