Thread by @oldfashionedyke

what do "TERFs" really think?

a thread for those wondering what #IStandWithJKRowling, the backlash against lia thomas competing on the women's NCAA swim team, or the effort to safeguard children from unnecessary medicalization is all about

myth: TERFs think womanhood is a universal experience
fact: TERFs know that women's experiences are unique and individual

myth: TERFs reduce women to their genitals
fact: TERFs define women by the intersection between our age, sex, and humanity. women are adult human females. not a feeling, not a stereotype

myth: trans activists don't reduce women to their genitals
fact: TERFs are not the ones calling women dehumanizing terms like menstruators, people with uteruses/cervixes, or calling our vaginas "front holes"

myth: TERFs exclude trans people from feminism
fact: feminism is for females, therefore TERFs naturally seek to liberate all female human beings from patriarchy, which includes women who identify as trans men or non-binary

myth: all TERFs are transphobic/just hate trans people
fact: many TERFs dislike trans activists & trans people b/c they seek to eradicate women's rights, such as the right to single-sex spaces, in the name of "trans liberation"

myth: when TERFs say they don't want to be around trans women in women's bathrooms b/c they have a penis, they are body-shaming
fact: TERFs believe women have the right to private, single-sex spaces to undress, use the restroom, etc. to prevent harm from opportunistic males

myth: TERFs don't want trans people to compete in sports
fact: TERFs want to preserve women's right to compete against people of our own sex to ensure a fair playing field for men & women, as the two sexes' organ & body sizes and muscle, strength, & endurance capacities differ

myth: TERFs enforce binary gender roles by saying there are only two genders
fact: TERFs define men & women by sex, not gender. gender is a social construct based on stereotypes. defining women by gender enforces the expectation to conform to femininity, or else we aren't women

myth: TERFs want violence against trans women
fact: women establishing clear boundaries w/ males doesn't condone or enact violence against trans women. homophobic & violent men are to blame, & their propensity to violent & sexual crimes against other men is not feminists' burden

myth: TERFs want to keep trans ppl from life-saving healthcare
fact: TERFs want proper mental health care for trans ppl. long-term effects of puberty blockers are unknown & cross-sex hormones cause unnecessary health issues. medicalizing gender non-conforming ppl isnt progressive

myth: TERFs use detransitioners for anti-trans propaganda
fact: many detransitioners align w/ TERFs b/c they share the same goal of improving mental health care for gender dysphoria so that transition isn't the only treatment offered for GD to prevent cases of transition regret

myth: TERFs hate gender-nonconformity
fact: gender ideology states that if you're gender non-conforming, you're probably another gender or sex. TERFs state that if you're gender non-conforming, that doesn't make you at odds w/ your sex or gender b/c stereotypes don't define you

at the end of the day, anyone who is critical of the trans movement could be called a TERF by trans activists. people labeled "TERFs" have all sorts of different beliefs, but we can all agree that no matter how many times you say "trans women are women," that doesn't make it true