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One of the problems while debating misguided 3rd wavers, or gender/qu**r activists is that lack of definitional rigour when it comes to the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’. What is chilling is that these activists often refuse to define their terms, yet as demonstrated here in Canada want these same terms enshrined into Canadian law. Obviously, this should not happen if clear guidelines and expectations are supposed to be part of our legislative goals.
Canadian focus aside, lets look at Auntie Wanda and krismichelle429 tackle the situation of defining sex and gender in a more general sense.
“In my experience talking to gender/qu**r activists, when they say “sex,” they can mean either “the biological differences between men and women” or “the behaviors that society expects from each sex,” or both at the same time. When they say “gender,” they can mean either “personality” or “the behaviors that society expects from each sex” or “the biological differences between men and women,” or all three at the same time. Oftentimes they switch between definitions without telling you, and then expect you to read their mind and just know which meaning they’re using at that moment. And no matter how many times you explain your definitions to them, they never acknowledge it and choose instead to project their definitions onto your words (or to put it more simply: they hear what they want to hear instead of what you’re saying).
Like, we have explained our definitions of “sex” and “gender” thousands of times on this site. We have used them clearly and consistently. We don’t change them. When gender critical feminists use the word “sex,” it ALWAYS refers to the biological differences between sexes. When we say “gender,” it ALWAYS refers to the behaviors forced on men and women by a sexist society.
And yet, we constantly get into arguments with gender/qu**r activists who think we believe that sexist expectations for behavior are biological. We have to explain that we don’t over and over and over again, even though we’ve been very clear about our beliefs and definitions, even though those beliefs and definitions have not changed since we last explained them 5 minutes ago. And that’s because when we say “sex” and “gender,” gender/qu**r activists hear their own definitions instead of ours, and because the words “sex” and “gender” can mean absolutely anything to them, they can hear anything that they want to hear.
Oftentimes they switch between definitions without telling you, and then expect you to read their mind and just know which meaning they’re using at that moment. And no matter how many times you explain your definitions to them, they never acknowledge it and choose instead to project their definitions onto your words (or to put it more simply: they hear what they want to hear instead of what you’re saying).”
– See the whole post on [Blackswallowtailbutterfly].
It would be nice if dudes could just stay in their own lane.
“Every single time I hear a transactivist or MTT person call us ‘cis’ or ‘cis privileged’ as a woman I am going to assume that they think the following experiences of being a woman privilege us:
The number one greatest industry in the world is the buying, selling and trafficking of women and girls for sex trade.
Every year, millions of little girls and babies have their genitals mutilated, stretched and cut for the benefit of men.
Girls who have been raped by men all over the world are encourage to marry their rapist instead of press charges against them.
If you are a woman, you are instantly to blame for any sexual violence or domestic violence you ever experienced either by characterological blame or situational blame.
Millions of girls each year are victims of forced marriages to older adult men. Women still don’t earn as much as men in the same jobs as them.Women are expected to look and act a very specific way else be cast out in every sense of that phrase. Women are objectified and dehumanised through porn which is ALWAYS filmed from the perspective of the man and has been filmed by men for men ever since filming began.
Women are still minorities in STEM jobs and academic positions. Women are still minorities in boardrooms and in government parties.
One of the most lucrative medical industries in the world is the cosmetic surgery of women to look more like fucking porn stars (boob jobs, vaginoplasty).
Research into medicine and health has always been done on men and male animals and has never before actually been tested on female species or female humans – so all medical research findings are assumed to be the same for women despite us being completely different biologically. When medical research actually included women, it has exploited the bodies of women of color. Examples include James Marion Sims who used slaves as guinea pigs, unnecessary hysterectomies done on poor black and Puerto Rican women to give doctors in training a chance to practice their skills, The Tuskgee Syphilis Experiment, and the Henrietta Lacks story.Women have been historically sectioned and locked up in asylums and mental health centres for showing emotions or for stepping out of their gender roles.
Women are still being oppressed all over the world by their cultures and their religions which are a tool for a patriarchy. Women have to battle the ‘Oh she’s just a stay at home mum, nothing to add to society’ bullshit versus the ‘oh she works all the time so she’s a bad mum’ bullshit. Women who work are constantly being shown as taking on significantly more home duties than male partners despite also working full time – they are still doing all domestic duties too.Women in serious pain in a hospital are significantly less likely to receive adequate pain relief or the right care because gender roles taught doctors and nurses that women are more emotional and sensitive to pain so are probably exaggerating symptoms.
Women are the ones saying to each other ‘let me know you get home safe’ or ‘text me when you get in’ – MEN are not doing that with each other because they don’t have to think about personal safety.
Black women in slavery were used, raped, trafficked, beaten and repeatedly impregnated and used as ‘breeders’ for slave owners. Chinese women for hundreds of years have been encouraged to wrap their feet to make them as small as possible for the pleasure of men (specifically a male emperor). Women who do not conform to gender roles are seen as deviant and deserving of harm in all societies.
In China, over 200 million baby girls were killed as newborns or in infanticide/female abortion because they were not BOYS under the 1 child policy. In Africa and all across the world now, girls are being abused by breast ironing which is the use of hot rocks to pound, massage or beat the breast tissue of prepubescent girls to stop the growth of breasts for a number of extremely misogynistic reasons (shame on the family, to prevent them being raped, to prevent men getting them pregnant too young).
Women are shamed for their menstruation in all cultures, all countries and all religions – periods are seen as nasty and gross despite being the only thing keeping the human race reproducing. Women have not been equal members of society (and still aren’t in many respects) for the ENTIRE HISTORY OF HUMANITY.
We haven’t chosen to be women.
We haven’t chosen to be discriminated against and oppressed our entire lives.
We want liberation from gender roles and patriarchy.You decide you feel like a woman, demand that everyone colludes with you, claims to be the ultimate oppressed class, won’t use ANY male facilities and force your way into female only spaces and then claim it’s women who are the problem. You make up a fucking term to elevate the privilege of women so that you can Trojan horse feminism and womanhood.
Let’s be clear here, there is no fucking way that women could ever infiltrate men’s circles and spaces and cultures and movements the way men are currently doing under the banner of ‘transactivism’. Second, look at the way transmen are treated and look at their communication styles versus transwomen. Transmen are not the ones threatening to make us suck their dick on twitter. Transmen are not launching campaigns about wanting to be able to access male facilities. Transmen aren’t aggressively trolling men and forcing men to change all of their language and discourse and biological facts.
You know why?
Cos they were socialized as women using all the oppressions above – and they would never have the class power to force men to accept them in the way transwomen are currently forcing women to accept them.
I could not hit reblog fast enough. Plus a wonderful quote from said article. Thank you giuliaalexis.
“Recently, I got into a Facebook discussion about how gender is not neutral for women. At some point, I commented that patriarchy wouldn’t exist if men didn’t want to control the bodies of women for reproduction – and this includes replacing female midwives almost completely with male doctors and male viewpoints of medicine. Of course, I was accused of being transphobic, of “cisplaining,” and of not understanding feminism (seriously). But what had me truly flabbergasted was one young woman’s comment that “your version” of feminism, that which focuses on reproduction, excludes not just transwomen but also women such as herself who aren’t reproducing.
I thought to myself, should I explain to this individual that this isn’t “my version” of feminism but the accepted reason for the existence of patriarchy, and not just by feminism – but also by sociology and anthropology? This wasn’t controversial until the rise of queer theory. Should I explain to her that I, too, have no intention of ever reproducing – but you cannot “not reproduce” yourself out of patriarchy? Reproductive rights also cover birth control, which means if we lose that right women such as myself and her may very well end up reproducing against our will. It’s the POTENTIAL of reproducing that brings ALL females under the umbrella of patriarchy. You get treated as second-class citizens under patriarchy whether or not you reproduce, menstruate, have a hysterectomy, etc.
This comment also reflects the bizarre new feminist belief that if a subject matter doesn’t cover every single person’s “lived reality,” it is exclusive. Liberal (and thus mainstream) feminism is trying to be so inclusive towards transwomen and so individualistic towards “empowerment’ and “agency” that it is paralyzed. Liberal feminism is trying so hard not to define women by their biology that feminists are ignoring the fact that women are DYING of their biology.
Mainstream feminism is incorrect in its belief that the purpose of feminism is to re-define the idea of woman as divorced from their biology. That was never the intention of feminism. The intention of feminism is that women not be LIMITED by their biology. Thus the quotes “I have a brain and a uterus and I use both” and “I can’t breed in captivity.” Feminism never meant to DENY the reality of female biology. Feminism means to change society’s PERCEPTION of females and female biology. The two are not the same thing.”
Yeppers, many radical feminists have been right here, right at this point. Girlsmoonsandstarts and a rad-fem chorus goes above and beyond with their response, it is made of pure gold.
http://auntiewanda.tumblr.com/post/159003056741/youre-not-a-feminist-if-your-brand-of-activism
So many conversations start like this:
“If you think trans people are all rapists or degenerates, celebrate when trans people lose rights and get attacked, and deny the sexuality of people who accept trans people, you’re an oppressor and a bigot and nobody should take you seriously.”
radicurious answered:
I disagree with transgender ideology, yes, but that doesn’t mean that I hate transgender people or that I want them to be attacked, murdered at high rates, discriminated against and harassed on the street. I want all transgender people to be safe from violence and discrimination, so I definitely wouldn’t celebrate any kind of violence or discrimination towards them. Let’s take a much discussed example – the bathroom issue: I don’t think all transgender people are rapists or “degenerates” – I know that the vast, vast majority of transgender people are decent people just wanting to be accepted and allowed to express themselves and live their lives as they please. That being said, transgender women have the same crime rates as “cis” men – also when it comes to violent crime. This means that they, statistically, are just as likely to assault or rape a women as a “cisgender” male would be, and thus placing them in the same bathrooms, changing rooms and shelters as biological women would compromise the safety of the biological women using said restrooms, shelters and changing rooms. There’s no doubt in my mind that the vast majority of trans women simply want to pee without experiencing the risks and the dysphoria that going to the mens room might involve, but allowing a group which is statistically as violent and as sexually aggressive as “cis” men into women’s restrooms and changing rooms is a recipe for disaster. Just look at some the numerous cases of biological males claiming to be/dressing as women attacking and harassing biological women in women’s changing rooms and bathrooms. My worry about letting transgender women use the women’s bathrooms doesn’t come from irrational hatred of transgender women – it comes from statistics and recorded cases which prove that allowing transgender women in women’s bathrooms would pose a threat to biological women’s safety.
I share ‘Radcurious”s assessment of the situation. And it comes down to this, which is a of a higher priority – the feelings of men or the physical safety of women? And if it is ‘transphobic’ to prioritize the safety of females, so be it, because it is the right call in this situation. Women are under constant male threat and surveillance in our society and should have spaces where the panopticon of male dominance cannot reach.
That being said, I am also in full favour of having 3 washrooms available in public spaces, and that space should be taken from existing male facilities when new ones cannot be constructed to accommodate the variable gender constituency of our populations.
[Source]
bleatmop
Mystro
The Arbourist
Dead Wild Roses 
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