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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNothing Feminist about Bigots
Trans rights are now where women's rights or gay rights were a generation ago, in terms of what people feel able to say and still feel self-righteous. So, we need to think ourselves back in time. If you're the kind of person who says "Trans women are not real women", a generation ago that would have been you denying the womanhood of lesbians or women who don't have children. If you think that trans women should not be allowed into public toilets, you would have been that moron shouting, "Backs to the wall, lads" any time a gay man walked by.
Single-sex spaces also include prisons, where generation-ago-you would have been worried about the dangers the odd openly gay man would pose to all those poor straight guys. Arguing that trans women belong in men's prisons leads to cases such as those of Vicky Thompson, 21, who was found dead in a men's prison last year, and Ashley Diamond, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after she claims she was repeatedly sexually assaulted for three years in a men's prison in the United States.
The above cases are real, whereas in the hypothetical case of a man who suddenly announces he is a transgender woman the minute he is convicted of rape, a judge should, of course, consider that when sentencing. At which point, the anti-trans lobby usually say, "Ah, but how do they know they're really female/male?" Well, how do you know you're really the gender you are? Because of your genitals? I have had people try to tell me that, as a woman, I am essentially just a body part (or pair of body parts), but never until now has that person been a feminist!
Finally, "I'm entitled to my opinion". You can hold the opinion that all trans people are mauve for all I care, but if you support legislation to deny healthcare, legal support or other basic human rights to mauve people then we have a problem. Please, feminists, listen to yourselves ... then listen to Jeremy Clarkson and realise that you sound the same. Transphobia is not feminist; it is about as patriarchal as it comes. And if you really want to talk about men's violence against women, who do you think is beating up all those trans women other women? Meanwhile, while you're busy Googling for evidence that trans people are rapists in disguise, men are still raping women. And, by the way, you are a bigot. Equality means for everybody, not just for women exactly like you.
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/columns/views/Nothing-feminist-about-bigots/articleshow/50797285.cms
Behind the Aegis
(53,919 posts)Most feminists I have encountered do not have an issue with transgender women and treat them as the real women they are. There are a few who use fear and hate to attack the transgender in the name of "protecting" women, but are really nothing more than bigots.
JI7
(89,239 posts)to attack transgender women .
Behind the Aegis
(53,919 posts)Some of the ones I have encountered have never discussed a feminist issue except when 'transgender' is mentioned. Many of the ones I have encountered are open to all, with a few who exclude men as allies, but even they are starting to lose their support.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)IOW, not relevant yet constantly trotted out by fear mongers as a way of justifying hatred towards all feminists just as the great NAMBLA scare was used to justify homophobia of gay men.
Behind the Aegis
(53,919 posts)Well, not really.
TERF's, while not numerous, as I indicated, do present themselves as feminists making a difference for the equality of women. NAMBLA, on the other hand, was not and is not, about gay rights as a whole, nor do they present themselves as "gay rights activists." Some certainly use TERFs as a weapon against all feminists, just as homophobes still conflate gay men with the likes of NAMBLA.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)just like NAMBLA members and both myths exist for the same reason.
Behind the Aegis
(53,919 posts)One claims to be promoting equality while disparaging others, and the other group is "fighting" for the right to violate children. That they are both used to dismiss legitimate causes is the only thing they have in common, but it isn't why or how they were "born".
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)That would be my point. That and the fact that neither are actual threats to anyone because they're essentially mythical creatures, having vibrancy only in the minds of those opposed to equal rights.
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)As DU'er since 2003, I now know several of the former.
frizzled
(509 posts)It's ironic this article claims people skeptical of "trans" must be homophobic considering all the coherent criticism of the concept comes from those with intimate personal experience with breaking sex stereotypes - women and homosexuals.
I think "transgender" does harm to gay people, as 'gender identity' has no other meaning than reinforcing sex stereotypes. Homosexuals have the right to love the same sex, which the concept of 'gender identity' undermines. The trans crowd would have me believe a woman who claims to be a man has the right to demand sex from gay men.
The author needs to learn what a definition is.
JI7
(89,239 posts)a transgender man could be attracted to a man or a woman or both. same with transgender women .
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)from anyone else. Seek advice fro wiser persons at once.
Brickbat
(19,339 posts)It says their bigotry is as dumb as homophobia.
Just...what? Anyone can "demand sex" from anyone else, regardless of sex or gender.
How would you feel if someone said, "There's no such thing as gay people. Everyone is straight, and gay people just think they're gay." Ridiculous, right? Well that's the concept behind conversion therapy, and every other wacky anti-LGBT thing out there that really just scars kids for life.
Trans-deniers are cut from the same cloth as homophobes. It's the same "I'm not gay / lesbian / trans and I don't understand it, and therefore it is either fake or some psychological problem."
"You'll never be a real woman" is a transphobic attack. Also, there are a lot of people who think that homosexuality "does harm" to "the family" (stated in the same manner you said here). Not sure if this was supposed to be ironic, but it's a transphobic screed. That's disappointing. I would recommend reading up on the subject and educating yourself.
Iggo
(47,534 posts)You are completely wrong about that.
Humanist_Activist
(7,670 posts)and transgender issues as well. What a surprise.
JI7
(89,239 posts)Humanist_Activist
(7,670 posts)Like the Fair Housing Act on Sunday. I was flabbergasted by the ignorance on display.
JI7
(89,239 posts)KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Adrahil
(13,340 posts)Sex is a biological characteristic, and it's really more of spectrum than a binary thing. Gender is socially constructed. It is often associated with biological sex, but not always.
I think it's kind of sad that you are so rigid in your views, given what gay people have had to go through.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)JI7
(89,239 posts)Troll ?