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Are you inadvertently being transphobic? Find out here

133 replies

AskBasil · 03/05/2018 09:18

A lot of Twitter transactivists think Mumsnet is transphobic. Every time women ask for a definition of transphobic, they get blocked, so you may be confused as to whether you're transphobic or not. So I thought I'd be helpful and give you a few examples of what you must not believe, if you don't want to be a transphobe.

If you believe any of the following, you are transphobic:

  • Female mammals gestate their young in their wombs. This includes human mammals.
  • Only females menstruate.
  • A penis is a male organ
  • A vagina is a female organ
  • You can find out whether your baby will be a girl or a boy by going for a scan
  • The duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a baby boy.
  • Gay men have male bodies and want to sleep with other men with male bodies
  • Lesbians have female bodies and want to sleep with people with female bodies
  • A woman is an adult human female. A female in this context, means of or denoting the sex that can bear offspring or produce eggs, distinguished biologically by the production of gametes (ova) which can be fertilized by male gametes
  • A man is an adult human male. Male in this context means of or denoting the sex that produces gametes, especially spermatozoa, with which a female may be fertilized or inseminated to produce offspring.

These are just some of the basic things you need to stop believing if you want to ensure you don't engage in wrongthink. I hope this is helpful and will guide you in ensuring that you learn to think correctly and stop being a terrible bigot.

OP posts:
Bowlofbabelfish · 03/05/2018 20:57

But supermatch - these things HAVE been described as transphobic. And people have been shouted down for speaking about them.

Which dilutes the concern for genuine transphobia. Don’t you see that? When an extreme section of TRAs starts haranguing women for talking about endometriosis, they completely overshadow the real and genuine struggles trans people face.

Because ‘I’ve been discriminated against at work’ is a genuine complaint, and one that should not be happening. I think we can all agree on that.
But ‘women talked about endometriosis and I’m going to call them out on Twitter for being exclusionary ’ is ridiculous.

ReluctantCamper · 03/05/2018 20:56

and questioning Bowlofbabelfish, everyone knows questioning is transphobic.

get with the program.

SupermatchGame · 03/05/2018 20:55

You can’t just drop in and start

Oh you know me Bowl, well known seagull apparently according to some so yeah I can. I can comment or not comment when I like for as long as I like and I'm not answerable to you.

ReluctantCamper · 03/05/2018 20:55

Erm, I do not think trivialising means what you think it means SupermatchGame.

Either that or you're wilfully misinterpreting HermioneWeasley's post.

SupermatchGame · 03/05/2018 20:52

Just like you're trivialising now Hermi!!! The irony/ lack of irony/ ironic lack of irony in this place is like nothing I've seen anywhere else.

But go on, trivialise FGM and transgender rights all in the same post.

Bowlofbabelfish · 03/05/2018 20:51

Well not so much inadvertently, no. There is a lot of deliberate transphobia on here though.

Which specific posts on this thread please? You can’t just drop in and start accusing people of transphobia without being able to provide clear examples. That just reinforces the point the thread is making.

Questioning ideology, questioning changes to laws that affect women’s safety is not transphobic. Asserting scientific fact is not. Questioning potential relaxations in child safeguarding is not transphobic- children with gender dysphoria are a vulnerable group and their safety is absolutely as important as any child’s - they will be affected by this, possibly disproportionately.

DickTERFin · 03/05/2018 20:50

Knowing the difference between a woman experiencing menstrual cramps and a man suffering intestinal pain as a side effect of medication.

Under Birds' Eye (genius).

HermioneWeasley · 03/05/2018 20:47

Talking about female genital mutilation is transphobic

Wearing hats

Public transport

Doctors asking for medical histories.

All been described as transphobic.

It’s mental and totally trivialises the problem of actual discrimination against trans people.

SupermatchGame · 03/05/2018 20:44

Well not so much inadvertently, no. There is a lot of deliberate transphobia on here though.

Digestivescusturds · 03/05/2018 20:41

So basically any mention of gender is transphobic...

PosyFossilsShoes · 03/05/2018 20:37

Transwomen don't have periods.

If a transwoman experiences some sort of monthly cramping, it is not due to shedding of the uterine lining and the uterus contracting, but phantom symptoms with a possibly psychological cause.

Bleeding is not a trivial part of menstruation.

(A woman got hounded off a FB group for suggesting ever so gently that this might be the case.)

Peachyoghurt · 03/05/2018 20:34

I love this list.
Everything is transphobic. Even public transport because somehow it's not safe for trans folk.

boatyardblues · 03/05/2018 20:25

Calling my newborn 'he'. It was transphobic not to call my baby 'they' until they pick their own pronoun. I hope they choose something I can pronounce.

Perhaps we’ll see an upswing in unisex names so as not to assume your chid’s gender at birth: Rowan, Hilary, Robin, Max, Lindsey, Charlie, Pauly. Wasn’t John Wayne actually a Marion?

Bowlofbabelfish · 03/05/2018 20:08

I mean that whole list is bonkers (& yep I have see some of those used) so any sensible message about transphobia gets lost.

I think this is a really valid point. Because these example ARE so insane, but they’re real, and they’re what the most vocal group of TRAs are making people’s lives difficult about. This stuff is so barmy, so extreme and so dangerous that of course people are fighting against it - it’s a genuine threat to women’s safety.

And so genuine transphobia - the discrimination, poor treatment etc of people who just want to quietly get on with their lives while being trans, gets lost in it. And these people will likely bear the brunt of any backlash too.

And then the debate gets lost in trans vs feminists when what genuine transwomen want is safety and respect and what women want is safety and respect. But that’s not what TRA activists want, so that can’t happen

It’s a clever tactic from the TRAs - two groups who could have fought on a lot of overlapping issues to do with Male violence, safety, etc are now set against each other. Leaving the TRAs as the sole beneficiaries of the sound and fury stuff.

LaSqrrl · 03/05/2018 20:07

Calling my newborn 'he'. It was transphobic not to call my baby 'they' until they pick their own pronoun.

Absolutely. Your greater transphobic sin was of course, giving birth. We must not mention the lady parts involved in that, not all ladies have them apparently - nobody's fault, not even the Roman's.

Soubriquet · 03/05/2018 19:59

All lesbians must want to have sex with a penis women...or they are transphobic Envy

thebewilderness · 03/05/2018 19:55

Are there actually people who do not know that most of our internal organs are pink?

TheVastMajority · 03/05/2018 19:20

Blessed be the fruit shoot
Under Bird's Eye
May The Wine Open Wine

Tinlegs · 03/05/2018 19:19

No going into Style and Beauty asking for where to get a pink hat. The wearing and discussing of pink hats is transphobic.

Twunk · 03/05/2018 19:14

Has anyone checked a predominantly male forum, eg Piston Heads, for transphobia? Maybe we should be telling them too. I mean, it can’t just be women making these mistakes?

(I miss the days when the most we had to worry about was the odd piston head invasion)

FermatsTheorem · 03/05/2018 19:01

Good point itsall Saying all pussies are pink is tabby-exclusionary and my pussy is so annoyed she's sulking upstairs.

MsMcWoodle · 03/05/2018 18:59

WPUK us a hate group. A man said that on Twitter, so it must be true.

DontBuyANewMumCashmere · 03/05/2018 18:58

Thank you Errol and Disturbingly
That makes perfect sense (and I've only just re-read it this year too!)

Hilarious Grin

CAAKE · 03/05/2018 18:53

Mumsnet is totally transphobic, I mean, look at this lot owning and even JOKING about the pain of childbirth that transwomen totally also experience BTW but, like, in a different, more womanly way.

To think it's impossible to explain how painful labour is?http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/amiibeingunreasonable/3239499-To-think-its-impossible-to-explain-how-painful-labour-is

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 03/05/2018 18:51

And not all pussys are pink fyi...