I initially wrote this as a reply to a thread in relationships, but rather than derail the thread I decided to post it in FWR as a thread in its own right about a common accusation made against gender critical feminists.
It is a response to the claim that the only people who object to the word "cis" are people who deny the existence of trans women, and that such people are transphobes.
"Transphobe", like "trans woman" and indeed "cis woman", are just the words trans activists use to hide what is really going on.
These words exist to hide one simple truth: Trans women are not, in any objective, real way, in any way outside their own heads, in any way that is real to anyone else, any closer to being a woman than any other man is.
"Trans women" in reality are just men who for some reason feel compelled (or sometimes just really want ) to adopt a cross-sex persona playing out whatever their idea of what a woman is.
The words exist to make it sound like a reasonable thing when such men demand that their wives, children, friends and family, colleagues, officials, all of society pretend they are women, let them enter private spaces for women, let them touch or counsel women in roles reserved for women, let them take prizes for women, let them speak for women.
Because we'd never accept that as ok from men. But it's ok for trans women, and if it's not ok that's transphobia.
And we'd never say women in general are more privileged and powerful than men, but call the men trans women and the women cis women and suddenly everyone nods along. And if they don't it's transphobia.
But I don't believe the thing that makes men and women different is our minds. And without that belief, the whole thing falls apart.