Is there any way to explain to people that being against TRA ideology doesn't make me right wing?

If you're talking about your friends they're not, if they're relatives you are allowed to stand up for yourself against their disrespect. These people don't really think you're right-wing anyway. It's a struggle session. If they can shame you enough you'll behave yourself and fall in with their ideology. The question is, what's more important - their empty attempt to insult you or your rights?

If they're British you could point out that it was Theresa May's Conservative government who wanted to introduce gender self-id laws, and that most of the grassroots opposition to this came from left-wing women's rights networks.

If they're American try directing them to the activism and writings of Kara Dansky, she's a lifelong liberal who is opposed to trans ideological policy.

(Tried to edit but just got the spinny wheel of death)

To add, this is also evident in the amount of people who won't read a source which they consider 'unpure' and instead rely on other (approved) people's interpretation of it. JKR's essay for example. The amount of people who will state as a certainty 'it's transphobic' without having actually read it is astounding.

This is exactly what I do. Trans ideology is deeply sexist and homophobic. It relies on outdated gender stereotypes, authoritarianism and on the stifling of free speech. Opposing those have never been right wing.

It's also led to the phenomenon we're seen so many times here of 'I didn't know that - it wasn't in the Guardian!'

The tribalism which has led to some people only reading articles in the 'approved' newspapers or refusing to listen to any source which doesn't pass some sort of mad purity test means that a whole cohort of people have made themselves 1. deliberately uninformed and 2. simply unable to understand the concept of plurality in society.

And I don't mean having to agree with everything on any side of the spectrum. I mean just being aware of it. Rather than saying (with fingers in ears) 'it's not in the Guardian - lahlahlahlah!'

Supporting brexit was not a leftwing or neutral position for example.

AFAIK lots of very left wing organisations, including well-known Trotskyist Jeremy Corbyn, were anti Brexit. Brexit, in many respects was a logical left-wing decision to take.

Forgot to add that on occasion, when being called a far-right/facist i have said "well, you know about Mussoilini and the trains, right?".

People don't seem to understand the difference between right- and left-wing political positions any more. And are totally confused and baffled by the idea that both ideologies can result in crushingly authoritarian regimes (Pinochet vs Stalin for eg).

But over the years the idea that left is good right is bad has stuck so that the insult du jour is to call someone right-wing. It is lazy and devoid of intelligence.

show don't tell?

If anyone calls me right wing i just laugh. I am a very deep deep red socialist and nothing about my life suggests otherwise. I don't particularly care what people who don't know me think about me.

No you can’t explain that you’re not right wing/far right/nazi whatever to these people, because they generally form their opinion based on the inane ramblings of TikTok/twitterx users, and aren’t able to think for themselves.

You can't from the ones you love.

1. Right wing is incorrectly thought of as evil. far-right and far-left are the ones you need to worry about. but it's going to be hard to explain this one because it's so deeply entrenched.
2. More effective might be to send them links from the left-wing newspapers, MPs, etc that are GC. There are more and more now. Point out JKR is left-wing and what a wonderful charity giving person she is.
3. Keep going and don't give up.

I feel your struggle too. I've won the argument from sheer logic but I haven't won the belief. Brainwashing is real.

You think that's difficult, huh! try explaining that one is also a 'one nation conservative' as well as a feminist and gender critical.

At this stage I think I'd say something along the lines of

'if supporting women fighting against men's rights activists makes me right wing - you've got to ask yourself what has happened to the left'

Walk away. Life's too short to associate with stupid people.

The only reason they’re accusing you of being right wing is because they know it will upset you. If they actually thought you were right wing, they wouldn’t bother accusing you of it.

I’d like an explanation as to why “right wing” means “bad people”. Half of the planet’s population is “right wing”. In its traditional definition it means certain fiscal and conservative values, views on size of government, etc. I find the viewpoint that anyone who votes Tory or Republican is evil an incredibly small-minded perspective.

So if someone accuses me of being “right wing” (I’m not), I would reply “so?”

When people accuse me of “transphobia” I equally laugh and shrug. Meaningless accusation.

Part of the problem is the current knee jerk leftwing equation of "minority" with "marginalized and oppressed" and "tiny minority" with "even more marginalized and oppressed". I don't know why the Left have fallen for this so badly, since traditionally the "enemies of the people" have tended to be minorities: there have always been far fewer nobles than peasants, fewer masters than slaves, fewer bosses than workers. Privilege doesn't always require superior numbers, just access to the right sort of power.

Some minorities are indeed disadvantaged, but in the UK (specifically; I wouldn't like to comment on elsewhere) I don't think this is true of trans people. Certainly from the time Stonewall added the T, and probably before that, TRAs had input into all aspects of the establishment to such an extent that they could get organisational policies changed in their favour without having to go the long way round and campaign openly for changes in the law. Trans self-ID was not the law, but organisations behaved as though it was, to the detriment of women's rights.

That's why the recent Supreme Court ruling on what the definition of a woman already was, and its implications, has come as such a rude shock to so many TRAs; they were used to being favoured. It was dissenters like Maya Forstater, Kathleen Stock and Jo Phoenix, to name just a few of many, who were hounded out of their jobs for daring to hold that sex matters and had to go to law to uphold their rights. And another (and genuinely disadvantaged) minority, lesbians, who have had to go undercover in order to exercise their right to same-sex association without the presence of men.

Get them to explain themselves to you. Agree on whatever you find you have common ground on. If they will do this, I have yet to speak to a single person who actually disagrees with significant amounts of what I think about the factual elements of this issue. But they would still label me a terf and themselves as not a terf, based on language, vibes and tribes. Oh, and ageism.

For what purpose? Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe it.

Interesting angle from the BBC.

"A former Conservative MP will stand trial accused of harassment.
Jamie Wallis, who is now known as Katie Wallis and uses female pronouns, represented Bridgend from 2019 to 2024."

"Ms Wallis, who is the first MP to openly begin the process of gender transitioning, told the court: "Legally I am known as Jamie, but I prefer to be known as Katie.""

Is the clarity due to the Supreme Court ruling? Unlikely I think. Or is it because Wallis is a regarded as a dastardly Tory, so the left-wing BBC doesn't refer to him as his preferred category of woman? A Tory who stalked his wife is probably much worse than a cat-blending murderer.

I feel your pain. In my first election I cast a vote for the Communist Party candidate , Solly Kay. Since then I have mellowed a bit . However the Overton Window has moved so far to the right that I suspect the hated Tories of my youth would be considered raving Marxists today. Nonetheless I am routinely called right wing ,transphobic and anti-Semitic online. Well I used to be. I don't engage now. And I still vote left. Just now I am reading The Echo Chamber by John Boyne. Even this shall pass away , comrade.

OP I think it is fairly fruitless, some people are a lost cause. They aren’t rationally listening to logic, facts or reason, because if they did there’s no possible way that they could continue to hold their position.

It’s not a left v right issue, it’s a realism v anti-realism position. The only way they can continue to maintain their position is to double down and control the narrative by silencing people and labelling them as transphobic.

I’ve always been centrist/ left of centre but I’ve felt politically homeless for the last few years.

I'm an atheist too, but my religious friends do not ostracise me, try to get me sacked, or throw soup at me for not sharing their beliefs.

They say it's equivalent to being homophobic or racist just to shut you up so they don't have to explain their logic.

There's very little point arguing with them, it's as pointless as playing chess with a pigeon: it knocks over all the pieces, shits everywhere and struts about like its won.

Soz I'm going to pinch this.🥷

He's (MP) also just pled guilty to harrassing his ex wife -

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3vqxp9nn3o.amp#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17501825210349&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com