Itās come to my attention that a lot of people want to avoid terfs, but just donāt know what to look for, so I thought it would be useful to compile this handy little guide.
What is a terf?
The question I most often see in the notes of any anti-terf post. TERF stands for Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist. A more accurate term, which some people have taken to using for them is Feminism Appropriating Reactionary Transphobe (FART). Basically, theyāre transmisogynists masquerading under the guise of feminism. Theyāre also often anti-sex workers (swerfs), generally racist, and all in all very similar to your average conservative in most of their views.
The Basics
If youāre lazy like me you probably donāt want to search every op to see if theyāre a bigot, so hereās some quick and easy signs.
The url. Chances are youāre dealing with a terf if theyāve got any of the following in their url:
a part of the reproductive system (ovary, vagina, clitoris, etc. Itās a bit weird tbh)
terf (I know it seems obvious but youād be amazed how many people miss it)
Almost any post about āmales invading female spacesā is a terf attacking trans women.
In general, any post using males and females in place of men and women is a cause for concern. Itās good to check the op before reblogging.
Their url contains the word female, especially if their avatar includes the lipstick lesbian flag or the purple triangle and axe lesbian flag. Some will be normal, nice lesbians, but youāre better off checking.
They talk about āgender traitorsā.
They act as if every woman who chooses to dress femininely and wear makeup has been brainwashed by the patriarchy. Thereās a long conversation here about gendered expectations and societal pressure, and that should definitely be addressed, but the hardline āyou canāt choose to do thisā rather than āquestion why you choose to do thisā has its roots in terf rhetoric.
Conversely, a lot of terfs hate butch women (see the āgender traitorsā thing above). Basically, these ones want to know what your genitals are by your clothes, and thatās just gross.
Theyāre aphobic. Seriously, the arguments used are almost exactly the same. Itās one of the few times the slippery slope actually works.
This isnāt a full list or anything like it, but itās a start. People of all genders and sexualities are encouraged to reblog, and to add anything Iāve missed. All I ask is that cis people adding on take a couple of seconds to think if what theyāre going to say is helpful and constructive. I know if this does get traction people are going to start arguments, but please take a moment to ask yourself if itās worth it.