Really?
Anne Thériault @anne_theriault 9 hours ago Toronto, Ontario
“biological sex” and “female body” are definitely transphobic red flags
Really?
At that rate, is anything not a “transphobic red flag”?
And why female body but not male body?
Why is it always women and feminists who are in the cross-hairs? Why is there so much talk of TERFs but zero talk of TEMRAs? Why is it always women and feminists? Why is it always women and feminists?
Comments
17 responses to “The people’s flag is deepest red”
I’m going to guess there isn’t much talk of TEMRAs because trans men don’t want to be MRAs. What half-decent person would?
I admit to not being well versed in trans issues, but if there’s no such thing as biological sex, how can we even makes sense of the notion of trans identity? (Is it passé to think of it in terms of something like “having a gender (or some other kind of) identity that isn’t aligned with one’s biological sex”?)
It’s easier to pick a fight with the people that are close to you instead of the people that are far away, as I think the last few years have amply and repeatedly demonstrated.
It probably is passé, but then everything is passé, which is one reason the whole thing is so obnoxious – the rules are constantly changing and there are far too many people who pounce on anyone who missed an update. (That’s why I said that oh so evil thing that one time. What evil thing? “Too last week?” Three words and a question mark. Cue the outrage.)
I think making uncharitable generalizations about one’s enemies and misrepresenting their positions to one’s supporters will never be passé.
picklefactory #3
I think it’s more like, if your goal is to show everyone what a good morally perfect person you are, it means more to call out someone else who is ‘good’ and cast them as a horrible person in comparison to you. It’s the only way I can make sense of why that faction keeps focusing on calling out feminists rather than the obviously worse opposition. The primary purpose of the call out is to say ‘look, I’m better than this person’; it means more to say you’re better than e.g. Maryam Namazie than it does to say you’re better than Hamza Tzortis. It’s a self-centered action meant to shed positive light on the person doing the calling out. The ‘issues’ are just tangential to the call out; a club they can use to beat their own moral goodness into the center of discussion.
“Why is it always women and feminists?”
Perhaps because feminist women preach gender solidarity? Greer is particularly outstanding in this way, so it makes sense that she would be inclined towards safekeeping.
I’d like to know what the hell you’re supposed to say. PPPTBCOAWTRSFBOCEDAF?
(People predominantly possessing those biological characteristics once associated with that reproductive system formerly but of course erroneously described as “female”.)
@ 7 Damion Reinhardt
Special pleading. Naughty skeptic.
MRAs also “preach gender solidarity”.
*sigh* And yet “biological sex” is being talked about as a way of saying, “Yes, fine, you can be male and be a woman, we’ll accept that, but right now we need to talk about how reproductive systems and sexism intersect, please understand we are not ignoring that you have other concerns, but this is also important…”
Why “female bodies” and “TERFs not TEMRAs?”
From what I have seen, Tumblr feminists and trans activists don’t really concern themselves with trans men. Sometimes they are paid lip service, but they never seem to be the focus of anything. In fact, I kind of get the vibe that Tumblr feminists and trans women view trans men as gender-traitors grasping for male privilege, or something like that. In most contexts, “trans” seems to be short for “trans woman.”
Also, I don’t think trans men are as vocal about being included in everything as (some) trans women are. Has anyone heard of trans men claiming to feel alienated and excluded by testicular cancer screenings and prostate exams being described as “men’s health issues?” Maybe they do, but I’ve never heard of it. Also, what Anat said in #1.
It’s almost like being socialized as a woman impairs one’s ability to feel immensely entitled.
Yes, SilentBob, MRAs also preach gender solidarity, but somehow they don’t need to do much gatekeeping. Possibly this is because they are so few in number compared to second-wave feminists, but I’d say it’s because most men don’t buy into the notion that they would benefit from banning together across class and racial and national boundaries.
The traditional stereotype of the male sex is that they can stand alone against the world, as rugged individuals with no need for brotherhood. Feminists have fought against that stereotype, but MRAs not so much, and certainly not successfully.
Samantha @12, that’s a direct hit.
Ben (@2): One can experience dysphoria about one’s body regardless of the words one uses to describe said body. Though personally I would prefer there to be separate words to describe typical body compositions, with the understanding that some people’s bodies are atypical, one way or another, whether due to congenital conditions, surgical intervention, or some other reason.
Anat – my eyes were blurring over from overwork, and I read your sentence “some people’s bodies are atypical” as “some people’s bodies are spherical”. I thought you were talking about me. ;-)