nothorses:grinningjackal: nothorses: So I wanted to put this together not because anyone needs to se
nothorses:grinningjackal: nothorses: So I wanted to put this together not because anyone needs to see all of this stuff, or read every word here, but because I think compiling these kinds of posts is useful when we’re talking about transmasc issues in the community. There is, frankly, way too much for anyone to go through and dissect here. It’s exhausting, and it stressed me out just trying to find the posts to make this. I’m not going to go through everything here and point out why it’s all wrong. I don’t have that kind of time. What I’m saying is that there is a problem. Not that the problem is worse than anyone else’s, not that it’s the only problem, not that nobody else has problems on par with or even worse than this. But there is a problem. Transmascs are made to feel unwelcome- intentionally or not. There is dwindling space, there is less and less room for our voices. Less support for our perspectives. Less compassion for our experiences. There is a hostility growing, an assumption that trans men are inherently violent people- are the oppressor. That we must be stopped, that we must be kept out of the community, that our oppression doesn’t matter or worse, doesn’t exist. I lay this out for you because I want it to be clear why I and others are trying to build space for a healthier community for transmasculine folks; spaces that support and validate them, that are compassionate, trusting, and understanding (without allowing room for misogyny or transmisogyny). I want it to be very clear why I make the posts that I do, why I think it’s so important to change the broader understanding of transmasculine struggles and transphobic oppression. I’m exhausted after compiling this. A lot of these posts are recent; this year, or within the last few. Some of them are older. Some of them are from my own inbox, or comments off my posts- and I left many of the posts I found out, too, prioritizing the ones that make sense without the surrounding context and the ones that contain their entire message, stated, and easy to understand. These posts are from other trans men, trans women, nonbinary people- from within our own community. I just want folks to understand that this is something that exists, that people believe, and that can and does permeate spaces in ways we might not see right away. This is important. This matters. This isn’t okay. [ID: A compilation transphobic and trans-androphobic posts that read as follows:1. A post titled “Notes about trans men”. It is a bulleted list that reads:trans men and trans women have almost nothing in common as classes (so stop talking about ‘the trans community/umbrella/whatever’ as if it exists in a meaningful way)trans men have systemic power that they can and do leverage against women, including cis women, regardless of the status or type of their transition (it’s always okay to call them out for their misogyny, and you don’t have to specificy that you’re talking about cis men unless you’re actually only talking about cis men)trans men may not reclaim the slur “tranny” because it’s a transmisogynistic slur that is rarely used against them (and, when it is, it’s because of their proximity to trans women)boys are ickyThe last bullet point is highlighted in yellow.2. A post titled “Trans men are men even when that’s not a positive statement”. The body of the post reads, “(it’s never a positive statement)”.3. A post that reads, “Finally, a trans political situation where some trans dude’s unresolved aggressive masculinity issues can shine (bonus points to this guy’s name being Logan”4. Post titled “PSA”. Its OP states, “Support boys. Support bi boys. Support gay boys. Support pansexual boys. Support ace boys. Support aro boys. Support trans boys. Support all boys.”Another user (username and icon redacted) commented, “No [kissing emoji] boys don’t need support, they need to get over themselves. Support girls. Support bi girls. Support gay girls. Support bi girls. Support trans girls. Support all girls. Fuck boys. What do you need support in? Upholding the patriarchy? Lmao.”That is not a typo. Support of pan, ace, and aro girls was removed in place of repeating “support bi girls”.5. A non-bulleted list that reads, “Men are disgusting / This applies to cis men / this applies to trans men / both are men / both benefit from misogyny / both are disgusting.”6. An ask that reads, “There’s a post going around about how misdirected misogyny cancels out male privilege and I spoke against it and now a bunch of whiny trans guys are reblogging it with shitty commentary and just. oh my god. how do u deal with this. I don’t know how to tell them they have male privilege”.7. A typed alignment chart that reads:lawful good: trans womenneutral good: nonbinary peoplechaotic good: lesbianslawful neutral: bi womentrue neutral: aromanticschaotic neutral: asexualslawful evil: gay menneutral evil: bi menchaotic evil: trans menThe post is tagged #fixed it8. Post that reads, “If you think that cis men are scum but trans men are okay, are you saying that trans men aren’t real men? That’s pretty shitty, SJW’s.”9. A post that reads as follows:Masculinity is the same construct whether displayed by trans men or cis men. Masculinity is a privileged position in white supremacist capitalist heteropatriarchy. Trans men occupy that position whether they acknowledge it or not.Common expressions of masculinity include ignoring women’s boundaries, enacting physical violence against women, and policing womanhood in other people.Trans men asserting what they think womanhood is doesn’t fall under that “masculinity” umbrella by coincidence. To listen to their assetions as nonwomen about what womanhood is, is just as dangerous as letting cis men tell you what women are and what women are like.Trans men deciding they belong in women’s spaces doesn’t fall under that “masculinity” umbrella either.Trans men being masculine and hurting women is not a coincidence. It is a systematic oppressive framework.10. A post which reads, “Trans girls: soft and to be cherished / trans boys: a grotto of discomfort”11. Post that reads, “trans men: just as shitty as cis men but more accepted than you will ever be in women’s spaces!”12. Post that reads “shrimp dicks and truscum please remove yourself from online and forward into the trash”. The trans-androphobic slur “shrimp dicks” is highlighted in yellow.13. Post that reads “Valid: Women!!! Trans Women!!! Nonbinary women!!! Any other person who is not on the binary spectrum, was born as a woman, and still acknowledges that they are a woman!!! / Not Valid: Cis Men!!! Trans Men!!! (especially you) Nonbinary Men!!! Any other person not on the binary spectrum, is biologically male, and still identifies as biologically male. / Men are scum xoxo !” It is then followed by a big smiley emoticon.14. Post that reads “(The half of the trans population that doesn’t have to worry about physical abuse is trans men, in case you were wondering, lol)”15. A post by autobaeddelphile (baeddel is a fringe anti-trans man/transmasc term) that reads “The idea of a ‘trans community’ is hella fucking toxic in that it allows for trans men to feel entitled to resources and spaces by and for trans women”16. Post reading, “There is no such thing as cis privilege. I do not - and should not have any reason to - treat trans men and cis men as being separate classes that oppress trans women. While cis men may be cis, everyone not classed as women benefits from patriarchy. Cis women also oppress trans women along a cis/trans axis. But let’s expand this out a little.“What do we say when we say ‘cis privilege’? It means that we are saying that both cis women and men have privilege over trans women and men. However, this doesn’t make any sense - it’s been well documented in many discussions that trans men exercise significant privilege over cis women. A better understanding of the “transphobia” dynamic is more accurately described under a “transmisogyny” framework.”17. Post reading “Trans men who fail to acknowledge that TWEF’s harm trans women and protect trans men are complicit in the continued oppression of trans women.”18. A post where an OP writes, “We’re a minority who’s oppressed as fuck but because we’re men it’s OK to say you hate us all”. A response reads, ‘oppressed as fuck’ literally where, honey. Both usernames and icons have been redacted.19. a text post that reads as follows:Trans person: hi I’m transThe Cis™: OMG Yaaaas Queen Slay [what appears to be a waving hand emoji]Trans person: I’m actually a tans boyThe Cis™: I am [blushing/shocked emoji] so sorrey!! he trans boi sweet innocent flower prince [leaf emoji] uwu must protec at all cost [two sparkle emojis] u adorable pupper [either a fox emoji or a dog] here is a flower crown ur so smol!!! [sun emoji] u can do no harm [sunflower emoji] I love u sweet precious babby [swirling star emoji]Trans person: what…the fuckA redacted user replies “Trans men really out here thinking they’re oppressed because cis people find them non-threatening.”As a PSA for people unfamiliar, the spelling B-O-I was originally intended to be an inclusive term for male-aligned/masc-aligned trans people who liked the term. It is mostly used now to denote a non-man/to “softly” misgender trans men as men-lite.20. Post reading, “There is no specific struggle of a trans man. If you think there is, typically a trans woman has faced it, and much worse at that, so really only transmisogyny is a thing, since they DO have issues we will never face.”21. Post reading “Trans men were socialized as men, and as such they benefit from misogyny rather than suffer from it. Men are not oppressed by misogyny. Women are.”End ID.]I’m sorry, but I can’t transcribe any more of the images. I tried. Hell, I’ve tried for months, actually. I’ve been working on this post for months on and off, trying to image describe everything, cleaning up the grammar, adding notes for clarity. Fuck, I even managed to finish it up this afternoon. And then the page reloaded. I hadn’t saved. I lost approximately 13 post descriptions.I can’t physically finish this description. The contents of this compilation, as I’m sure is prominent in the amount that I did manage to describe, is filled with violence, vitriol, misgendering, belittling, erasing of oppression, speaking over, infantilizing, villianizing, mockery, and general hatred. Every time I pick up this post to work on the descriptions, it triggers my anxiety and depression so aggressively that, often times, I dissociate after. I’m sorry. I can’t finish them. If anyone wants to finish what I’ve started, I finished the first three slides. I’m sure it doesn’t need pointing out how much gender essentialism is present in these posts. The lack of intersectional politics. If we keep going on like this, talking about each other like this, pushing each other out of our spaces and cannibalizing our communities and tearing each other to shreds, there will only be pieces left for transphobes to easily sweep up and throw out like so much trash.It is in all of our best interests to listen to each other with sympathy, boost each other’s voices, and uplift each other where we can. We are stronger united. Hey, thank you for trying- I’m sorry it took such a toll. I definitely remember being in a funk after I dug all these up the first time; and there was a lot more than I included here, too. Take care of yourself. There are lots of people who don’t believe this, inside and outside our community- try to hang onto that support! It’s important to remember that as bad as things get, they’re never hopeless. -- source link