ohnoproblems:

i got a reply that i feel is subtly unproductive to the point that i’m trying to make with this post, so i’d like to take a second to expand on this post. first off, sorry for the ableist language that’s now permanently attached to this post. don’t use the r slur or neologisms built from the r slur on my posts or in general.

it was a reply that came up with more insults to call transmisogynists, and i got a similar response on twitter that also frustrated me. like i get it, transmisogyny sucks and transmisogynists suck, but this is a post about how the term terf – Trans-Exclusive Radical Feminist – arose from a specific trend in feminist movements during the 1980s, in which reactionary theorists such as janice raymond worked with the united states government to systematically dismantle trans women’s access to care and community, leading to lord knows how many silent deaths.

In 1980 Dr. Raymond wrote a paper entitled Technology on the Social and Ethical Aspects of Transsexual Surgery, for the US Government. This not well publicized tome discussed the topic of federal aid for trans people seeking rehabilitation and health services.

This paper effectively eliminated federal and state aid for indigent and imprisoned transsexuals. It has forced incarcerated trans people to file federal court cases to get back trans related medical treatment they lost as a result of Raymond’s transphobic pen.

When the federal and state governments dropped funding for indigent transpeople, it was used as a pretext by private health insurance companies to follow the federal government’s lead and deny or disallow services to trans patients for any medical treatment remotely related to being trans, including breast cancer or genital cancer. The cancer denials were extrapolated to be a consequence of treatment for transsexuality.

these are trends that still exist in the current feminist discourse. it’s a useful term whose meaning is growing diluted because people are unfamiliar with its historical origins. it doesn’t simply mean “someone who is transmisogynist” – that’s what the word “transmisogynist” is for. while all terfs are transmisogynists, not all transmisogynists are terfs. your average republican senator, for example, isn’t a “terf” because your average republican senator doesn’t even pretend to be a feminist.

it sure as hell doesn’t mean “a lesbian who was mean to me” – that’s how you get people accusing trans lesbians of being terfs.

diluting the meaning of terf like this shifts the blame of transmisogyny onto a certain subset of feminists. by externalizing and clouding it like this, it discourages people from self-examination to root out their own personal transmisogyny fostered in them by our society.