Are you inadvertently being transphobic? Find out here

[AskBasil]

A lot of Twitter transactivists think Mumsnet is transphobic. Every time women ask for a definition of transphobic, they get blocked, so you may be confused as to whether you're transphobic or not. So I thought I'd be helpful and give you a few examples of what you must not believe, if you don't want to be a transphobe.

If you believe any of the following, you are transphobic:

• Female mammals gestate their young in their wombs. This includes human mammals.

• Only females menstruate.

• A penis is a male organ

• A vagina is a female organ

• You can find out whether your baby will be a girl or a boy by going for a scan

• The duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a baby boy.

• Gay men have male bodies and want to sleep with other men with male bodies

• Lesbians have female bodies and want to sleep with people with female bodies

• A woman is an adult human female. A female in this context, means of or denoting the sex that can bear offspring or produce eggs, distinguished biologically by the production of gametes (ova) which can be fertilized by male gametes

• A man is an adult human male. Male in this context means of or denoting the sex that produces gametes, especially spermatozoa, with which a female may be fertilized or inseminated to produce offspring.

These are just some of the basic things you need to stop believing if you want to ensure you don't engage in wrongthink. I hope this is helpful and will guide you in ensuring that you learn to think correctly and stop being a terrible bigot.

Dont - it's from the handmaids tale - there's these formal greetings that people say:

Blessed be the fruit
Under his eye

etc. And people are encouraging Birdseye to stop advertising until us unruly women get in line...

It's sheer genius.

Calling my newborn 'he'. It was transphobic not to call my baby 'they' until they pick their own pronoun. I hope they choose something I can pronounce.

For clarification; ‘Bigot’ mean ‘being tolerant and prepared to listen to other people’s opinions especially women’s’.

You can't just write a list, Basil.

You have to take your message to the masses. That's what Jesus did. And look what happened to him

You have to offer workshops and materials where only you may preside over affairs. This is to ensure that the message is not diluted or corrupted.

Government officials in particular need to be educated, so taxpayers' money must be handed over to you in consultancy fees.

I read the title and much of the thread hearing Riley J Dennis' voice...

Have we covered "If you are a lesbian that doesn't want to involve a penis in your sexual activities then you are a transphobe?"

Blessed Be the Fruit shoot

Very fitting.

Yes, why not daily mail transphobia or daily telegraph transphobia or the times transphobia?

Why mumsnet transphobia?

Not knowing someone's pronouns just by looking at them is pretty transphobic.

Pink pussy hats are transphobic and exclusionary.

And not all pussys are pink fyi...

Mumsnet is totally transphobic, I mean, look at this lot owning and even JOKING about the pain of childbirth that transwomen totally also experience BTW but, like, in a different, more womanly way.

To think it's impossible to explain how painful labour is?http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/amiibeingunreasonable/3239499-To-think-its-impossible-to-explain-how-painful-labour-is

Thank you Errol and Disturbingly
That makes perfect sense (and I've only just re-read it this year too!)

Hilarious

WPUK us a hate group. A man said that on Twitter, so it must be true.

Good point itsall Saying all pussies are pink is tabby-exclusionary and my pussy is so annoyed she's sulking upstairs.

Has anyone checked a predominantly male forum, eg Piston Heads, for transphobia? Maybe we should be telling them too. I mean, it can’t just be women making these mistakes?

(I miss the days when the most we had to worry about was the odd piston head invasion)

No going into Style and Beauty asking for where to get a pink hat. The wearing and discussing of pink hats is transphobic.

Blessed be the fruit shoot
Under Bird's Eye
May The Wine Open

Are there actually people who do not know that most of our internal organs are pink?

All lesbians must want to have sex with a penis women...or they are transphobic

Calling my newborn 'he'. It was transphobic not to call my baby 'they' until they pick their own pronoun.

Absolutely. Your greater transphobic sin was of course, giving birth. We must not mention the lady parts involved in that, not all ladies have them apparently - nobody's fault, not even the Roman's.

I mean that whole list is bonkers (& yep I have see some of those used) so any sensible message about transphobia gets lost.

I think this is a really valid point. Because these example ARE so insane, but they’re real, and they’re what the most vocal group of TRAs are making people’s lives difficult about. This stuff is so barmy, so extreme and so dangerous that of course people are fighting against it - it’s a genuine threat to women’s safety.

And so genuine transphobia - the discrimination, poor treatment etc of people who just want to quietly get on with their lives while being trans, gets lost in it. And these people will likely bear the brunt of any backlash too.

And then the debate gets lost in trans vs feminists when what genuine transwomen want is safety and respect and what women want is safety and respect. But that’s not what TRA activists want, so that can’t happen

It’s a clever tactic from the TRAs - two groups who could have fought on a lot of overlapping issues to do with Male violence, safety, etc are now set against each other. Leaving the TRAs as the sole beneficiaries of the sound and fury stuff.

Calling my newborn 'he'. It was transphobic not to call my baby 'they' until they pick their own pronoun. I hope they choose something I can pronounce.

Perhaps we’ll see an upswing in unisex names so as not to assume your chid’s gender at birth: Rowan, Hilary, Robin, Max, Lindsey, Charlie, Pauly. Wasn’t John Wayne actually a Marion?

I love this list.
Everything is transphobic. Even public transport because somehow it's not safe for trans folk.

Transwomen don't have periods.

If a transwoman experiences some sort of monthly cramping, it is not due to shedding of the uterine lining and the uterus contracting, but phantom symptoms with a possibly psychological cause.

Bleeding is not a trivial part of menstruation.

(A woman got hounded off a FB group for suggesting ever so gently that this might be the case.)

So basically any mention of gender is transphobic...

Well not so much inadvertently, no. There is a lot of deliberate transphobia on here though.