Anti-TERF

Information and resources for learning more about TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists).

What are "TERFs"?
How can we identify TERFs?
Alliances with the Right
Further Reading

About This Carrd

This Carrd was created as a resource to help others learn about the hateful rhetoric that TERFs espouse in the name of feminism. If we can recognize and identify the ideology of TERFism and the dogwhistles used by its proponents, we can better counter this hate movement.All information in this Carrd was created and curated by Lauren, aka @gothamshitty on Twitter, a 28-year-old Marxist & feminist.When I was 16, I was a part of the online Tumblr TERF community for about two years. My goal is to prevent others from making the same harmful decision I did by providing information that counters the "TERF pipeline", which targets young, inexperienced feminists.My Twitter DMs are open for any questions, comments, or feedback!

TERFs: The Basics

From Wikipedia:TERF is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist. First recorded in 2008, the term originally applied to the minority of feminists espousing sentiments that other feminists considered transphobic, such as the rejection of the assertion that trans women are women, the exclusion of trans women from women's spaces, and opposition to transgender rights legislation.Although the term TERF is relatively new, the ideology behind it can be traced back to 1979 with the publication of Janice Raymond's The Transsexual Empire. In this book, Raymond classifies trans women as "invaders", and argues that transgender identity itself ought to be opposed by feminists.In recent years, TERFs have risen to public prominence as the general conservative backlash towards transgender rights helped carve out a space for them.Additionally, TERFs maintain a strong online presence on sites like Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, OvarIt, MumsNet, and Spinster.Despite being a fringe group, TERFs have had a considerable effect on mainstream discourses around transgender rights, and have even partnered with the religious right in campaigning against pro-trans legislation. Online, TERFs make a concerted effort to spread transphobic hatred, harass trans people, and recruit other feminists into their movement. Their process of strategically convincing others of TERF beliefs is referred to as "peaking". Their efforts at secretly infiltrating mainstream feminist circles to recruit others is referred to as "going crypto".For a more information about TERFS and their ideology, history, and recent rise in popularity, refer to the Further Readings section of this carrd.What are the core beliefs of TERFism?The primary factor that differentiates TERFism from general radical feminism is the opposition towards the concept of gender identity, which they often refer to as “gender ideology” (also called "queer ideology", "transgenderism", or "genderism"). For TERFs, man/womanhood comes solely from the observation of their external sex characteristics; gender identity, therefore, is considered to be a farce that "denies biological reality".TERFs, similarly to regular conservatives, believe that the advancement of transgender rights will force "gender ideology" onto the public, rewrite current understandings of sex/gender, and put (cis) women and children in danger. They therefore position their movement as inherently at odds with/antagonistic to trans rights and the existence of trans people as a whole.Are TERFs different from people who are "gender critical"?The term "gender critical" originated in TERF spaces as a way to describe their ideology and avoid the TERF label.However, the term has spread outside of feminist circles in the past few years, with even some anti-feminists using it to describe themselves.Regardless, all those who label themselves as "gender critical" share the same core ideology and utilize the same rhetoric. The overlap between the two communities is huge, and many TERFs still use the label for themselves.Continue to the next section →

Identifying TERFs

TERFs carefully word and code their beliefs so that they may pass as legitimate progressive/feminist ideas. It is important to learn how to identify these beliefs so that TERFs can be effectively combated.

Common TERF Talking Points

Trans women should not be allowed into "female-only spaces" such as dressing rooms, restrooms, or rape crisis shelters
Trans women should be barred from participating in women’s sports
Trans women are “men in dresses”
Radical feminism/feminism as a whole is for "females only" (and not trans women)
Trans women don’t experience misogyny
Any feminist who isn’t a radical feminist/supports trans people is a “libfem”
Trans women / non-binary people cannot be lesbians, and lesbians cannot be attracted to trans women / non-binary people
Trans-inclusive language is misogynist
Non-binary identity is fake
Trans people assigned female at birth are “lost sisters” that are seeking to “escape misogyny” through transition
Trans women are all autogynephiles/“homosexual transsexuals” (taken from Ray Blanchard’s work)
Trans women and cis men both experience the same process of "male socialization"
Gender-affirming surgery is "mutilation"
Older trans people are tricking cis children into identifying as trans
Drag queens "appropriate womanhood" and "wear womanface"
Any discourse affirming the validity of rapid-onset gender dysphoria
TERF is a slur
Talk of defending “sex based rights” from apparent threats posed by gains in trans rights
“What is a woman?”
“What about trans racial people?”

Dog Whistles

A dog whistle is a coded message communicated through words or phrases commonly understood by a particular group of people, but not by others. TERFs often use dog whistles to signal their ideology to others without outright expressing their views or identifying themselves as transphobes / transmisogynists.

Slogans:

Sex not gender
Drop the T

Terms used by TERFs to identify themselves:

Female-centric, female supremacist - with "female" meaning "cis women"
Male-exclusionary - with "male" meaning cis men and trans women.
Desisted - TERFs who have detransitioned may refer to themselves as this
Actual lesbian - used in opposition to trans lesbians, who TERFs do not view as real lesbians
Meanfem / rudefem / nicefem / factfem - intra-community label
Gender critical, gender atheist, gender realist

Terms used by TERFs to identify others:

TRA = trans rights activist; refers to the trans people (and allies) that advocate for equal rights
TIM = trans-identified male; a pejorative used to refer to trans women
TIF = trans-identified female; a pejorative used to refer to trans men
Dysphoric female = trans men and non-binary individuals who were assigned female at birth
Dysphoric male = trans women and non-binary individuals who were assigned male at birth
AGP = autogynephile; used to refer to trans women; this is a term taken from Ray Blanchard's work
Transwoman / transman; make note of the lack of a space between "trans" and "woman/man"
Natal women, Women-born-women / womyn-born-womyn, adult human female, Womxn / womyn / wombyn
LGB (instead of LGBT)
Trans cult/gender cult
Genderism/transgenderism
Male invaders
The trans lobby

Imagery

UK TERFs often use green, white, and purple emojis (🟩⬜️🟪) as a reference to the suffragette colors
Dinosaur emojis 🦕 🦖 are also common with UK TERFs

Other

Other language used by TERFs (not necessarily as dog whistles):

Going crypto / crypto-TERF = describes efforts by TERFs to covertly promote their views in mainstream discourse and trans-inclusionary spaces.
Moid = slang for male; derived from the 4chan term "femoid", often used by MRAs and incels
Troon = slur for a trans person
Gyns = cis women; used to refer to cis female friends/peers
Kweer = member of the LGBTQ community; often used pejoratively as a way to mock those who self-ID as queer

TERF/Gender Critical Thought Leaders and Authors