you know everything you say about them is a lie

so predictably this isn't true

i actually watched the lecture and while i don't agree with all of amin's core positions (he's a gender abolitionist and i'm not, so i would expect that) when he talks about crossdressers he clearly does so in a context of a case study of historical self-identified "heterosexual transvestites." to roughly oversimplify, the talk as a whole is about the theory of identity construction as a function of class and racialization and how economic opportunity = leisure time = space to create Identity as separate from Action. basically, that white trans women, especially those attracted to women, historically delayed transition because they had more to lose than black and latina women, and the barrier between the lived experience and internal sense of self created certain identity-forward ways of thinking about gender

"i don't think that was the artist's intention, i find the jokes funny myself because it's more about like... the 'woobification' i guess, of slave owners? like 'my god, how can someone be so tone deaf?' but there is definitely something to be said about the fixation on specifically the miku binder aspect by the wider internet. like what do you find so funny about it exactly? the fact that it's been plastered onto a real ass guy who existed and owned slaves, or the fact that it's 'cringe' for someone to have a hatsune miku themed chest binder??

it doesn't feel just transphobic but slightly ableist too?? like. yeah fuck autistic people who express themselves by wearing merch of things they like because it's so cringe, right?"

(ill format this better later when im on desktop)

RUDE AND MEAN

as an androgyne who was assigned female and is regularly read in public as a clocky tgirl... genderfuck was my goal and it was a success actually. because i am transsexual and i transed my sex and that impacted how i am perceived and move through the world. is this not in the same genre as telling certain trans women or men that they'll never pass because of their bone structure. people keep trying to make (particularly nb/gq) people feel ashamed of wanting to be androgynous (& in a lot of ways imitating the old exorsexist narrative that nonbinary/genderqueer people think we're better than binary gender conforming trans people and that "binaryphobia" is a real thing). & in doing that there's just this attitude that like, none of this genderfuckery is material, none of these people's genderfuckery could possibly be reflective of their actual social or physical experiences with gender.

and moreover that these people's desire to be androgynous is not the same as a binary person's dysphoria. binary dysphoria is something you can't help, something natural and normal and deserving of respect and care. nonbinary dysphoria is always always always read primarily as an aesthetic preference, a political maneuver, and so is treated like an ideological move to be picked apart sociopolitically. and so its totally okay to openly mock nonbinary/genderqueer people for wanting to be androgynous or "genderfuck" and to directly say they will never be able to have that and its funny and pathetic that they want to have that, because our dysphoria isn't real dysphoria, its a choice. it's something we're rubbing in your face, something that makes us think we're better than you, because god knows every thing nonbinary people do is actually about binary people and their egos.

1. Comparing cis men who were at the forefront of American transphobia in the last decade and a bit, to trans men and transmascs talking about transphobia they faced is a shitty take

2. Not listening to trans guys talking about their oppression is anti-intellectual in itself. You refuse to learn and broaden your understanding of oppression.

3. Rich talking about how trans guys "disregard" the same studies that they talk about, when you won't even read any studies on their oppression yourself.

4. You really wanna go there. Talking about mansplaining? You sure about that when your crowd talks about how you know more about transmasculine lives and experiences without being transmasc yourself and clearly you know nothing compared to trans men and transmascs who know more than you'll ever know in your entire life about their oppression? You sure about that? You wanna go there?

5. Trans men and transmascs get V-Coded all the fucking time. Ask me how I'd know. Come on. I'd be more than happy to tell you about transmasc inmates I've talked to who have been raped a LOT in prison.

They *know* that trans men face misogyny, they *know* trans men aren’t “misgendering themselves” talking about it. It used to be a common feminist saying that yes even cis men are impacted by misogyny. But it’s just a way to divert the argument and get trans men to shut up, it’s a way to distract from the points being made so everyone wastes their time bc they want trans men to exhaust themselves explaining the same shit to the same people over and over again who just do not care.

They *know* that ‘transandrophobia’ actually refers to specifically the bigotry/aversion to trans men, hence the fucking ‘Trans’ in the name. They know it doesn’t actually posit that misandry exists on a systemic level like that of misogyny. They know that it specifically refers to the mix of transphobia and misogyny faced by trans men, combined with using/targeting the trans man’s masculinity (or his supposed lack of such) as a cudgel against him. These “transfeminists” don’t care. They’ve seen what it means, they’ve had it explained to them a hundred times over. Their ignorance is totally feigned so they can continue bashing trans men with impunity. It’s just a way to divert the conversation, and then complain about “tMRAs” when folks come in to correct this believed misconception.

And the fixation on this in particular is exactly the point. It’s more complicated to explain that despite being men, trans men aren’t seen or classed as men by patriarchy. It takes more time to explain how “no, if trans men weren’t trans that wouldn’t make them cis men. That hypothetical is literally impossible and you know it, so it’s worthless to use as a framework”, and that’s precisely the point. It gets you wasting your time explaining something complex to someone who just hates you, because the truth can only be so simple before it stops being true, but at no point can you make a lie so simple it’s no longer a lie. The goal is to prime their audience to tell themselves a story that all this “transandrophobia” complexity is just some stupid “mini Hitler bro bullshit” because if they can just get trans men to shut up then their views can remain simple and unexamined. Every time they say trans men don’t face erasure, or that they’re lucky to be invisible, they actually know that trans men are being actively erased and they’re hoping for it because they don’t want to share space with them or even think about them as anything more than a punching bag who takes it and doesn’t complain.

Like you can explain everything that people concerned with transandrophobia have been saying for years and in response they will stare you dead in the eye right after and just say “misandry isn’t a systemic force” as if you’ve said nothing at all. It’s just a short quippy and wrong thought terminating cliche so that they don’t have to think about it, and more importantly it signals to their audience that they don’t have to think about it either. Like. It’s definitely transphobia, but it’s also just saving themselves from having to think too hard about why they’re constantly targeting trans men, and it absolves them from ever having to reconcile with what they’ve said and perhaps even done to trans men. “Because trans men are men, and they’re annoying, so they deserve it.” It’s an extremely simple idea, and a simple worldview, with a simple conclusion, that doesn’t require them to reflect on their behaviors or beliefs at all. The whole “TMEs” thing posits trans men as being on similar levels of privilege to cis people, and it’s used most oftenly as a derogatory term rather than a descriptor. It’s completely evident in the vocabulary too, it’s never “people who are TME/TME people” or similar, because even that would be far too humanizing. So as long as trans men are basically like cis people in terms of privilege, then they don’t need to be helped, they can be freely mocked without it being considered dragging a minority, and most importantly, these “transfeminists” don’t have to change or reflect on their behavior at all. See? Simple!

But the truth about how trans men are affected by the same oppression just in different ways, facing unique injustices, to the point where trans men as a class genuinely do not hold privilege above trans women, nor act as their oppressors, is a nightmarishly uncomfortable truth to someone who hates trans men and just wants to keep bashing them with a winding diatribe of reactionary rhetoric dressed up with feminist vocabulary. Were that true, it means there’s a problem that requires action. Not only does it mean on an individual level they’d need to reassess their individual biases and behaviors, but much more broadly it means that there’s a problem that needs to be addressed on a big picture social scale.

Like. A common derogatory phrase that gets slung around is shit like “men want to be oppressed so bad” (they always have to remove the ‘trans’ part, ever notice that?) and like. I think most trans men would actually be somewhat reluctantly relieved if it was the case that trans men as a class didn’t struggle as much. Like those who are spreading awareness about misinformation about and general lack of resources surrounding DIY T and bringing attention to the rampant sexual abuse of trans men for instance aren’t doing it because they think this is some fun and silly oppression Olympics game. They want more awareness of these debilitating social issues that go unaddressed and ignored, and every minute “transfeminists” argue about the validity of the terms trans men use to describe this phenomenon is time deliberately wasted because they just hate trans men. We need to stop giving them the benefit of the doubt and start treating them like the reactionaries they are.

Their approach to trans men and specifically trans men simply advocating for themselves is fundamentally authoritarian in nature. And I genuinely am coming to the realization that it’s pointless trying to convince people who have this mindset. It’s a waste of time and if you prove them wrong they don’t care, because they know everything you’re saying, because they’ve heard it before. And it’s not going to get them to adapt and adjust their arguments, they’re just going to keep posting the same “transandrophobia is wrong because misandry isn’t real” takes even knowing what the term actually means. Their mindset is simply not one which revolves around actual material analysis, it’s just what they wish the truth was, and they wish that trans men stayed silent and just took the abuse, because they need a way to hurt men and they’re not gonna risk it with the cis men who actually have power over them. The fact that it’s this constant fixation with trans men and not cis men is fully evidence of this.

They keep saying (well some of the less vitriolic ones at least) “we’re not opposed to you creating your own terms, just make them better” but like, honestly the biggest evidence that you can’t change their minds is their insistence that you can with the right discussion. The argument isn’t supposed to end, it’s supposed to continue indefinitely until trans men back down and be quiet again, and in the meantime, they’ll keep bashing trans men and gleefully contribute to their erasure.

I know I am beating a dead horse at this point but I really need this to sink in. People who are in support of trans men will enter these eventual flamewars with the implied understanding that if they can simply explain the validity of transandrophobia to whichever “transfeminist” in question, they’ll change their views and start supporting trans men in their advocacy. But like, what exactly are the incentives for them to do so? They *want* to hate on trans men (evidenced by the litany of insults all specifically drummed up about them in volumes which I have never seen by the side in support of trans men), and meanwhile, you don’t want them to hate on trans men and deny their experiences, *but they’re already doing that right now.* These “transfeminists” are not pausing their actions and waiting upon the outcome of this debate to reevaluate whether or not they should continue, they will actively deny deny deny trans men’s experiences and their right to self identity their hardships the entire fucking time. They already got what they want, and what they want is to bully trans men. That’s why all of their arguments against trans men are so shit and easily debunkable given the time and sources. They don’t *need* the arguments to be good (if anything it’s not a bug it’s a feature, bad arguments draw you in like bait for a trap to waste your time), they don’t *need* to win you over to their side. Like, sure, they’d appreciate another attack dog if it gets other trans men to shut up, but overwhelmingly what they want is for trans men to be silenced. It’s no coincidence that one of the biggest adjectives used to describe trans men by these “transfeminists” is “whiney”.

Let’s also not forget that most of this debate shit is online AF. And they’ve staked their entire online presence in service of disagreeing with those in support of trans men. Conceding any point would cost their entire presence, and would get their followers to turn on them now that they’ve been primed to vehemently disavow anyone who breaks rank.

They insist that trans men just need to invent better language, and then they’ll respect and understand it, but in the meantime, they’re not pausing any of their current rhetoric or trying to find ways to include trans men in a broader framework. No, they’re continuing with the frankly transphobic insistence that trans men don’t face any unique vulnerabilities and don’t need support because as long as trans women are supported then all of their needs will be met. And as we’ve seen with the constant rejection of every term trans men have come up with (“there’s no such thing as misandry, so trans misandry is a bad term. There’s no such thing as androphobia, so transandrophobia is a bad term. There’s no such thing as anti masculinity, patriarchy rewards masculinity, so anti transmasculinity is a bad term. Oh and isomisogyny? Wow way to paint yourselves as the real victims of misogyny.”), like, this is deliberate.

When people in support of trans men do their own work, get their studies and sources in a row, these “transfeminists” constantly say, “this isn’t good enough, you need more research and you need to do better work.” And like. Being people who act in good faith, we keep believing them? When they’ve demonstrated at every possible opportunity and metric that they’re not acting in good faith? We fall for it every time because we want to act genuinely and these “transfeminist” bloggers are happy to weaponize that good faith to their advantage. They keep dangling this fucking proverbial carrot in front of us and say “you know we’re just like this because your theory is incorrect. If you haven’t convinced us then you’re just not well read enough, you haven’t structured a good enough argument and really you need to try harder if you’re going to get anywhere.” There is no collaboration, only animosity.

So my message to any person who’s pro trans men reading is that you should just focus on spreading awareness and keep posting without taking them into account, and don’t get into pointless arguments because wasting your time is their ultimate end goal. This is just their newest culture war bit, piggybacking off of the ace discourse, and the bi discourse, and the mspec discourse. Because it’s just reactionary bullshit yet again. If you change the environment then they’ll change even quicker than you, and then later act like they never did anything to hurt trans men or maybe even supported them.

This is misinformation.

To any of my followers in the UK, DO NOT trust just any site that you find if you’re going to do DIY HRT. It is incredibly, incredibly important to do research on both the supplier and the manufacturer before purchasing anything. On reputable sites, bank transfer is typically exclusive to a minimum order requirement, if it’s available at all, of several hundred pounds. Most likely you will have to buy bitcoin, unless you have that kind of money lying around. And while yes, the UK is one of the few western countries where personal possession of T isn’t criminalized, you are assuming a level of risk regardless that DIY E doesn’t carry (mainly that, if you share with friends, you can be charged with distributing a controlled substance) Not to mention that because it’s illegal to sell these substances, what you’re getting is always going to carry the risk of being adulterated or contaminated or otherwise ineffective.

That’s why if you are going to DIY T, it’s important to research carefully and even then, there have been many cases of these labs degrading in quality or otherwise having a sudden outbreak of issues that cause them to be flagged by the bodybuilding community (eugh) as dangerous. But of course that’s only after these products have already been used by people, potentially you. So there is always risk.

How do I know all of this? Because I’ve been doing DIY HRT in this hellish country for a few months now. I won’t go into it, but it’s a personal choice I made reassured by knowing it wasn’t completely illegal and accepted the risks, especially because I had previously been on prescribed HRT. So I can tell you with confidence that the “advice” in the screenshots is absolutely fucking terrible and will get you scammed and/or ill. So far it’s been effective, but the biggest difference I can say is that it fucking HURTS. My prescribed Test C felt almost painless, whereas this stuff makes my leg sore for multiple days after. Which is also something to be aware of.

I have ALSO seen a rise in people saying “it’s actually totally safe to reuse needles!” And ABSOLUTELY NOT. Reusing needles is a sure fire way to develop a debilitating or even life threatening infection and is absolutely not worth the minimal money saved. Needles are by far the cheapest and most easily accessible component of HRT and should not be skimped on, especially since you can get them for FREE if you go to harm reduction clinics. I personally was able to buy a year and a half’s worth of syringes and needles for myself and my partner for something like 30 pounds.

hey guys pack it up transandrophobia theory is an alt right movement because a trans man of color has ~weird pronouns~ and a blog theme. based on this persons assumptions.

Queer community members who don't believe/listen to trans men(/trans mascs in my case) about our lives expireneces in these same spaces.

I'm saying they still have bigoted views towards sex and gender, despite being in queer feminist spaces. Not that it's a specific Gender or sex doing it (trust me it's in the intersex community too)

Idk how else to rationalize the abizmal way many people in queer feminist spaces treat trans men. Other than internal bigotry and misdirected reactive abuse in response to their own to societal oppression.

Transmasculine people have BEEN writing feminist theory centering the trans experience - Judith Butler, Jack Halberstam, José Esteban Muñoz (edit - incredible theorist, not transmasc sorry!!!), Toby Beauchamp, Hil Malatino, Abram J. Lewis, Christopher Lee...

Do not believe anyone who tells you transmasculine people aren't speaking about our experiences, aren't theorizing, aren't publishing theory.