Non-binaries aren't men/women-lite
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6 years ago
terf (and other radfem) dogwhistles & warning signs

I wanted to make an easy guide to helping people identify terfs and other radfems. 

Followers, if you have anything to add on, feel free to reblog and add it, or shoot an ask and we’ll add it!

dog whistles: things that are said by the person in question that may indicate radical feminism and transmisogyny; that may not sound radfem or transmisogynistic at first glance.

note: these are dog whistles. that means plenty of people may say these things without knowing what they mean in terf circles. just because someone says some of these things (with perhaps the exclusion of ‘gender critical’ and a few others), it doesn’t inherently indicate they’re a terf. look further, read more that the person has said, etc. before making a judgement. basically use dog whistles as red flags, not as confirmation. however, ones that are huge terf red flags are marked with asteriks (*), so judge accordingly.

  • lesbian = female homosexual* - sounds correct enough at first glance, however, this phrasing (or similar variants) is frequently used by terfs to say “a lesbian is a vagina-having female attracted exclusively to other vagina-having females,” as to terfs, homosexual does not mean someone exclusively attracted to the same gender, but someone exclusively attracted to people of the ‘same sex,’ which for terfs means perisex cis people.
  • gender critical/gender abolitionist - on the surface, these labels may sound good! trans people talk all the time about how difficult gender is to navigate, about not understanding gender, and so forth. however, when terfs call themselves these things, they don’t mean that they’re critical of the gender binary, or want to do away with gender assignment. rather, what they mean here is that “yes, gender is a social construct, however, it is a meaningless one. what really matters is sex, which is binary male and female, and only (cis) females can be lesbians (female homosexuals).” ‘gender criticals’ often view gender as synonymous with gender roles, and view trans women as awful men who further the ‘oppressive institution’ of gender. in spite of being informed about the terf connotations of these terms, some people insist on calling themselves gender critical because they’re using the “actual definitions of the words,” not going off the terf meaning. 
  • TRA - stands for “trans rights activist.” that’s a good thing! we care about trans people, we want them to have rights! however, i have only ever seen this acronym used by terfs, talking negatively about trans people and their allies (and, as i’ve seen it pointed out, it’s very possible that the acronym is meant to be similar to MRA)
  • terf is a slur / cis is a slur* - the former is said by terfs to try and guilt people out of identifying them as such (terf stands for “trans (woman) exclusionary/(exterminatory) radical feminist”), the latter is meant to take language from trans people, and try to make trans people look more “othered” (i.e. terfs want there to be “normal women” and then “trans women/male invaders,” not “trans women” and “cis women” and “nonbinary women,” etc.)
  • Womyn* - may seem obvious, but almost the only people who spell “woman” or “women” as “womyn” (or variants such as “wombyn”) are radical feminists.
  • females and males - if the person is a terf and they don’t call women ‘womyn,’ it’s likely that they refer to people as ‘females’ and ‘males’ instead of as women and men.
  • lesbian not queer - plenty of non-terf lesbians say this one, simply because they aren’t comfortable being called queer! however, when combined with other dog whistles, it should send up red flags.
  • natal woman / woman born woman* - “woman born woman” sounds like it would be another way of saying “cis woman- a woman assigned female at birth, who identifies as a woman! but that’s not the case. woman born woman means “a woman who was born as a woman (for the people who say this, that means someone who was born with ‘female parts’), not a nasty male invader who thinks he’s a woman”
  • TIM and TIF* - means “transgender identified male” (referring to trans women) and “transgender identified female” (referring to trans men). they don’t look harmful at first- they’re reminiscent of the MtF and FtM acronyms perhaps, at a first look, but they’re almost exclusively used by terfs, and once you know what they mean, you realize they’re inherently misgendering people.
  • Woman-only spaces - again, this is a grayer one. there are spaces that are women only! However, when  combined with other dogwhistles, it means it’s likely the person only has afab people in mind when talking about women here.
  • Dysphoric female* - a phrasing almost only ever used by terfs.
  • Genderists* - what many terfs call people who support trans people/trans people as a whole. Also look for genderism.
  • Gender cult / Trans cult* - in spite of the fact that many people, both outside of radfem circles and ex-radfems, have pointed out how these spaces are often very cult-like (asking too many questions is looked down upon, dissenting with the group is punishable through social ostracization and shaming, and so forth), terfs continually try to portray any trans space as being a cult (often implying that trans women are the most powerful in these spaces and are like cult leaders)
  • Libfems - this definitely isn’t the biggest one. plenty of people use it to refer to that Generally Wishy Washy Doesn’t Do Anything brand of mainstream feminism, I’ve seen non-terfs use it in that sense, and liberal feminism is also an actual brand of feminism. However, radfems basicallly use it to refer to any feminism that’s not radical feminism, and use the term frequently. So if it’s combined with other dogwhistles and warning signs, consider it a red flag. Especially concerning if it’s being used in an insulting/derogatory manner. 
  • Kink critical - a general radfem dogwhistle for very similar reasons to “gender critical,” rarely refers to interacting with kink critically but rather that thinking all kink is bad and needs to be abolished, that people who are kinky are either abusive or stuck in the patriarchy’s grasp, etc. however, like with gender critical, some people choose to use it anyways to refer to actually interacting with kink in a critical mindset, ignoring the radfem connotations.
  • Male invaders - used to refer to trans women in general; terfs claim that trans women are cis men trying to play dress up and “invade” spaces for “women born women.”

warning signs: other red flags that aren’t short little phrases, but likely are still present on blogs, social media, in conversation with, etc. in regards to terfs. similar to dog whistles.

  • gender essentialism - basically, the belief/ideology that men and women are inherently different down to their very essence. some things to watch for: (in pagan/witch circles) claims that only women are capable of being witches/that magic is inherently female, claims or attitudes that men are inherently by nature more violent, claims or attitudes that women are inherently by nature superior/wiser/smarter/etc. than men
  • condescending, self-serving concern towards afab nonbinary people (and sometimes cis lesbians who support trans people) - while some terfs vehemently view afab nb people as, in short, nasty traitors, some terfs view us as women who are lost and misguided, who have been sucked into the trans cult and need to be saved from it. however, many terfs switch from that view to viewing us as annoying lost causes when they find they’re unable to “save” us. some terfs hold a similar view towards cis and afab nb lesbians who support trans people (especially trans women), and claim that we only do it because we’ve been manipulated and shamed into it, and that we need rescuing by radfems to fully embrace our lesbianism. watch for: referring to afab nb people, nb women, and nb lesbians as lost/misguided, talks of being ‘traitors’ to one’s gender/sex or ‘betraying’ one’s gender/sex, posts that it’s okay to be gnc and not be nb (not bad in and of itself! but sometimes a terf red flag)
  • reduction of nonbinary identity - disclaimer: (afab) nb lesbians can be terfs just like cis lesbians can! plenty of terfs claim that gender is fake/isn’t real and that they don’t have a gender (some even use terms like agender), however, they think that sex is what matters, and thus still view themselves as lesbians, align with terf ideology, and so forth. basically, reducing the importance of nonbinary identity to emphasize the “importance of sex” while also being nonbinary. watch for: “gender is fake, i’m a female” and other such phrases, generally identifying as genderless/not having a gender while also supporting radfem rhetoric
  • fake/self-serving concerns about trans kids - not in the sense of being concerned about trans children living in a transphobic society, but rather, concerns that gnc kids, tomboyish girls, etc. are being misidentified as trans and being forced into a trans identity, especially in regards to afab children. watch for: any talk about children. watch for: anything about parents ‘forcing’ transgender identity on their children
  • radfem brand biphobia - biphobia in a way that’s often specifically execued by radfems. watch for: claims that bi women prioritize men over women (especially if there is a claim that bi women are incapable of prioritizing women over men), claims that bi women force lesbians to care about “het relationships” or prioritize and care about men, etc.
TT