Are you a feminist, if yes, what does it mean to you?

[YouAreNotBatman]

YANBU = I’m am
YABU = I am not

But you haven't really explained anything. You have posted links with other people's opinions. You've talked about the US (are you in the US??) You haven't explained why some males are actually female beyond "but they've been through a lot" which is not a coherent argument. This is the crux of the matter.

I’ve explained how historically black women were associated with hyper masculinity and seen as a threat to white women and female fragility

You haven't explained a thing, you simply made a statement.

Are not capable of explaining? I want an example of what you mean, I'm not trawling through three links.

I’m not just talking about the U.K. though, I’m talking about worldwide. Unfortunately there’s less research from the U.K. to refer to. Here’s a direct quote from the results of the findings of some research “Transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to experience violent victimization, including rape, sexual assault, and aggravated or simple assault” Forge 2005 also found than over half of transgender people are sexually assaulted. I really don’t want to just be “what about trans?!!!!” and didn’t want to divert this thread to that. I’m just saying there is evidence that they’re at risk of sexual violence. I’d also like to say that all of the comments I’ve made about trans people have been in response to someone else.

Are you*

Noone has paint bombed my house or beaten me up for being female. Noone has left me to sleep rough because I can't access emergency accommodation because I'm female. Transwomen are living that in the UK daily. And let's be real if people saw them as male that is less likely to be happening their femininity is part of what makes them vulnerable. Educate yourself please before throwing out unfounded statements.

Noone has left me to sleep rough because I can't access emergency accommodation because I'm not female

Women don't automatically get emergency accommodation, usually only if pregnant.

Gosh, where to start with electric dreaming!

Men are not women with high rates of testosterone. No amount of referring to those athletes as women, means they are women.

'Woman' is being used according to the scientific definition of the word. The one that actually has a fixed meaning, rather than the woolly word salad you favour, which includes everyone who wants to be included.

Transwomen may well experience some prejudice. They will also experience all the privilege that goes with being male, right up until they transition. A certain well known olympic athlete can't be denied to have had male privilege.
The difference between a woman experiencing sexism and a trans woman experiencing it, is the TW has the option of opting out by presenting as male. The woman doesn't. No matter what she does, she will be disadvantaged.

Being a woman invalidates me from being a transwoman. I cannot be one, under any circumstances. Therefore...

That's just a starter to the most obvious errors you are making. I mean, it's sweet and all how hard you are trying. But ultimately either you have done no research and given no deep thought to your dissertation (sweet summer child), or you're disingenuous.

I’m just saying there is evidence that they’re at risk of sexual violence.

No, you said they were more at risk than women. You were very specific about that.

Transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to experience violent victimization, including rape, sexual assault, and aggravated or simple assault”

Can you share the source for this?

Forge 2005 also found than over half of transgender people are sexually assaulted.

Some of those transgender people will be natal women who are absolutely still people feminism was created to protect and support.

One in four women has been sexually assaulted or raped, widely deemed to be a conservative figure due to low reporting and misplaced shame.

And crucially, more than 95% of women and girls have been the victims of sexual harassment. This sexualised harassment is due to their sex class.

Okay, if you want contemporary examples look at the way Serena Williams is described and viewed in the public eye. As explained before, women from the global south are more likely to have higher levels of testosterone and are therefore viewed as hyper masculine. There’s a long history of the hyper masculinity of black women and attempts to exclude them from womanhood because of their biological characteristics, and I can’t articulate that as well as others can. It’s a long time since I wrote about this and obviously I can’t remember all the details. I’ve provided evidence for statements I’ve made. If you genuinely want to know, read about it.

I’m not just talking about the U.K. though, I’m talking about worldwide.

Brazil eg is a vastly different society to the U.K., so arguably is the US.

Transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to experience violent victimization, including rape, sexual assault, and aggravated or simple assault”

I'm pretty sure these stats are questionable. I've come across this 4x claim before, but I can't remember where. Where do they come from, which survey/research paper?

Also this is incorrect (I work with dv survivors) it's partners of either gender not solely male partners as dv occurs in lesbian relationships too. Also since womens dv charities do not support trans women nor offer safe accommodation to them making them even less likely to report. they are not included in those figures at all. Nor are they included in the police figures.... so actually we don't know how bad domestic violence rates really are for trans people because it's under recorded which is a travesty in itself.

This isn't DV overall though, this is specifically women being killed by men as femicide. Look up Karen Ingala Smith.

@Cw122

Noone has paint bombed my house or beaten me up for being female. Noone has left me to sleep rough because I can't access emergency accommodation because I'm female. Transwomen are living that in the UK daily. And let's be real if people saw them as male that is less likely to be happening their femininity is part of what makes them vulnerable. Educate yourself please before throwing out unfounded statements.

It's awful that anyone should go through those things. Terrible. And it's heartbreaking and unacceptable for anyone to be paint bombed or beaten up.

To imply that trans women are more at risk than natal women doesn't hold up to statistics though.

Two women every week are murdered by their male current or former partner in the UK.

More than 95% of women and girls have been victims of sexual harassment.

You say nobody has ever beaten you up for being a woman. And I'm glad about that. But plenty of us have been beaten up and attacked in other ways due to being a woman.

Are you for real? Why don't you educate yourself about VAWG? Just because you haven't experienced it does not mean it doesn't exist. Many, many women are killed in the UK every year. How many TW do you think were killed in the last year? Zero.

But this is just a distraction.
Why do you believe that forcing people to agree that Twaw would be helpful in any way? I think we are already seeing the backlash. Trans activists are making the situation worse for most trans people who want to get on with their lives. It's cruel.

williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/ncvs-trans-press-release/ Here’s the link, I think someone else asked for it. Im pretty sure the actual study is Flores et al 2021 gender identity disparities in criminal victimisation, however I no longer have access to academic records due to no longer being a student to verify this

And that is absolutely transphobic and based on appearance.

Yes. This has been pointed out.

Also let's remember that lots of people are born intersex and with indiscernable genitalia. By focusing solely on chromosomes and biology you are completely leaving out entire groups of people who have been raised as female from birth? Why would we do that?

Why would we do that? I believe most of that discussion has been around sport. Do you think females should be able to compete fairly in sport against other females? Or do you think some males who have had the advantage of male puberty should be able to also compete and, as we have seen in the past, win, and therefore take those opportunities away from females?

It's not transphobic to believe that women are female people, and that trans women are not women.

It's not transphobic to not agree that we share any kind of gender identity or lived experience with trans women.

This force teaming is obscene and has to stop.

Stop trying to force people into regressive little gendered boxes with male people who believe they think girly thoughts, or whatever the hell it is they are identifying with. It has nothing to do with the rest of us.

If you want to define yourself as a "cis woman", knock yourself out. Leave me out of it, please.

That's untrue, i work in the homeless sector. We have womens hostels and mens hostels. Transwomen are expected to stay in mens hostels and most will choose to sleep rough as they feel it's safer. We also have specialist hostels for dv survivors who are female. There's limited spaces absolutely but my point is that there's no safe space for transpeople.

So you don’t think a woman with a vulva who happens to have high levels of testosterone is a woman? That’s fine. I do. They’re treated like a woman and would probably never know they weren’t a woman, according to your standards, if they’d never been tested for their testosterone levels. Please don’t patronise me - I don’t think I’ve been rude to anyone on this thread, at least not deliberately and I apologise if I have. I want to engage in a calm and civilised debate, as much as I know this won’t be possible, especially on mumsnet and especially on AIBU!!

@Cw122

Also this is incorrect (I work with dv survivors) it's partners of either gender not solely male partners as dv occurs in lesbian relationships too.

Then you should know that while DV absolutely occurs in lesbian relationships too, the statistic that two women a week being murdered is specifically about male current / former partners and their female victims.

Hence why I was specific about the sex of perpetrator and victim when I shared the statistic. This is why language matters.

Your post states current or former male partners, that is by definition domestic violence though?

violent attacks on women are so frequent & endemic that we (the societal we) barely register it @Cw122

In the latest figures we have (20/21) 177 women were murdered in that 12 month period. By comparison since records began to kept on it in 2008, 8 trans people have been murdered between then & now in the UK.
im sure you’ll be delighted to know that TW are actually the safest demographic in the UK. Far far safer to be a TW than an actual woman in the UK

Can I ask what you’re basing TW being the safest demographic in the U.K. on? Surely they’re not safer than men.

Do you know how statistics work? it's about the overall picture. Showing some examples which are different means jack shit. It's a fact that women - actual women - are paid less than men for similar work. The fact that it's not the case for you is laughably irrelevant. Let me spell it out for you - as a group if TW were living 'as women' then one thing they would need to do is drop their collective salaries by 15% and take on more household tasks.

To get back to the original question. I am a feminist which, for me, means fighting against sex based discrimination faced by women - as in adult, human, female.