The gas-lighting of young women

[MissLucyEyelesbarrow]

I have young adult two cousins who are trans (FTM), one of whom has had full top and bottom surgery. Another cousin in her 20s is a trans rights activist, despite being female, both biologically and in her gender ID, and not being trans. This is not social contagion - I have over 100 first and second cousins, living in various countries and the people concerned will have met once or twice, if at all.

I feel somewhat irritated with the TRA cousin, as she comes from a privileged background (not true of all my family, by any means), and is giving no thought to the impact of removing single sex spaces on poorer women. She lives in another country and, sadly, it looks as if self-ID will become law there. Mostly, though, I feel sad for them all. Both the trans-identifying cousins are actually lesbian, IME. They live in countries where being gay is theoretically fine - one is in the UK - but in practice, being a gay woman is still stigmatised. Both were, pre-transition, gender non-conforming in a way that would have been unremarkable in the 70s/80s/90s, but now gets you labelled trans. And all three of them have been gas-lit by society to value men before women, and to think they are progressive by doing so 😞

It's already happening, Roaring. Women's Aid groups in Scotland have lost funding which has been allocated to 'gender neutral' services.

It sounds like your two cousins feel that the term 'trans' describes them best and both would like to be known a men (by your account). You state that both are 'actually lesbians' so who exactly is doing the labeling? Surly if they wanted to be lesbians they would be as it is much easier in most countries to be accepted as a lesbian than it is as trans. Based on your account, if both are men, then are you using an inclusive definition of 'lesbian'? How would they describe themselves?

You also label your other cousin as a 'trans right's activist'. The TRA label which is bounded about in threads like this seems rather strange as it appears to be used on anyone who is trans inclusive. Would your cousin describe themselves as a TRA or again, is this just you placing your own worldview on them?

Anyway, I enjoyed the irony of a post wailing about gas-lighting when participating in this behavior itself, so thank you for bringing a spark of satire to my afternoon.

if they wanted to be lesbians they would be as it is much easier in most countries to be accepted as a lesbian than it is as trans

Nope.

“Surly if they wanted to be lesbians they would be as it is much easier in most countries to be accepted as a lesbian than it is as trans.”

There are parts of the world where they are quite keen on “transing the gay away”. Including the UK, according the staff in the Tavistock Clinic.