This
is my first blog about the cause to eliminate transphobic
harassment and violence by the pseudo-feminist group called the TERFs
(Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists). Allison Woolbert has worked hard as a gender
equality and LGBTQI advocate supporting all the Rainbow Family and I am very
proud to be working with her to protect the LGBTQI community from those that
want to harm and separate us with hate.
We must stick together and speak up against injustice wherever it may
arise, sadly, even in our own community at times.
A commentary on
“A Feminist Guide to all things Trans”
Dirt’s blog entry on Monday, August 19, 2013
“A Feminist Guide to all things Trans” (http://www.donotlink.com/hz1)
has many false statements that are either total lies or misreprentations. Dirt
ignores scientific facts, medical and psychiatric terminology, and plain human
decency. It is full of transphobia, internalized
homophobia, and hatred of all people that are male or masculine in nature. Let
us analyze Dirt’s statements (direct quotes).
1.
Dirt states: “No one is born transgendered.” (Transgender
would have been the proper term here).
Fact:
This is a black and white viewpoint. There have been studies that have shown
that there are strong similarities between parts of the brains of transgender
men and cisgender men and transgender women and cisgender women.
“They found significant differences
between male and female brains in four regions of white matter – and the
female-to-male transsexual people had white matter in these regions that
resembled a male brain (Journal of Psychiatric Research, DOI:
10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.05.006). "It's the first time it has been shown
that the brains of female-to-male transsexual people are masculinised,"
Guillamon says.
In a separate study, the team used
the same technique to compare white matter in 18 male-to-female transsexual
people with that in 19 males and 19 females. Surprisingly, in each transsexual
person's brain the structure of the white matter in the four regions was
halfway between that of the males and females (Journal of Psychiatric Research,
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.11.007). "Their brains are not completely
masculinised and not completely feminised, but they still feel female,"
says Guillamon” (Transsexual differences caught on
brain scan by Jessica Hamzelou 2011). http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20032-transsexual-differences-caught-on-brain-scan.html#.UpSM1uKJOk8
2.
Dirt states: “Transition is a medical invention of the 20th century created to
"cure" homosexuality.”
Fact:
Hormonal treatment and surgeries would not cure anyone from homosexuality it
has nothing to do with gender identity or transgenderism, it is a sexual
orientation. In fact many transgender women are self-identified lesbians and
many transgender men are self-identified gay men.
3.
Dirt states: Transgenderism can ONLY occur via medical intervention.
Fact:
This is a black and white viewpoint. Not everyone that is in the transgender
community go through hormone therapy or surgeries.
“Transgender: An umbrella term for
people whose gender identity, expression or behavior is different from those
typically associated with their assigned sex at birth, including but not
limited to transsexuals, cross-dressers, androgynous people, genderqueers, and
gender non-conforming people. Transgender is a broad term and is good for
non-transgender people to use. “Trans” is shorthand for “transgender”
(TRANSGENDER TERMINOLOGY 2009). http://transequality.org/Resources/NCTE_TransTerminology.pdf.
Also go to AMA on GRS information http://www.imatyfa.org/resources/healthcare-practitioners/american-medical-association-transgender-resolution/
Transgenderism
has been around for thousands of years and transitional treatments were not
available for most of this time period. Transgender individuals can be found
throughout various cultures from the ancient Egyptians to the Native American
tribes of North, Central South America. Transgender men and women fought during
the America civil war. During the
American Civil War (1861–1865) at least 240 biological women are known to have
worn men's clothing and fought as soldiers. Some of them were transgender and
continued to live as men throughout their lives.[3] One such notable soldier
was Albert Cashier.[4]” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_transgenderism_in_the_United_States.
There is a long and rich history that proves just like homosexuality,
transgenderism has always been a part of the human species.
4.
Dirt states: Hormones used for transition can and do change personality AND
sexual attraction.
Fact:
Yes, hormones can change your personality, both positively and negatively, even
replacement hormones in cisgender men and women with hormonal problems.
Hormones can affected sexual attraction but this could also be a side effect of
feeling good in one’s own body for the first time and being more open to sex
and relationships.
5.
Dirt states: ALL transition surgeries are UNNECESSARY.
Fact:
For the transgender person that needs them, they are important and
necessary. Many transgender people feel
deep depression and body dysphoria. Modifying their bodies to fit their gender
identity is the only way to help them be themselves and relieve their
depression and body dysphoria.
6.
Dirt states: ALL transition surgeries are barbaric, permanently mutilating once
healthy body parts.
Fact:
This catastrophizing the subject of transitional surgeries. All surgeries are
barbaric and carry risk because you are cutting into flesh and bone, but
necessary in most cases. Sex reassignment surgeries are no different from other
surgeries they can be very successful or they can go very wrong. That is why
you must educate yourself before any treatment or surgeries and check out the
credentials and record of success of your doctors. It is just common sense.
7.
Dirt states: Havelock Ellis, Magnus
Hirsch, and Richard von Kraft-Ebing linked homosexuality with inversion, in the
early 20th century.
Fact:
Homosexuality was both misunderstood and thought to be morally wrong, so these
so-called experts used their own prejudice and confusion to make homosexuality
whatever they wanted it to be. But homosexuality is still different than
transgenderism, though an individual can be both transgender and homosexual.
8.
Dirt states: Inverts were males and females who were perceived as being
inverted, such as female inverts having a "Masculine soul, heaving in a
female bosom" In other words those who didn’t subscribe to the Gender
Straight Jacket.
Fact:
This was more of a trans-personal psychology approach to all things to do with
gender identity and human sexuality, which recognized the
possibility of a human soul. And if you
are a spiritual person this might make sense to you about having the wrong soul
in the wrong body. I personally have no problem with those that belief this
way.
9.
Dirt states: It was during this time (1931) that Lili Elbe received and died
from the first sex reassignment surgery. Elbe was most likely intersexed, as
medical evidence at the time indicated.
Fact: Intersexuality is not
transgenderism, this . Intersexed children are mutilated to either fit in
society as a man or a woman. Some do need surgeries to correct defects that
might affect their health. But most of these surgeries are cosmetics in nature;
they are done on babies and children without their consent. These surgeries on
the genitals are painful and can cause damage and often are done throughout
childhood and even beyond.
10.
Dirt states: Harry Benjamin who was a friend of and highly influenced by Magnus
Hirshfeld, was heavily interested in gay male drag shows where according to HB,
"many of the customers appeared in the clothing of the other sex".
Fact:
Homosexuality and transvestism are both different from transgenderism.
11.
Dirt states: Harry Benjamin is the father of transsexualism/transgenderism.
Fact:
Yes, he did study transsexualism/transgenderism. Richard von
Krafft-Ebing studied the problem of Transsexuality and then published his work
in 1893. Later Harry Benjamin used Ebing's
work to come to his conclusions about transsexualism/transgenderism.
12.
Dirt states: Viewing psychiatry through a Gender Straight Jacketed lens,
Benjamin ignorantly assumed transvestites and gay men to be one and the same.
Fact:
Now we know that most gay men do not cross-dress and they are self-identified
men (whether they are cisgender or transgender). So Harry Benjamin was wrong.
But he did study drag shows because cross-dressers and transvestites were prohibited
in his study.
13.
Dirt states: HB believed gay men to all be effeminate.
Fact:
Well, HB was wrong and did not know the truth about homosexuality. Gay men and
women can be masculine (butch), feminine (femme) or in between and so can their
fellow straight people.
14.
Dirt states: Most of Benjamin's patients were female fetishizers he mistook for
homosexuals.
Fact:
This is true that most true cross-dressers are straight cisgender men (that
probably Do Not like being called fetishizers, whatever that is.). Benjamin was
wrong again.
15.
Dirt states: Within the first decade of SRS, female fetishizers created an
underground snail mail communication system whereby female fetishizers knew
beforehand what to say to HB and later SRS doctors that would enable them to be
approved for SRS.
Fact:
The is a phobic viewpoint. People make up stories and if this is true, its
normal human behavior. But has nothing to do with transgender people. I
personally, find this statement to be confusing and I really do not know what
Dirt is talking about.
16.
Dirt states: The main criteria for early SRS (and today still) is homosexuality
or behaviour considered to be homosexual.
Fact:
No it isn’t. Gender identity is separate from sexual orientation. Dirt has
apparently never read the WPATH standards.
17.
Dirt states: The majority of transitions remain straight white males who have a
twisted cock response to clothing labeled "girls" or
"womens". Males known as Autogynephiles or as I call them, Female
Fetishizers. Males who fetishize the patriarchal Male Gaze constructed IDEA
"woman/femininity".
Fact:
This is a phobic idea that has no bases in facts. Cross-dressers (or what Dirt
calls fetishizers) is a completely different part of the transgender umbrella.
Transgender women identify themselves as women, viewing themselves as female in
gender. On the other hand male cross-dressers enjoy wearing women’s clothing
but identify as men, seeing themselves as male in gender. I am not sure what
Dirt means about twisted cock (she will have to elaborate on this to enlighten us.)
It does sound painful.
18.
Dirt states: Female Fetishizers carry out transvestism to the Nth degree in
search for greater and greater sexual highs.
Fact:
I DO NOT understand this statement at all.
19.
Dirt states: The medical community didnt invest in sex changes until the Kinsey
Report of (1948) and (1953) which
concluded at least 10% of the population was homosexual and 37% of males had
had a homosexual experience.
Fact:
Gender identity is separate from sexual orientation. But it is true that Kinsey
did this study. There were studies by Krafft-Ebings in the 1880's and there was
extensive interest in the early 1900's about human sexuality and what caused
difference in sex orientation. Go to: http://www.cinematter.com/tshistory.html
20.
Dirt states: In the early seventies pro consensual pedophilia doctor John Money
(notorious for experimenting on the intersexed) coined the term Gender
Identity/Gender Roles.
Fact:
Pedophilia has nothing to do with transgenderism or homosexuality. So this
point really makes no sense at all. Plus, it plays in the hands of the
religious right. Like all TERFs Dirt likes to throw gay men and women in with
pedophiles, when they think it benefits their cause.
Terf Tracker is an organized effort to provide further safety to the transgender community by documenting TERF organizations, their followers and the distortions that they present. This effort is in response to continual aggressive harassment by groups such as Gender Identity Watch, the hate group and other associated groups.
NOTE: Respectful discourse is expected on our site. Issue discussion is more than welcome. However, any disrespect, misgendering, or hate speech will be removed and the user banned.
You can read more here about Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminism: What Exactly Is It, And Why Does It Hurt?
No comments:
Post a Comment