transgirlnausicaa:

transmisogynist feminists who withdrew their solidarity from transgender women have essentially made themselves into “useful idiots” for the greater reactionary movement.

when violence against transgender women is reframed as “male violence against other males, and therefore not a feminist issue,” you’re fucking intellectually surrendering. You’re a failure of a critical thinker. You’re refusing to do the necessary work to analyze WHY men are violent towards transgender women, WHAT type of violence they commit, WHERE else these implications might lead! You’re just being lazy.

As a feminist, you’re obligated to account for ALL of the social and material conditions of society in your conceptual understanding of that society. There are no social “externalities” that you get to ignore.

You’re sweeping the epidemic of violence against transgender women and the structural oppression that makes that happen under the rug.

Do you really think that there are common numbers of men who are violently misogynistic against transgender women but perfect angels to cisgender women?

Men express their violent misogyny through the most socially acceptable channels.

That fundamental fact is why gendered violence is WORSE against women of color than on white women, WORSE against mentally ill women than neurotypical women, WORSE against poor women than rich women, WORSE against transgender women than cisgender women.

It’s BECAUSE we’re discriminated against that men seek to express their violence, their sadistic sexual proclivities, their aggression, their vitriol against transgender women. We’re an “acceptable target.”

Men don’t get LESS violent as they enact violence. Their horrible behavior towards transgender women, so long as it is tolerated, so long as it is allowed, so long as we are treated as disposable, is something they condition themselves to perform over and over and each time they are able to gratify themselves through violence, their proclivity towards violence is increased.

This is dangerous for EVERYONE.

You may allow right-wing-backed transgender bathroom bans to go through, but as you allow those right-wing men gaining political power, you will see them shut down abortion clinics and planned parenthood (the latter specifically hurts transgender women because planned parenthood administers HRT in many states).

I have seen transmisogynist feminists say things like “I am glad that this transgender woman will likely commit suicide.” Some of you claim that being transgender is a mental illness, or a paraphilia (regardless of the fact that the most advanced and up-to-date mental health organizations do not describe it that way, including the DSM-V). If your idea of feminism IS cheering on the death of people who are “mentally ill,” you are abandoning your humanity. Your justification for this behavior? “Transgender women are perverts.” Are we? Are gay men not also considered perverts by many? Are drag queens not also considered perverts by many? Are lesbians not also considered perverts by many? What exactly is your ETHICAL critique of transgender behavior? If you do not have one, then you are simply regurgitating right-wing talking points.

You say that transgender women are “violent men.” But we share no solidarity with men. We are attacked by men. Transgender women suffer disproportionately high rates of physical violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, workplace harassment, academic harassment, compared to cisgender women.

I mean for fucks sake. If you really doubt these discrimination claims that i’m making just read this:

http://www.thetaskforce.org/static_html/downloads/reports/reports/ntds_full.pdf

Whatever. I’m done. I have solidarity with women as a class and I am part of that economic, social, political class. If you’re choosing to deny that, then you’re hurting me, you’re hurting the feminist movement, and you’re hurting yourself.

It’s your choice to be receptive to what other people say or to deny it. It’s not hard to deny everything that doesn’t agree with your views. But empathy and critical thinking that requires you to step outside of your own point of view is the only way you can really understand other people.