I Think Maybe The Trans Community Would Benefit From Not Just Internalizing "trans Men Are Men" But Also

I want to make some points clear to debunk the whole “trans men are just future detransitioned women” idea that’s been floating around:

The detransition rates of people who identify as trans men/masc and trans women/fem(me) are going to be pretty much the same, but TERF propaganda makes examples out of people who have detransitioned from male to female in order to support the claim that the trans community are “infecting” young girls. Their obsession with women “mutilating” their bodies causes them to pounce on anyone who detransitions from male/masc to female and use them as symbols of the “trans cult.” TERFs deliberately inflate the number of detransitioners, especially amongst trans men/mascs, in order to support their ideology. Do not fall for it.

The actual rate of detransitioning as a whole is already incredibly small, and an even smaller minority of that, go on to detransition “back” to a cis identity. In reality, the majority of detransitioners tend to detransition into a different gender identity that feels more comfortable to them, rather than their birth identity, and may still identify as trans— just not in the way they initially thought. Other reasons for detransitioning may include safety reasons or a lack of access to gender affirming care. By assuming that all detransitioners are people who have “returned” to identifying as cis, you are once again falling for TERF propaganda. TERFs do not care about detransitioners who still identify as trans or non-binary or some other form of gender divergent, nor do they care about people who detransition simply because they are not able to transition in the first place. You should care. Not all detransitioners identify as cis, and the community would do well to remember that.

TERFs are a cult, and cults groom their members. A lot of people struggling with their gender identity may fall into TERF spaces because they will initially be treated with sympathy and understanding, when in reality, their ultimate goal is to detransition someone. They will groom vulnerable people with rhetorics such as “the trans community will try to persuade you to transition and make you think that you need to escape your womanhood” or “we can help you to accept yourself for who you really are as a woman, because society has made you hate yourself for your gender non-conformity and tomboyish nature” and other such bullshit that only serves to break someone down into believing that their identity issues come from a trans-obsessed, woman-hating society. When you see prominent detransitioners who pedal TERF propaganda, it is very likely that they have been forced into pushing down their real issues in favour of finding acceptance in a group that claims to care about them. If we can find sympathy for people who have been forced into conversion therapy, or forced to hide their sexualities/gender identities because of the religious fanaticism around them, then you need to find sympathy for people who have been groomed by a cult into hating themselves. No, that does not mean excusing them for hurting the trans community by becoming handmaidens for TERFs, but understanding that they have also been hurt— and are being hurt— by TERFs may help us to acknowledge that a lot of these people needed support systems that they weren’t able to find quickly enough.

A lot of the most well-known detransitioners may still struggle with their gender identity, and are simply repressing it because they’ve been groomed too far into a cult that lied to them, and leaving that cult without a support system behind them is a terrifying thought. However, it needs to be acknowledged that all of this discourse amongst the trans community, particularly a growing hatred for trans men/mascs or non-binary people, is exactly why TERFs are able to groom them in the first place. In fact, the idea that “trans women and trans men are diametrically opposed to each other” is just TERF propaganda to encourage trans men to feel like they’re not accepted in the trans community and therefore need to find solace in TERF spaces, who will use their shared experiences of “girlhood” to prey on the fact that trans men have been made to hate themselves. Seeing other trans people spread around this idea is exactly what TERFs want. They want trans men/mascs and non-binary people who were born as women to turn away from the trans community so they can literally detransition them back into women. Don’t do their fucking job for them.

A lot of detransitioners are— surprise surprise— not assholes. The only ones we’re seeing are the ones that prominent TERFs are uplifting, when the ones who slide under the radar and are free to explore their gender identity how they want tend to not feel the need to throw the trans community under the bus. I’ve talked to many detransitioners before who weren’t groomed by the TERF cult and a lot of them speak very highly of the trans community because they were able to find space to learn about themselves, and regardless of what they eventually identified as, there was a mutual understanding that freedom to gender affirming care is beneficial for everybody. By using TERF detransitioners as examples of all detransitioners, you’re just excluding some of the most vocal supporters of gender affirming care that I’ve ever come across. Support them back!! The best way to fight against TERFs weaponising detransitioners is by supporting detransitioners, recognising their struggles, and uplifting the voices of those who do not spread TERF propaganda.

There is nuance to be had here, because insinuating that the current trans community is actively judgmental of detransitioners is, in itself, TERF propaganda, but it’s crucial that you don’t fall for it or let TERFs convince you that detransitioners are the enemy. Because I have heard stories from detransitioners who’ve experienced genuine hostility from queer spaces they’ve been in, so it’s always important to check your biases and make sure you’re not falling into any traps.

TL;DR: trans men are not future detransitioned women. The tiny, miniscule percentage of TERF detransitioners who identify as cisgender that you see are being propped up by other TERFs in order to spread propaganda, despite the fact that TERFs do not actually care about them or their struggles, and they have most likely been groomed into detransitioning in the first place (or at least, they have been groomed into an unhealthy and harmful mindset that will inevitably hurt them in the long run). Anyone who says that trans men are destined to detransition, or that detransitioners are the enemy, or that all detransitioners have cis privilege and should be shunned from the community are all falling into TERF ideology and should not be listened to.

why does every queer turn into a redpilled anti-woke far-right comedian fan the moment you tell them they're intersexist like 'stop inventing new terms 🤡🤡 why is everything a slur now 🤡🤡🤡 that one friend that's too woke 🤡🤡' like it's actually surreal how often it happens. i desperately want to know what makes them think that shits okay.

This isn't hate mail this is love mail but most times when I see stuff about this trans infighting the transfems are usually posed against transmascs. It's understandable as theres bad apples on both sides and im not surprised people run to protect their own, but I'm incredibly glad to see a trans feminine person advocating against this infighting and for ALL trans unity. I hate to see transmascs bully transfems even though it could be self defense, and vice versa. It feels like all huge trans bloggers both men and women have this idea that we must all hate each other so it's good to see a blog promote positivity on BOTH ends. thank you for fighting for us transmascs, and as a transmasc I need to work harder on ignoring the divisive posts and focusing on fighting for my sisters too. The world is a scary place and we need to be together more than ever before.

I love all my trans siblings and will do my best to defend every single one.

Reblog if you stand against order, civilization, and goodness itself

I know I've said this before but I really don't think constantly talking about trans women & fems who are assholes to other trans people is productive. it's fine to call out behavior that sucks but I don't think only focusing on that is going to do much besides further radicalize the people you're talking about

it also waters down our terms to internet discourse and makes it harder to talk about bigger, life-threatening issues. if someone is curious about what issues we face and when they try to look into it all they see is people complaining about trans women & fems it's kind of understandable to see all of us as reactionaries tbh

I get it's easier to talk about intra-community issues. a leaky pipe in your house is always going to suck. but it's kind of like only complaining about the leaky pipe and your plumber during a flood. it's fine to talk about the leaky pipe but we should focus on the bigger problem here

"trans guys are uniquely capable of perpetrating misogyny" everyone is uniquely capable of perpetrating misogyny dipshit it came free with your fucking living in a patriarchal society

If your argument only appears to work by erasing an individual's marginalized or majority identity, you fail to comprehend intersectionality. Intersections exist in privilege as well, not just marginalizations

i feel like the entire online queer community collectively forgot, or rather pretends that queer allies don't exist. like. we literally have a term and even a flag for queer allies. they exist. assuming every single perisex cishet person hates queer people isn't the way to go. allies are a very real and important part of our community. allies challenge the status quo by saying, i'm not queer, but i support what you're doing. they exist. they're out there- and yes, many of them are cishet men.

please don't forget this, or pretend that they don't exist: allies are an extremely important part of our history, community, and safety.

PLEASE stop platforming assholes!

And yes, this includes screenshots with the name cropped out!

I'm not trying to call anyone out here, or vague about fellow transmasc-friendly posters, but I really do think this is a huge problem in tumblr discourse in general.

I know, there are people being awful to trans men on tumblr, and transandrophobia is a huge fucking problem on this site. I can think of a handful of blogs who are the worst offenders- I'm sure anyone who's been on here longer than a week knows their names.

But they feed off of this attention! When you reblog their posts to argue with them, or screenshot their takes, you're just spreading their influence around. They're not going to change, they're not going to stop being cruel or transphobic, and arguing with them will only make you feel worse and give them more ammo to use against you.

Not to mention, if somebody has these blogs blocked, and you post untagged screenshots of their shit, you're making people see them whether they like it or not! Somebody who blocked a bigot so they didn't have to deal with their rancid-ass takes shouldn't have to see them screenshotted on 12 different trans-friendly blogs.

Focus more on uplifting the voices of trans men and transmascs than engaging with bullies!

society if everyone took two seconds to look for trans men’s contributions to art, music, literature, politics and activism, philosophy, and culture as a whole instead of assuming the fact that you don’t see us means we’re not there