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

[YouAreNotBatman]

YANBU = I’m am
YABU = I am not

Just 'all women'? Or should men treat them as such and support them too?

And how about trans women - it would be nice if they could support the protected rights of biological women... oh, wait - was that a unicorn egg that just rolled by?

First response says no.

It's like people sit on here just waiting to jump onto everything to make it about males.

One day I dream that we can just talk about women and girls without this nonsense sticking its nonsense in where it isn't even part of the discussion. It highlights just how little progress we have really made.

I am a feminist, basically i just believe in equal rights for women

i do read around the subject, probably to a lesser extent to many on FWR, but i operate at a very basic level 😀

As pp said, it would be great just to talk about female people.

That I have equal rights to males

should also recognise that females and male are different that is being eroded and against what I believe feminism stands for

If people on here are genuinely trying to gain other perspectives, there is a wealth of information online and in literature.

For those saying you have nothing in common with trans women, you do. You both appear as female and are perceived by many as female. You both would suffer with sexist recruitment/salaries, you are both at higher risks of sexual assault etc. A lot of the issues impacting women, also impact trans women. Just because you don't recognise them as female knowing their history, doesn't mean they aren't recognised as female by people who don't know their history.

I consider myself a feminist.

For me this means I advocate and support the rights of women, as in biological XX chromosome females.

This includes the right to safe spaces (toilets, changing rooms, refuges, crisis centres, hospital wards and prisons), the right to participate in sport equally (XX vs. XX, not XY) and the right not have my identity as a woman/female erased (“people who menstruate” “birthing parent” blah blah blah).

Just because you don't recognise them as female knowing their history, doesn't mean they aren't recognised as female by people who don't know their history.

This is quite transphobic, because you are judging transitioned males by their ability to 'pass'.

And of course, you must know that over 85% of transitioned males retain their penises and many of those are still capable of sexual activity with their penises.

Could you please explain why any of these males should be in a female single sex space? A space where females have needs which very often include not being in a space with someone with a penis.

How is it 'feminist' to ignore the needs of females and prioritise male's needs instead?

I am a feminist in that I believe.

Women have equal value to men.
Women should have equal access to justice, education, financial independence (through work and other means) and representation of their views.

Women are the sex class that are born with potential to produce ovum.
Women are NOT a feeling or a fantasy.
Women do not exist to support men's wants.

For me, it helped me realise that I should put my own needs and safety ahead of men's wants.

I’ve looked online at many different perspectives and it always seems to come back to stereotypes. I very much doubt there are many trans women that want to live like me. I have short hair, rarely wear make up and never wear high heels.

As for saying that trans women are at a similar threat of discrimination to me, that kind of makes it that only those that ‘pass’ count. I’d still say those that do appear more feminine have a better chance of fending off an attacker than I do.

Another thing for me, to remember to tune out the constant whining about men's needs.

I bet a tenner that you can't define these key terms in your statement:
'woman/ women'
'trans'
Or explain what commonality trans women and women have which means they both fit into the category ' woman'

If you can't do this your statement has no coherence to it.

Unfortunately I haven't found anything that isn't word salad, which seems odd considering that it is, as you say, "not rocket science".

Trans women, for the most part, don't actually appear female and aren't perceived as female. People politely pretend. To the extent that they do appear and are perceived as female, this is a choice. If they chose to present as male, they would be perceived as male and benefit from male privilege. Women do not have that choice.

Female people who identify as male or non binary do not escape sex based oppression, are not perceived as male and do not gain any male privilege. Trans women sometimes continue to benefit from male privilege whilst simultaneously claiming to be oppressed and discriminated against.

Look at the Lia Thomas debacle, for example. Lia is allowed to compete as a woman, despite the obvious unfairness to the female swimmers, because Lia's feelings and identity are important and must be validated. No one gives a shit about the feelings of the female swimmers, about whether they think it's fair that they have to compete against someone who went through male puberty, that they have to share communal showers with someone who has a male body, or whether they even agree that they share any kind of identity with that person at all. They are silenced, under threat of removal of their scholarships and damage to their reputation and future employment opportunities. Meanwhile, Lia gets a double page spread in Swimmer's World to talk about "her truth".

Trans women also, quite obviously, don't suffer from the same discrimination by employers that women face. When deciding whether or not to hire someone because they might go off on maternity leave, employers care about whether you are under 45 and have a uterus, not your gender identity. If anything, in certain fields, being a trans woman gives you a distinct advantage. The organisation can gain serious woke points by hiring you, whilst taking on zero risk of you going off on maternity leave. Win, win.

So no, honestly, I don't agree that we have anything in common.

If people on here are genuinely trying to gain other perspectives, there is a wealth of information online and in literature.

Yes many of us on MN have done a lot of thinking and reading about this. If you have any fresh, original and new insights, please do point me in the direction of helpful links.

You both appear as female and are perceived by many as female.

You are speaking only of those transitioned males who some people would say 'pass'. Many females can tell who is male and who is not despite clothes, facial feminisation attempts. You cannot change the way hips move for instance. Voices are also very hard to change even with training and surgery.

So, while you might be right for on-line or fleeting face to face contact, I would say your view is unrealistic.

You both would suffer with sexist recruitment/salaries

Really? So, if a male has had the benefit of the advantages of being male and getting access, opportunity and societal support of being male in their educational and other opportunities, do you believe that they have suffered the same negative sexist discrimination that females have had from birth? Because as a parent of a teen, I can tell you, that negative sexist discrimination is alive and well today.

you are both at higher risks of sexual assault etc

Yes, this may be true. However, transitioned males also still have the same risk of committing sex crimes as the rest of the male population. Therefore, they have their own unique needs because of this.

A lot of the issues impacting women, also impact trans women.

Which other issues? You have named two. You have stated this very confidently. I am interested in hearing why you are fully committed that these males have the same access to the sex based rights and protections of females.

What’s a woman?

For those saying you have nothing in common with trans women, you do. You both appear as female and are perceived by many as female.

We must be talking about quite a narrow cohort of MTF trans people here, because it's not a description that applies to most. If it did, there would be less problems with women objecting to males in female spaces, as we wouldn't know anything about it.

For me it’s a no brainer - I’m a woman so why wouldn’t I want better for women. Of course I’m on my own side!

Being a feminist to me means supporting the rights of women and girls to equality. This includes equal opportunity, equal pay, equal right to feel and be safe.

A little bit like Black Lives Matter doesn’t mean that anyone else’s lives do not… being a feminist doesn’t mean I do not support peoples rights to love and marry who they like and to dress and present the way they feel suits them. However trans rights and feminism aren’t the same thing.. it’s a different fight.

What does it mean to identify as and appear female? What do females look like?

Yes I am.
To me it means having true equality as a goal, whilst recognising that the structures of our society put more barriers in the way of female progress and happiness.

Which is why you don't seem to see trans men wishing to compete against men in sport presumably etc

To me it is equality and a world where women are seen as more than their reproductive systems.

You are about 10 years out of date.

Many people claiming the title of 'trans' don't appear to others to be female, nor do they have to even try under this trans umbrella. One's gender identity does not have to match one's expression, remember?

Even for those who do, they have not experienced socialisation as female, they retain male height and much physical strength and advantage and so do not live life with the physical vulnerability that women do and that women are aware they have. Nor, unless they have transitioned fully young, will they have experienced this as a young woman. Middle aged male transitioners will never experience the common harassment and bothering from men, than women grow up with. And they are likely to have reached their career peak and to have made their name by the time they transition. TW won't experience the slow down in career that many women do upon becoming mothers (the pay gap forms after motherhood and does not affect fatherhood) nor the expectation that they take on the bulk of domestic/ childcare labour (this still falls on women) whilst trying to maintain a career, nor will they be the sex most likely to fall into poverty after relationship break up with kids. Nor do they go through menopause with the effects on women that has.

Some TW who pass will experience a small amount of the things that women do. But to claim this makes them actual women is bonkers. Its a bit like going on holiday to a foreign country and claiming you ' get ' the culture in the same way as those who have grown up and lived their all their lives do.. You just don't and its patronising to the nationals to think that you do. And the fact that you think you do, just goes to show how badly you don't get it.