i lost a follower for that last reblog, so im just gonna say it loud and clear
trans women are women and deserve to be treated as such. they are not lesser women because they are trans, they are not your fetish, they are not the butt of your jokes, they are real women with real souls and deserve some fucking rights and respect
idk if this has been posted yet but i read this thread by @teamarimo and found it SUPER interesting and thorough and thought it’d be good to share it
This is good, just wish it wasn’t posted as a Twitter essay, they’re so hard to read.
[Caption: a series of tweets by twitter user @teamarimo. It reads:
the debate on who can use the terms “butch/femme” keeps coming up so i
did a ton of research & i’d like to weigh in on the issue. i’ll post
sources at the end
too many people credit anne lister (a historical lesbian) with coining
femme in her journals but she was speaking french and “femme” has been a
french word forever
going in chronological order of gay words in the english-speaking world,
“lesbian” began as a synonym for tribade. “tribadism” = scissoring;
both words meant women who slept with women & the sexual act itself.
this was long before IDpolitics
so lesbian/tribade was something you did, not something you IDd as, bc
they were labeled by their sexual activity since IDpol hadn’t come
around yet. there was no concept of who was or wasn’t exclusively
attracted to women. that’s why bi women are closer to lesbians than bi
men
tribade dominated the 17th-mid 19th centuries until sapphic & lesbian took prominence. it wasn’t until 1892 that a neurologist used bisexual to describe sexuality. from then until the 1960s, bi was used only in academic contexts. it still wasn’t an identity yet
bi women have always been here but shared community with & organized
under “lesbian” until (and even into) the 60s. before then, any text or
study that said “lesbian” meant gay & bi women unless it (on the
rare occasion) specifies otherwise, so context matters
butch/femme began in gay bars in the 40s-60s. women-only gay bars were
frequented by lesbian & bi women. so for the first decades of
butch/femme history, “lesbian” includes bi women bc there was no bi or
“women-exclusive” yet & they were at the bars, participating in the
culture
in the 70s, lesbian separatism begins with 12 white cis lesbians, the
furies. They suggest that women engage “only (with) women who cut their
ties to male privilege… as long as women still benefit from
heterosexuality, receive its privileges and security, they will…
at some point have to betray their sisters, especially lesbian sisters
who do not receive those benefits.” demon TERF sheila jeffreys says “our
definition of a political lesbian is a woman-identified woman who does
not fuck men.” this marks the split between bi & lesbian women
lesbian separatism others bi women who shared space, identity &
oppression with lesbians centuries prior. it deems trans women as
inextricable from male privilege they (don’t) have. it others lgbt woc
who share oppression with men & therefore can’t exclude men from
their politics
tldr it’s bad lol. with events like stonewall (1969) & increasing
anti-gay violence in the 70s, anyone with proximity to heterosexuality
in gay spaces was viewed as a threat & shunned. so bi groups begin
to pop up, since they had no place in straight or gay communities
anymore
in the 80s, 2nd-wave bi organizing was feminist bi orgs forming bc
lesbians posited bisexuality as anti-feminist. by 1988, LGB officially
separates lesbian & bi. now lesbians are invested in specific
lesbian history & everything before the 60s says “lesbian.” see the
problem here
texts with the word “lesbian” before the 60s are also referring to bi
women but modern meanings of old words are applied to them, &
consequently, bi women are denied a massive chunk of our history,
including butch/femme culture
in the 60s, ball culture emerges in houses created as safe spaces for
black & latinx queer youth. the genders are butch queen, femme
queen, butch & women. here, butch & femme embody: the
intersections of race, gender & sexuality; the freedom of it; and
the resulting persecution
in the 70s, lesbian separatists say any form of masculinity harms women,
materializing against butch & trans women. femmes are framed as
wanting to reap benefits of heterosexuality while still toying with
women (this is heavily wrapped in biphobic rhetoric too, if you can’t
tell)
butch/femme is framed as heteronormative, anti-lesbian &
anti-feminist. so androgyny is proposed as the lesbian ideal. now
lesbian feminism is centered on white, middle class, androgynous
lesbians at the expense of working class + nonwhite lesbians, bi women,
and butches & femmes
butch/femme fall out of popular use, only kept alive by the same working
class & nonwhite women who are ousted by white lesbians.
butch/femme usage among queer youth of color includes lesbians &
nonlesbians as it had since 60s ball culture & since 40s gay bars
with gay & bi women
it’s interesting that people say butch/femme is for lesbians only when
the beginning of lesbian as an exclusively-woman attracted identity
& the downfall of butch/femme go hand-in-hand. it was queer youth of
color who kept that culture alive, lesbian or not
white lesbian TERFs who demonized the culture embraced it again when
genderfluidity became trendy in the late 80s. they claimed it as theirs,
and stripped it of its history with bi women, trans women & queer
youth of color that they wanted no association with
so that history was lost among many, and now well-meaning lesbians who
definitely are not TERFs don’t even know butch/femme’s roots in race,
trans/gnc identity, & class struggle, or its origins among gay &
bi women as one group
tldr: TERFs suck, bi & lesbian women’s history is inextricable, and
bi women were using butch/femme before the bi identity even existed.
historically, “lesbian” encompassed a set of behaviors & became an
identity later
hi here’s a trans lesbian (homojabi@tumblr) saying exactly what I just
said from a trans perspective for the “everyone’s trying to steal from
lesbians” crowd. I’m going back to sleep
if you’re lgbt and a transmisogynist like i’m really sorry you’re an idiot and don’t realize trans women literally created this community cause that’s really sad, like we wouldn’t have a community without them. you waving your pitchfork and incomprehensible rhetoric to thank them is sad. and all i’m gonna feel in response is utter secondhand embarrassment for how stupid you are. like you’re dumb bye
don’t just like this, reblog it! let trans women know you love and support them in this community!
Probably gonna feel dumb in a sec but what is g!p?
g!p: Stands for Girl Peen or Girl Penis
In femslash works, it’s when someone:
takes a fetishized version of a trans woman’s body and uses it as a vehicle, often to write their trans fetishistic smut and/or pregnancy fetish fics through, though sometimes it’s just flat out a non-sexual combo of compulsory heterosexuality, cissexism, and heteronormativity
discards trans experience from their fics, and writes about our bodies in generally incorrect and/or impossible ways, basically showing zero interest in actually representing us, and full interest in misrepresenting us in ways that are directly tied to physical and sexual real life violence against us, purely to sate their sexual fantasies
(also common, but not always present) attaches their pent up baggage and taboo fantasies about cis men (due to compulsory heterosexuality and toxic masculinity) to the g!p characters, which more or less blatantly casts trans women as toxic, sexually predatory cis men. As an example, 50 Shades of Grey and Twilight both featured toxic cis men romantic leads that women in society tend to be conditioned to find attractive…some wlw see trans women and our bodies as close enough to manhood and maleness for them to engage in the compulsory het messages they were taught, so they can have that toxic, powerful/dominant, dangerous person with all the associated power dynamics, PiV sex, and potential pregnancy without necessarily compromising their sexuality so long as they accept trans women as women on a surface level
Characters chosen to be the g!p character in the fic tend to be the more masculine of the women, the more aggressive ones, the taller ones, the ones with more power/status, the more violent ones, the ones with more angular features, the darker-skinned characters, etc. I could list more, but the pattern should be fairly clear.
I’ve written more in detail here, and also have a bunch of links on my education page as well
.. it’s all about how you take it. You can be triggered by it because of your own insecurities or you can love it because of your own insecurities. There are 2 sides to the coin and promoting censorship of art because of how it makes you feel is about the most hypocritical thing anyone who is not a straight white male can do. Simply put, those who wish not see, need not look. But I don’t want my children growing up in a world, where they don’t have the option.
I find g!p gratifying
It’s literally not all about how a person “takes it”. It has nothing to do with triggering (although those are valid experiences), and everything to do with the way the trope reproduces and directs sexual violence against trans women, deeply fetishizes and dehumanizes us categorically, and erases our lived experiences and the realities of our bodies in ways that render us vulnerable and conditionally worthy of desire and love.
So, uh, yeah. It’s got nothing to do with whether it gives an individual person the warm fuzzies.
And I’m not promoting censorship, since I can’t censor anyone. I’m promoting that people recognize the harm their works do and find it in their heart to weight the wellbeing of trans women over the orgasms they get off our backs.
“Don’t Like Don’t Read” is a highly privileged and ignorant stance to take in fandom
If you want to understand more, read this, this, this, or the other posts on my education page on g!p
Because you may find g!p gratifying, but it’s literally deeply cissexist, transmisogynistic, trans-fetishistic, and reproduces a whole host of stigmas and taboos about trans women that direct real physical sexual violence against us and promotes our exclusion from women’s spaces, wlw spaces, lesbian spaces, often while casting us as dangerous male predators. Those are the facts, regardless of how you, I, or anyone else feels.
“Don’t Like Don’t Read” is a highly privileged and ignorant stance to take in fandom
In a time when women are standing up to male violence and saying ‘no more,’ trans women are still being left out and here, ‘censorship’ is the excuse – even though there is no call for censorship, only understanding that will lead to better choices that do not harm others.
I remember when Roman Polanski was defended by Hollywood actors and actresses saying that his raping of a child should be forgiven because he was a ‘great artist’ and how his working life should continue. Same for Woody Allen.
Now that the tides have turned, sympathy for these ‘great artists’ has eroded – we recognise the harm done, the harm that continues, when we allow these men to be given power and feted. Dylan Farrow’s story of the ongoing hurt and harm of watching Woody Allen escape justice, the harm he did to her family, while he kept working, kept receiving awards – can you see some parallels here?
No one calls for ‘censorship’ of a ‘great artist.’ It’s the human equation that is being left out. The human cost of allowing oppressors to maintain status quo – one that only benefits a few. Will people throw away ‘Chinatown’ or ‘Stardust Memories’ as crap because the men who made them are rubbish?
How many films or books created by ‘great artists’ featured content that we now consider backward, harmful, ignorant, sexist, racist – and those books and films still exist? No one ripped them off the shelves (that’s something fascists and Nazis do). I find the 50 Shades books to not only be terrible, but terrible influences and the woman who wrote them is another rubbish human being who benefited enormously from spreading wrongful, harmful text – that was openly derided far and wide. Did anyone get offended and call it ‘censorship’ to point out her work was harmful? I’d never call for anyone’s works to be banned – but we do seek to educate others on their content, don’t we? How many posts have you seen over the years of readers declaring 50 Shades is harmful? Is it a censorship issue or education?
But trans women point out g!p is harmful and support disappears (insert gif of Mariah Carey in sunglasses, unable to read suddenly).
How much g!p fiction mirrors 50 Shades?
It’s time to to allow those they have harmed to be free from that harm and to know we will progress in better ways. Society either improves and becomes genuinely inclusive and equal – or it continues to fall apart, thanks to selfishness and greed.
If trans women are shouting what is harmful to them and you are not listening, take some stock of the world around you. Look at all the other women who weren’t listened to when they told the world they were harmed. Look at all the other women who were too terrified to come forward, who were told they were asking for it, who were told it was all their fault it happened.
Instead of looking at trans women as something separate, maybe we could start seeing them as women who are pointing out the harm being done to them and stand with them.
Would that be gratifying?
I’ve pointed out before, in the Clexa fandom, fans stood up to a man who did them harm. We pointed out a HARMFUL TROPE that should not be used – no one called for ‘censorship.’ We asked straight content creators to be better allies, to be better educated and not perpetuate the writing of harmful content. It’s about representation.
Trans women are usually the last ones who receive any kind of support. Is ‘time’s up’ inclusive? Is ‘me too?’ I believe them when they tell me someone is hurting them. I believe you, I’m listening, I hope to be a better ally.
It means a lot to come back on tumblr tonight and have read that 🙂
.. it’s all about how you take it. You can be triggered by it because of your own insecurities or you can love it because of your own insecurities. There are 2 sides to the coin and promoting censorship of art because of how it makes you feel is about the most hypocritical thing anyone who is not a straight white male can do. Simply put, those who wish not see, need not look. But I don’t want my children growing up in a world, where they don’t have the option.
I find g!p gratifying
It’s literally not all about how a person “takes it”. It has nothing to do with triggering (although those are valid experiences), and everything to do with the way the trope reproduces and directs sexual violence against trans women, deeply fetishizes and dehumanizes us categorically, and erases our lived experiences and the realities of our bodies in ways that render us vulnerable and conditionally worthy of desire and love.
So, uh, yeah. It’s got nothing to do with whether it gives an individual person the warm fuzzies.
And I’m not promoting censorship, since I can’t censor anyone. I’m promoting that people recognize the harm their works do and find it in their heart to weight the wellbeing of trans women over the orgasms they get off our backs.
“Don’t Like Don’t Read” is a highly privileged and ignorant stance to take in fandom
If you want to understand more, read this, this, this, or the other posts on my education page on g!p
Because you may find g!p gratifying, but it’s literally deeply cissexist, transmisogynistic, trans-fetishistic, and reproduces a whole host of stigmas and taboos about trans women that direct real physical sexual violence against us and promotes our exclusion from women’s spaces, wlw spaces, lesbian spaces, often while casting us as dangerous male predators. Those are the facts, regardless of how you, I, or anyone else feels.
“Don’t Like Don’t Read” is a highly privileged and ignorant stance to take in fandom
In a time when women are standing up to male violence and saying ‘no more,’ trans women are still being left out and here, ‘censorship’ is the excuse – even though there is no call for censorship, only understanding that will lead to better choices that do not harm others.
I remember when Roman Polanski was defended by Hollywood actors and actresses saying that his raping of a child should be forgiven because he was a ‘great artist’ and how his working life should continue. Same for Woody Allen.
Now that the tides have turned, sympathy for these ‘great artists’ has eroded – we recognise the harm done, the harm that continues, when we allow these men to be given power and feted. Dylan Farrow’s story of the ongoing hurt and harm of watching Woody Allen escape justice, the harm he did to her family, while he kept working, kept receiving awards – can you see some parallels here?
No one calls for ‘censorship’ of a ‘great artist.’ It’s the human equation that is being left out. The human cost of allowing oppressors to maintain status quo – one that only benefits a few. Will people throw away ‘Chinatown’ or ‘Stardust Memories’ as crap because the men who made them are rubbish?
How many films or books created by ‘great artists’ featured content that we now consider backward, harmful, ignorant, sexist, racist – and those books and films still exist? No one ripped them off the shelves (that’s something fascists and Nazis do). I find the 50 Shades books to not only be terrible, but terrible influences and the woman who wrote them is another rubbish human being who benefited enormously from spreading wrongful, harmful text – that was openly derided far and wide. Did anyone get offended and call it ‘censorship’ to point out her work was harmful? I’d never call for anyone’s works to be banned – but we do seek to educate others on their content, don’t we? How many posts have you seen over the years of readers declaring 50 Shades is harmful? Is it a censorship issue or education?
But trans women point out g!p is harmful and support disappears (insert gif of Mariah Carey in sunglasses, unable to read suddenly).
How much g!p fiction mirrors 50 Shades?
It’s time to to allow those they have harmed to be free from that harm and to know we will progress in better ways. Society either improves and becomes genuinely inclusive and equal – or it continues to fall apart, thanks to selfishness and greed.
If trans women are shouting what is harmful to them and you are not listening, take some stock of the world around you. Look at all the other women who weren’t listened to when they told the world they were harmed. Look at all the other women who were too terrified to come forward, who were told they were asking for it, who were told it was all their fault it happened.
Instead of looking at trans women as something separate, maybe we could start seeing them as women who are pointing out the harm being done to them and stand with them.
Would that be gratifying?
I’ve pointed out before, in the Clexa fandom, fans stood up to a man who did them harm. We pointed out a HARMFUL TROPE that should not be used – no one called for ‘censorship.’ We asked straight content creators to be better allies, to be better educated and not perpetuate the writing of harmful content. It’s about representation.
Trans women are usually the last ones who receive any kind of support. Is ‘time’s up’ inclusive? Is ‘me too?’ I believe them when they tell me someone is hurting them. I believe you, I’m listening, I hope to be a better ally.
Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance when we honor the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
Either this was posted a previous year with a different date, people are reblogging this early, or Google is wrong. Cause
It’s an old post! I checked but I still wanted to reblog it anyways despite not being the correct date. November 20th is the correct date for this though.
The Doctor Is Out 