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Things That Are TERF Rhetoric That You Might Not Have Noticed
(a thread on implicit transphobia by liz) ib: @exclusionist
(a thread on implicit transphobia by liz) ib: @exclusionist
1) "Genital Preference"
This one is a big red flag to all trans people, as it is a dogwhistle that TERFs will use to imply that they would not date a trans person, simply because of what is in their underwear, which leaves room to misgender and belittle us for being ourselves. It is fine if you have a +
preference borne of trauma, a genuine reason, but not a preference borne of a hatred for trans people for being different. We are more perceptive than you take us for, we can tell when it's genuine and when it's performative. We don't want to date transphobic people anyway.
2) "Lesbians can't like men"
The statement itself is lesbophobic, as it implies lesbians CANNOT have the freedom to explore their own sexuality for what it is, and leaves questioning people feeling more confused than ever.
But the roots of the phrase itself are much much more malicious than it appears. +
But the roots of the phrase itself are much much more malicious than it appears. +
TERFs have for years referred to transfemmes, or people they perceive to be AMAB, as "men". The statement cuts deeper when seen in this light and for many trans people this is harmful as it can trigger dysphoria, even if your intentions weren't to harm them. +
TERFs who are "political lesbians" have also been using this EXACT statement to attack trans women for years, the most prominent incident of this starting with the Furies in the 70s, where lesbians who dated trans women were deemed "bisexual" and shunned, out of transphobia.
3) "Nonbinary people are inherently included in all sexualities"
While it seems like a good sentiment, what the sentence boils down to, and what you are telling nonbinary people, is that it is okay to misgender us by including us in a sexuality that we may not want to be included in, as it might induce AGAB related dysphoria. Sexuality and +
gender are very much connected, one nonbinary person (even if they are aligned in any way) may feel misgendered from being included in monosexual lesbian attraction for example as it would erase the fact they are nonbinary by putting them adjacent to binary women.
4) "Bi Lesbians Are Not Valid"
To add to the last point, any nonbinary person is susceptible to having a complicated relationship with their sexuality, due to the incongruence of their gender from their assigned gender at birth. This has resulted in many varied and equally valid labels for nonbinary people +
to use in relation to their sexuality. one label which has been the subject of a lot of online discourse is "bi lesbian". Now there are a lot of reasons people will use this label. I won't get into specifics but here is a resource by ACTUAL bi lesbians: https://bi-lesbian.carrd.co
I say this because there are a few carrds circulating which are not actually by Bi Lesbians, but binary and cis lesbians and bisexuals who think they have authority to speak over nonbinary people. +
A lot of nonbinary people will use the label as the line between lesbian and bisexual has always been very thin for them in relationship with their gender. This is valid. +
Another group may say they use the label so they don't have to erase the part of them that is lesbian when including nby people in their attraction. This not only acknowledges nby people as a separate and individual group of genders, also includes us without misgendering anyone.+
And another group of nonbinary people will feel multiple sexualities at the same time, or at different times! This is a way that we don't have to erase one part of our identity in favour of another, which nby people are more susceptible to feeling. +
Being mindful and accepting of the variance in nonbinary people's identities is a necessary part of your allyship with us. You cannot say you support us while shaming us for feeling sexuality in a non-conventional way. Here are some more reasons people go by these terms:
Please mutuals, if you have any more suggestions for things that are hidden TERF rhetoric, or more education and suggestions for people who might be falling for it, please reply below, replies and RTs encouraged !
