Thread by @RadfemBlack

To be *gender* critical is to be critical of “gender” as a concept. Meaning gender in its entirety, including identity as well as stereotypes and roles. It’s not *transgender* critical or gender *identity* critical. I will say this as much as it needs to be said.

Ironic. Aren’t GCs supposed to be the ones saying that words mean something? This one does too. The term “gender critical” came about as a way to describe radical feminist views on gender and denote people who may agree on that but not other aspects of radical feminism.

If you are not also scrutinizing the sexism in society driving a lot of and even enabling this trans identification to begin with, then you are not criticizing gender. The entire basis of radical feminists and friends opposing this movement is the misogyny that it reinforces.

GC is not, never has been, and never will be a free-for-all or catch-all for every Tom Dick and Harry who acknowledges basic sexual dimorphism. That’s damn near everyone on the fucking planet outside of the Woque white western bubble. Clearly an all inclusive label is not useful.

Moreover, this watering down of that label lumps feminists in with conservatives — a conflation we’ve been resisting — who acknowledge the reality of sex for polar opposite reasons, to continue the oppression of women rather than try to liberate women from said oppression.

The irony and hypocrisy in this is not obvious? Exactly the same thing is happening to “gender critical” as “woman”, the same sort of linguistic colonization and erasure. The language of a group misappropriated and co-opted, leaving the OGs nameless and invisible once again.

If you think both radical feminists and trans activists have equally questionable takes on “gender”, that is your prerogative. Feel free to gather with like-minded individuals under “gender identity critical” or some other label. This one, gender critical, has been taken.

If your analysis of “gender identity extremism” (as @KingArPharazon calls it) stops and starts at “trans bad”, if you’ve never given it a critical thought beyond “men can’t be women” or other obvious factoids, if that is the extent of your beef with this regressive movement…

…then we are not fighting the same fight. Stop misunderstanding and misusing words to make it seem like we are. This isn’t a call for “purity” or any such nonsense hyperbole, but rather reasonable and effective gatekeeping, which we are all supposed to know the importance of.

And as for genuine gender critical people — rads, adjacents, and allies: hold the line. Have integrity. We lose any leg to stand on by selling out for the sake of popularity. We can work with the Gender Identity Critics, they’re just not the dying on the same hill as us.

To be critical of gender is to be critical of misogyny, homophobia, roles, stereotypes, patriarchy, femininity, masculinity, etc, AND trans identity, which is the cumulation of all of the above. No more. And certainly no less.

Rant over 🤦🏾‍♀️