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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Dating as a TERF

579 replies

TERFisTHEnewTREND · 14/12/2023 19:39

I'm a 34 year old female. I'm currently dating via Tinder.

When the gender issue has come up and I've mentioned that I'm a TERF, a lot of men have disengaged from me. I once went on three dates with a man, we got on great, and then when I mentioned my views on gender ideology, he ghosted me after!

Do you mention your stance up front or do you wait? I don't want to date anyone who thinks humans can change sex, is it worth stating this on my profile?

Any help/ advice/ insights appreciated.

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29
AndThatWasNY · 14/12/2023 23:21

Outside of MN and twitter most men don't give much of a fuck. My views are that of a TERF as well as a socialist. I wouldn't announce that on the first few dates but sound out that out. Just as much as I wouldn't say I'm a Arsenal fan and really into chess. None of those things define me. If I went on a couple of dates and found out they were really into gender bollocks, I would gently probe them and work out if they were hardened gender twats or open to GC thoughts.

JustCuriousASHP · 14/12/2023 23:17

Tbh I wouldn’t announce on a first date my GC views just as I wouldn’t discuss religion and politics.

I'm long out of the dating scene, but if I ended up back there, my bio would read "Gender critical atheist Scottish nationalist (Salmond version)" 😁

terffert · 14/12/2023 23:14

DC1888 Said previously, some people are born with the wrong body parts. Hermaphrodites are born with both. I've seen very effeminate males with more curvy bodies than females...while I haven't personally come across the opposite there is the case of Caster Semenya, more manly than many males.

err, the last part is because Caster Semenya is a biological male, with a DSD that only occurs in biological males, and can sometimes cause babies to have their sex misidentified until puberty... but actually it's clear that Caster was brought up as a boy, boy's school uniform and all, until it was convenient to classify Caster as female in order to win races.

For the first part, err, not really. Hermaphrodite humans are not a thing. Ovaries and testes develop from the same foetal tissue, so you can't end up with both except in utterly weird cases of mosaicism - if you can find one case in the literature, go you, if you can find two, congratulations. Some males with curvier bodies than some females; sure, and now, what was that supposed to prove exactly?

Waitwhat23 · 14/12/2023 23:13

DC1888 · 14/12/2023 22:54

There are just 23 of them;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67613441

You could fit them all inside a classroom and have room to spare.

Said previously, some people are born with the wrong body parts. Hermaphrodites are born with both. I've seen very effeminate males with more curvy bodies than females...while I haven't personally come across the opposite there is the case of Caster Semenya, more manly than many males.

Its never just a simple case of XX and XY, there is an outlier of people who are physically more in tune with the sex they were not born into. I grew up with one...he was as girly a girl could have been.

And there were only 282 female prisoners in total in the female prison estate in Scotland in 2022 - 2023. So 23 males as a percentage of that is quite astonishingly high. The number of males in the female prison estate should be 0.

Your comments about 'hermaphrodites' are so uninformed I don't even know where to start.

You're also conflating being feminine (and the stereotypes which accompany that) with being female.

OpenLanes · 14/12/2023 23:01

DC1888 · 14/12/2023 20:26

Terf is a bigot though, that would put anyone off.

Was astounded reading Wikipedia yesterday to see that the UK is dubbed "terf island".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TERF_(acronym)

The reason I found it astounding is the UK is the birthplace of androgyny becoming mainstream via glam rock/new romantics...the UK was far ahead of anywhere else in uprooting gender norms. When anyone thinks of the UK they think progressive/good sense... the right wing fringe (Farage) excepted.

Terf is regressive/backward and very un-UK like...its something you'd expect from the US bible belt (no doubt they are too).

A source on that wiki article posits why terf is so strong in the UK: "The U.K. has a long history of powerful feminist movements and feminist activism that has been successful in securing large-scale legal reforms around the notion of 'women's rights,' so TERF groups build on the legacy of this past feminist work when they articulate their politics of 'women's sex-based rights.'"

So Wollstonecraft (founder of feminism), Pankhurst etc. They fought for good causes though. Being a bigot is not a good cause.

You can be against natural born males bejng in natural born women sports (theres a fair argument for that), but to mals the sweeping statement that transwomen are not woman is bloody bigoted/backward/ignorant.

What is bigoted about saying transwomen aren't women? It's literally just stating a fact. Transwomen are transwomen, women are women. Without that differentiation there can't be sex based protections.

NightmareGirl · 14/12/2023 22:57

hellsBells246 · 14/12/2023 22:50

But why?? It means believing in reality

Because we associate the word radical with terrorism for example. Radical extremist. It sounds scary.

BeingATwatItsABingThing · 14/12/2023 22:57

DC1888 · 14/12/2023 22:26

There is likely an inherent genetic advantage being born male, thus would put natural born women at a competitive disadvantage.

On the other issues, it's a case by case basis.

It isn't a simplistic black and white issue ("they're not women so are precluded from X"). That Scottish bloke (yes it was a bloke) who raped women and tried to get in the womens prison, that's a straightforward case.

The numbers are so small, a case by case basis works.

You didn’t actually answer the question. At what point would it be appropriate for a man to be in a women’s rape crisis centre? Men are a risk to women when it comes to rape. Women are not a risk to men and women cannot rape men. To allow men into this safe space for women who have been victims of rape would be very traumatic for them and against their best interests and need to be safeguarded.

The same can be said for all other scenarios. A woman’s right to feel and be safe should never ever come second to a man’s want to be in that space. It really is a want and should not be a right! This isn’t case by case because we can never be 100% certain that any man is safe. Any men that bleat on about ‘not all men’ are missing the point and I don’t want them in my safe spaces.

catduckgoose · 14/12/2023 22:55

DC1888 · 14/12/2023 20:26

Terf is a bigot though, that would put anyone off.

Was astounded reading Wikipedia yesterday to see that the UK is dubbed "terf island".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TERF_(acronym)

The reason I found it astounding is the UK is the birthplace of androgyny becoming mainstream via glam rock/new romantics...the UK was far ahead of anywhere else in uprooting gender norms. When anyone thinks of the UK they think progressive/good sense... the right wing fringe (Farage) excepted.

Terf is regressive/backward and very un-UK like...its something you'd expect from the US bible belt (no doubt they are too).

A source on that wiki article posits why terf is so strong in the UK: "The U.K. has a long history of powerful feminist movements and feminist activism that has been successful in securing large-scale legal reforms around the notion of 'women's rights,' so TERF groups build on the legacy of this past feminist work when they articulate their politics of 'women's sex-based rights.'"

So Wollstonecraft (founder of feminism), Pankhurst etc. They fought for good causes though. Being a bigot is not a good cause.

You can be against natural born males bejng in natural born women sports (theres a fair argument for that), but to mals the sweeping statement that transwomen are not woman is bloody bigoted/backward/ignorant.

What is this nonsense? It's not at all bigoted to recognise that "transwomen" - that is, men who desire to be women and call themselves women - are not actually women.

DC1888 · 14/12/2023 22:54

Waitwhat23 · 14/12/2023 22:31

The SPS policy was largely influenced by the Scottish Trans Alliance. James Morton said -

'We strategized – we strategized – that by working intensively with the Scottish Prison Service to support them to include trans women as women on a self-declaration basis within very challenging circumstances, we would be able to ensure that all other public services should be able to do likewise’.

When you say 'that Scottish bloke', are you referring to Isla Bryson? Because he's hardly an isolated case. Violent males have been placed into the female prison estate in Scotland for some time, due to the policy set by the SPS in 2014. The updated policy, released this month, is hardly an improvement.

There are just 23 of them;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67613441

You could fit them all inside a classroom and have room to spare.

Said previously, some people are born with the wrong body parts. Hermaphrodites are born with both. I've seen very effeminate males with more curvy bodies than females...while I haven't personally come across the opposite there is the case of Caster Semenya, more manly than many males.

Its never just a simple case of XX and XY, there is an outlier of people who are physically more in tune with the sex they were not born into. I grew up with one...he was as girly a girl could have been.

hellsBells246 · 14/12/2023 22:50

NightmareGirl · 14/12/2023 19:43

I looked up what TERF means. It might be the radical feminist part that scares them off ?

But why?? It means believing in reality

Circumferences · 14/12/2023 22:46

On the other issues, it's a case by case basis.

It isn't a simplistic black and white issue ("they're not women so are precluded from X").

You're obviously early on in your understanding of what "case by case" actually means.

It means sometimes a bloke can access women only sport, or women only homeless shelters, or women only prisons, or a women only flipping internet forum on knitting.

It IS black and white.

No blokes calling themselves women should access women's anything because as we've learned the hard way, this opens the door to con artists.

nothingcomestonothing · 14/12/2023 22:45

DC1888 · 14/12/2023 22:26

There is likely an inherent genetic advantage being born male, thus would put natural born women at a competitive disadvantage.

On the other issues, it's a case by case basis.

It isn't a simplistic black and white issue ("they're not women so are precluded from X"). That Scottish bloke (yes it was a bloke) who raped women and tried to get in the womens prison, that's a straightforward case.

The numbers are so small, a case by case basis works.

On the contrary , it is a very simplistic black and white issue. One male - XY person - in a female space immediately makes it a mixed sex space. Doesn't matter how small the numbers of males who wish to be treated as female is, or how sad they will be if they get told no. Women matter too, and any woman saying no makes it a no, unless you think mens feelings are more important than women's feelings?

Waitwhat23 · 14/12/2023 22:31

DC1888 · 14/12/2023 22:26

There is likely an inherent genetic advantage being born male, thus would put natural born women at a competitive disadvantage.

On the other issues, it's a case by case basis.

It isn't a simplistic black and white issue ("they're not women so are precluded from X"). That Scottish bloke (yes it was a bloke) who raped women and tried to get in the womens prison, that's a straightforward case.

The numbers are so small, a case by case basis works.

The SPS policy was largely influenced by the Scottish Trans Alliance. James Morton said -

'We strategized – we strategized – that by working intensively with the Scottish Prison Service to support them to include trans women as women on a self-declaration basis within very challenging circumstances, we would be able to ensure that all other public services should be able to do likewise’.

When you say 'that Scottish bloke', are you referring to Isla Bryson? Because he's hardly an isolated case. Violent males have been placed into the female prison estate in Scotland for some time, due to the policy set by the SPS in 2014. The updated policy, released this month, is hardly an improvement.

DC1888 · 14/12/2023 22:26

HermioneWeasley · 14/12/2023 21:06

@DC1888

so TWAW except for sports

what about rape crisis centres? Prisons? Hospital wards? Open plan showers and changing rooms?

if a woman requests a female nurse to do her smear test and a TW arrives, is she bigoted to refuse?

There is likely an inherent genetic advantage being born male, thus would put natural born women at a competitive disadvantage.

On the other issues, it's a case by case basis.

It isn't a simplistic black and white issue ("they're not women so are precluded from X"). That Scottish bloke (yes it was a bloke) who raped women and tried to get in the womens prison, that's a straightforward case.

The numbers are so small, a case by case basis works.

SinnerBoy · 14/12/2023 22:24

TERFisTHEnewTREND · Today 21:46

I would rather weed them out right away and not waste my time.

That seems like sound reasoning to me, after all, you wouldn't want to go on a few dates with someone and suddenly discover he's a racist.

BeingATwatItsABingThing · 14/12/2023 22:20

I wouldn’t declare myself a TERF. I’m gender critical and an advocate for women being allowed spaces that men aren’t allowed in - toilets, changing rooms, medical services, sports… I’m also against the erosion of ‘female’ words to make TW/men feel more included. XX chromosomes = female and XY = male. No amount of surgery or wearing a dress changes that.

I am very glad that my DH agrees with me and is just as pissed off at the dangerous situation being created for our daughters if it’s not fixed soon.

AnnaKing81 · 14/12/2023 22:14

It's your opinion and an important one to you. I'm probably classed as a terf, as on definition it's what I believe.

People will be offended by it, but it's not an abusive belief....Some people will be hugely offended if you don't believe in god, it's just your opinion. If you feel that it's important to you, leave it there. X

Circumferences · 14/12/2023 22:06

BTW, I see "TERF" as a compliment, which is why I'm happy to refer to myself as such. Go TERF Island!

I don't think you understand that, from the point of view of gender ideologists- or even the plain ignorant, normal person who hasn't looked into the gender ideology issue too much-
A "terf" is this mythical archetype who wants to eradicate trans people from earth. They are evil people who wish trans people didn't exist, that they are in bed with right wing Christians who all wish everyone confirms to perfect sexist stereotypes.. blah...blah

Obviously, from our point of view this is total bullshit, but unfortunately this is what they think of "terfs". (You don't need to be a huge gender extremest either, just an ordinary person who hasn't really thought about it .).
The ideology relies on this imaginary enemy to justify rape and death threats so they can bully women into silence.
It's worked so far.

Anyone who hasn't really looked into it will hear "hi I'm a terf" and think "shit, you think transpeople should all fuck off and die, wow, what a bigot". (Obviously no one thinks transpeople should fuck off and die, it's just how the argument is portrayed).

Please don't call yourself a terf.

SamW98 · 14/12/2023 22:02

Whiskerson · 14/12/2023 21:58

I don't think many people really think that, but you can probably weed out the ones who think they think that by not swiping on man-buns or neck-beards. HTH.

I don’t know if it’s an age thing or just the circles I mix in but I honestly don’t know anyone who actually thinks TWAW.

I’ve noticed among my circle that late onset feminism really is a thing and a lot of my friends been peaked by the media coverage over last few years.

InvisibleBuffy · 14/12/2023 21:58

I do understand wanting it to come up on a first date. I wouldn't want to continue with a man who doesn't respect women's rights. Best get it out the way quickly so you don't waste time with them.

Whiskerson · 14/12/2023 21:58

TERFisTHEnewTREND · 14/12/2023 21:46

I don't want to announce that I'm GC on a first date as there's so much more to me than that. However, like it or not, a lot of people think that TWAW. I don't want to date those people. I would rather weed them out right away and not waste my time.

BTW, I see "TERF" as a compliment, which is why I'm happy to refer to myself as such. Go TERF Island!

I don't think many people really think that, but you can probably weed out the ones who think they think that by not swiping on man-buns or neck-beards. HTH.

stealtheatingtunnocks · 14/12/2023 21:56

A site for only terfs would be brilliant.

”dating for FoJKR”

maybe once “ tickle v giggle” is sorted we can have that sort of thing?

Circumferences · 14/12/2023 21:55

Why would you go on a first date and, firstly immediately leap into a subject which is highly contentious, and secondly- refer to yourself using a derogatory misogynistic slur?

This post makes no sense.

InvisibleBuffy · 14/12/2023 21:54

I wouldn't put terf just because a lot of people don't really know what it means.
I have noticed that quite a few people put Harry Potter references or mention JK Rowling as an author they like amongst others. It's like a secret code 🤣
That way you can also sound them out. And any reference to JKR, no matter how vague, tends to immediately out those who froth at the mouth about her.

TERFisTHEnewTREND · 14/12/2023 21:46

I don't want to announce that I'm GC on a first date as there's so much more to me than that. However, like it or not, a lot of people think that TWAW. I don't want to date those people. I would rather weed them out right away and not waste my time.

BTW, I see "TERF" as a compliment, which is why I'm happy to refer to myself as such. Go TERF Island!

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