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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   32435 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of February 13, 2023

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I forget whether I already posted this, but it occurred to me recently that it may be more accurate to say that J.K. Rowling, and perhaps TERFs in general, are sexist than to say that they're transphobic. Rowling supports the right of people to dress however they like and receive whatever medical intervention they desire. She uses preferred pronouns in polite company. But she wants spaces to exist that discriminate based on biological sex, without taking someone's gender identity or expression into account. The term for sex-based discrimination is sexism.

Well TERF does stand for Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist, and while to be charitable to them they don't all hate men, you will probably find more people openly identifying as misandrist among radical feminists than among any other cohort. I don't think Rowling really is a TERF though, she seems like more of a liberal rather than a radical feminist and as she does support people's right to wear whatever clothing they like, to medically transition and she uses their preferred pronouns, she doesn't really seem all that trans exclusionary either.

I don't think Rowling really is a TERF though, she seems like more of a liberal rather than a radical feminist and as she does support people's right to wear whatever clothing they like, to medically transition and she uses their preferred pronouns, she doesn't really seem all that trans exclusionary either.

Yeah, I think there's a strangely small sliver the trans debate is often fought over in practice.

I'm sure there are illiberal trans-exclusionists, but many "TERF-y" people seem to be liberals who just don't want trans people in certain sex-segregated spaces, and maybe have doubts about children transitioning. Even Rowling's original essay-length critique was more about malingering men using trans-inclusive policies to evil ends, and not trans people themselves. (Who knows if that's still her position, or if years of arguing with TRA's online and associating with TERFs has hardened her even against ordinary trans people.)

Even if there's a vast "metaphysicial" gulf between TRAs and TERFs, it seems like in practice the debate over how trans people should be treated really only hangs on a small handful of battlefields. Otherwise, Rowling's position isn't really miles away from trans tolerance in most domains.

It's pretty obvious that the word "TERF" has disattached itself from its original meaning. Looking at "terfy" forums (like ovarit.com etc.), the "original terfs" - doctrinaire radical feminists - still hold influence, but a lot of posters just seem to be women from originally liberal circles who have become unmoored from them due to trans issues and now hold a mix of views combining elements from "original TERF" radical feminism, liberal feminism, conservative impulses they don't themselves even recognize, and various personal experiences and other stuff.

The "semi-terf" ideology really seems like an ideology in formation, something that could eventually give birth to a whole new outlook separate from original trans-exclusionary radical feminism but isn't quite there yet.

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