The discussion that's been happening around "transandrophobia" began a little over a year ago with one very simple idea: that transmascs do face some unique struggles, and that we'd like the ability to talk about them.
Things have evolved since then, and the time and space we've fought for to discuss what this simple idea actually means in the greater context of trans activism has made it clear that this isn't a conversation about transmascs: it's a conversation about solidarity.
When we bring transandrophobia up, even without the word attached, the conversation boils down to this:
As much as it's the unique struggles transmascs face that we're trying to address, the root of the issue here, and the thing we need, is solidarity. We have not been offered solidarity in the past, and we need solidarity going forward.
And when people turn to resentment and pointing fingers at other trans folks- transfems in particular- we remind each other that this isn't about exclusively centering transmascs community-wide, and the blame for this lack of solidarity is not on the shoulders of other trans people. Trans people do not benefit from this, and while it is on us as individuals and a community to do better, this is the result of cispatriarchy first and foremost.
Transandrophobia stems from ideas that hurt all trans people. That's obvious in about half the conversations we have around this topic: we bring forth our unique struggles and name them "transandrophobia", and a dozen people climb into the notes to say "Wait, but this hurts trans women too! Pay attention to them instead!"
The answer is not to shift focus away from one group to a "more important" one, but rather to say, "Yes, this does hurt us all! Why is that?"
This isn't limited to the issues that impact transmascs, either: the arms of transphobia certainly target different groups, and the impact they have on those groups is unique even from the impact they have on the groups they don't target. Still, they all stem from common ideas and beliefs that are all essential to upholding a greater system of transphobic oppression.
We need to stop arguing over who has it worse, who's suffering is most important, and which trans people "deserve" support while we abandon the rest to the wolves. We need to find reasons for solidarity in the overlap just as much as we find them in the differences.
If we fight this problem, we need to fight it on all fronts. Together.
There are many forms of transphobia that target specific groups in unique ways, and for unique reasons. (ex: transmisogyny, nbphobia, transandrophobia)
These "arms" of transphobia are ultimately constructed with the same goal in mind: to control gender and gender expression under the cispatriarchy.
As such, they impact the entire trans community negatively. They often directly support and uphold other forms of transphobia.
They also intersect with, interact with, uphold, and are upheld by other forms of oppression.
Interactions with racism, ableism, classism, queerphobia, fatphobia, misogyny, religion, etc. are vital pieces of the puzzle when understanding and fighting transphobia.
Experiences vary wildly by location, community, and even more individual factors; different problems may be more critical, different conversations and activism more relevant, and different solutions more applicable, for some trans people than others.
We as a wider trans community cannot fight transphobia as a whole without acknowledging and addressing all of its forms.
Therefore, solidarity among all trans people is not only important, but entirely necessary.
This is not to say that trans people can't, or shouldn't, center certain issues as individuals or groups; but to demand that the entire community dismiss, erase, or ignore an issue because it's "not as bad", it doesn't impact the "right" people, or it doesn't hold the same value to you personally, is counterproductive, ineffective, and even cruel.
We should not be assigning values to human suffering. Physical violence and suicide attempts (for example) are not experiences to be reduced to numbers for cold comparison. All of these issues matter; and furthermore, all of them are directly connected and interdependent on one another.
Credit to @asterosian and @transgentleman-luke for bringing the issue up, @ddigi / @malehysteric for coming up with the term, and all of the above for contributing to the discussion & refining the ideas. (And special shoutout to ddigi for helping me with editing!)
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