Tabasco Toastie, thank you for your detailed post. I'd like to address the points you make:
"1) "TRAs" do not represent the views of all trans people, in fact much of the time the are diametrically opposed to the views held by the average trans person."
Couldn't agree more. The problem is, it is the TRAs who have the ear of the politicians and the authorities, and therefore they are the ones influencing changes that will affect all women, natal and trans, eg the upcoming reading of the Gender Identity Bill.
"2) Some TRAs are NOT trans but cis-men exploiting the trans community for their own agenda."
Again, couldn't agree more. But how do we deal with them? They've got the authorities running scared and pandering to them. Because the authorities are more afraid of being called transphobic than they are of fucking over women. This is the power of the word 'transphobic' (the new 'racist'
) so please, think before you use it here, on pretty much the only forum that allows discussion of the issue.
"3) It is possible some of this trans-outrage is being faked intentionally."
I suspect you are on to something there. It's been too damned effective to be just individuals making themselves heard. (BTW, it's the BMA getting nervous about the phrase 'pregnant women' and capitulating to the TRAs.)
"4) Research shows that transwomen suffer the same level of misogyny after they transition as biological women, even from people who knew them as men. As an intersexed transwoman I know said on the London stage last week, "I truly believe there is a war on women, and before I thought this was a woman's world." "
Sad to hear. I would hope this would make average transwomen out allies, but I understand if they are keeping their heads down to avoid the carnage the TRAs could wreak on their lives.
"5) There are people who are born intersexed or with various medical conditions meaning their biological sex is not clear-cut, and their needs should not be overlooked in the current trans hysteria. In the past I've raised this point on threads here and been told it was irrelevant - sorry, but it's not irrelevant. Posters have explicitly stated that anyone who ever had a penis should be barred from female spaces. A statement like that deeply affects intersexed individuals; you can't pretend it doesn't or not think about how their rights are going to be accommodated."
Well it kind of is irrelevant, because nobody sees intersex as a threat. Whilst the TRAs harp on about intersex to muddy the waters, I thought they have tries to disassociate themselves from the TRA? www.aissg.org/21_OVERVIEW.HTM#Terminology
"6) Every single trans person I've ever come across or know of, and every single trans person all of them have ever known or known of, has worked as a prostitute to pay for their surgery. Every single one. Statistically a shockingly high percentage of transwomen do."
I'm sorry they had to do that.
"7) Transphobia is often rooted in traditional misogyny. Most of the transphobia in the world comes from men, not from women. Stop doing misogynistic men's work for them, because they have an agenda to pit women against each other. We see their tactics to pit biological women against each other in all kinds of different ways every day, hardly a surprise they're now trying to pit ciswomen against transwomen."
I am not against transwomen. I am against the apparent aims of the dubious TRAs. I expect this also the case for many MNers, many of whom have openly states as much. SO stop with the 'MNposters are transphobic', you're falling for the tactic you're warning us against.
"8) Some anti-trans actions actively hurt biological women, for example proposed legislation that would allow forced genital checks."
Utter rubbish. What is this proposed legislation?
"Trans hysteria hurts biological women who do not conform to gender stereotypes by putting them at heightened risk of attack and being accused of being men. (In previous threads some MN posters claimed all women should have to carry "proof of gender" ID cards which would need to be shown to use a public bathroom - how does that not hurt and oppress women?)"
Again, utter rubbish. I'm on MN a lot and have never seen any posts like this. Please link to these threads.
"9) Current trans hysteria is based on a society's obsession with rigid gender norms, and those gender norms hurt women. Obviously a four-year-old who loves pink and dolls is not "trans" but the insane labelling of young children as trans for not conforming to gender stereotypes is not a reflection on actual trans people and it is not anti-Trans to point out how insane and abusive it is."
As I understand it, this is what radical feminists have been saying all along. Gender is a social construct imposed upon us all, male and female, and is utter bollocks. It is the TRAs trying to shove us all into these narrow pidgeonholes and insist if we are not gender-conforming we must be trans. Then shouting 'transphobe!' at the radical feminists.
"10. If you have strong feelings on this matter, I urge you to go out and meet actual transwomen face to face. Not the "TRAs" - real, ordinary transwomen who have had gender reassignment or are waiting for it, who live as women. I think that's the least you can do if you're campaigning to remove someone's rights, don't you?"
We're not campaigning to remove transwomen's rights. We're trying to stop the TRAs from removing women's rights. Seriously, do you not get that? Plus, I reckon most of us probably know transpeople. A lot of us here are mothers, and our children have friends that are wrestling with the pressure to be trans rather than gay/lesbian.
For at least one MNposter, that child is their child.