#gender essentialism

[ablueberryblogs]

I don't know what trans man need to hear this but you're allowed to be angry. It doesn't make you evil. You are allowed to experience all possible emotions without apology and still be a good man.

*this is about trans men specifically, do not derail. You are free to make your own post*

#ftm #trans man #trans rights #transandrophobia #anti transmasculinity #this is about trans men having their manhood policed #all the people expressing themselves and saying thank you in the rbs i see you and i love you #trans liberation #do not derail #gender essentialism #bioessentialism #THIS IS ABOUT TRANS MEN DO NOT DERAIL

[degenderates]

“women love inherently different from men...oh but btw trans women are still women and included in this!!:)))” you are still boxing people into 2 distinct immutable categories

#gender essentialism #gender #josiah speaks #pls look at reblog

[cardentist]

people fixate on bi-lesbians as being problematic despite bi-gay men existing (as well as any and every combination of sexuality and romantic attraction you can think of) because terfs and radfems deliberately don't want bi women to associate with lesbians and are deeply invested with framing attraction to men As Bad. a sentiment which has invaded queer culture inside and out, intentionally And incidentally.

people fixate on straight cis aromantic men when straight cis aromantic women exist because framing aromantic people as inherently predatory and dangerous by the simple nature of existing is easier to do when you intentionally force the association with predatory dangerous behavior displayed by (and associated with) misogynistic men.

people are still bigoted against bi-gay men and woman aromatics (and any flavor of trans within these groups), but pay attention to the way these conversations are Framed and it's clear the way gender essentialism is being used as a tool to control the narrative.

radfems' gender essentialism says you're supposed to think men are inherently scary, inherently take advantage of women, so Naturally (it is assumed) a man who is sexually attracted to women but not romantically attracted them Must Inherently be predatory and scary. and now you're being asked to take that feeling of unease you've been manipulated into feeling and associate it with the entirety of a sexuality.

bi-lesbians are threatening to radfems because they want to draw inherent lines between these two groups. insist that attraction to and with a man is inherently dirty and dangerous. the same reason why "gold star lesbian" is a radfem concept. if it turns out that the lines between sexualities, between identity as a whole, is blurrier than they want it to be then that Must be framed as inherently dangerous.

if a single Kind of a marginalized group is being singled out to convince you that this group is dangerous or that they don't belong It's For A Reason. they're trying to manipulate you based on Biases (their biases and the ones they hope you have). the reaction to this isn't to abandon the type of person they're convinced are the worst of these groups, it's in solidarity.

aromantics who are men aren't any different from aromantics who are women, bi-lesbians deserve to live in peace just as much as bi-gay men. don't let people control the narrative Either by cutting down vast array of experiences that exist within any given identity, Or by convincing you that particular kinds of people within your communities are lesser than.

#discourse #long post #gender essentialism #sexism #transphobia #aphobia #trans unity #queer unity #inclusionism

[thee-radio-host-is-a-kookaburra]

seeing ppl on this website unironically put shit in their bio like "i'm very wary of transmascs" or "i only follow transmascs who actively deny transandrophobia" like yeah bro you're totally not transphobic you're definitely not regurgitating radfem gender essentalism at all

#max squawks #transandrophobia #gender essentialism

[prokopetz]

I recognise that the media trope where one member of a same gender couple is super classy and the other is a total bro is, in some respects, replicating the whole “so which one of you is the man?” thing, but I’m willing to give it a pass because it’s also extremely funny.

#media #tropes #gender #gender roles #gender essentialism #especially if the classy one utterly unhinged and the bro is the long-suffering voice of reason

[estrogeneral-intelligence]

Gender essentialism is a social cancer.

Just saw a post on Lex that was basically a transmasc person asking the queer community at large to stop excluding them because they pass as a cis man. They asked that we maybe stop coming down on trans men, masc NBs, hell, even trans women who don't know they're trans yet.

And…yeah. I don't think that's an unreasonable ask. Tbh I think that should also include cis men who aren't straight, because they are part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

I think what's vastly more important than whether someone has a masculine identity is whether or not they're explicitly being toxically masculine. Wanting more body hair isn't toxic, wanting a flat chest isn't toxic, wanting to enjoy more "masculine" activities and be seen as one of the guys isn't toxic. SIMPLY BEING A MAN IS NOT TOXIC.

Anytime I've seen someone insist otherwise, it's been someone closely tied to—if not within—radfem/TERF circles. The logic that leads people to say masculine traits == bad is the same as the logic that results in having penis == bad, yet for some reason the former is treated as common sense even in queer circles. We're supposed to be rejecting gender norms, not reinforcing them dammit.

What's bad, what's toxic, is possessiveness. Needless aggression. Unchecked jealousy. Entitlement (especially sexual entitlement). None of these are inherently masculine traits.

It's one thing to be cautious of cis men, who more often than not have accepted masculinity as the default rather than a conscious choice, and may have learned more toxic traits as a result. But you don't know who is or isn't trans.

You don't know how that "cis man" actually identifies. Even if you do, you don't know whether or not he's examined his gender identity and decided he's happy where he is. You don't know whether or not he's actually possessive or entitled or aggressive. Making such assumptions is no better than assuming that a woman will be shy and submissive.

You don't know, and it's not your place to decide.

#rant #gender essentialism #queer #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtqia #trans #transgender #transmisandry

[butch-reidentified]

as you can see, reblogs and replies are now turned off for this mind-numbingly braindead post, but I couldn't resist sharing some of the batshit content in the notes.

typing in color so it's easier to tell my commentary apart from the screenshots

radfems are insane because... we think "all women matter" doesn't include males. incredible insight. I also love "leave my sisters alone. and leave me and my brothers alone, fuckers," as if that's the direction the harassment is typically occuring in. as if radfems are hunting trans people for sport simply by not believing in or supporting the gender construct. yes. we are clearly the insane party here.

more evidence we're the insane ones, as this person claims men aren't an oppressor class and that somehow believing that they are will lead to... believing butch lesbians are an oppressor 💀 this is your brain on gender - completely unable to even consider sex, only "masc presentation," which is how they come to the batshit conclusion that acknowledging men are an oppressor class will ultimately come to include butch lesbians.

... girl. what.

however........ there's one reblog that really stands above all others. It is so long and so unhinged that it surpasses tumblr's image cap, so I'm going to have to do a part 2 of this post. but here's a sneak peek:

Gender worshippers learn what gender essentialism & bioessentialism actually mean challenge: impossible

Seriously. Y'all loooove redefining shit so much, but these terms were created for specific reasons and you can't just rewrite any word or term you want to suit your beliefs. Gender essentialism refers to the commonly held belief that gendered traits are biologically determined by sex rather than learned. The idea that women are "naturally" or "biologically" homemakers, more nurturing, less confrontational, and more emotional, that little girls "naturally" or "biologically" prefer dolls over toy trucks, that women "naturally" or "biologically" feel driven to have babies and there's no such thing as a happy childfree woman, that sex is inherently more emotional and meaningful for women, that men are more logical, better at STEM subjects, better drivers, that it's "natural" for men to cheat but not for women to, that men are "naturally" or "biologically" more aggressive, that paintball and Call of Duty are naturally "for boys," and a thousand other ridiculous things way too many people believe.

But oh shit, what's that? The people who really started fighting back against gender essentialism and arguing that gender is a social construct were... second wave feminists???!!! the very movement radical feminism is born from and shares most of its tenets with???!!! it's... it's almost like... radfems are the literal opposite of essentialists 😱

Meanwhile, today's trans community will tell gender-nonconforming people they're "eggs" and "totally going to come out as trans any day now" while simultaneously claiming not to define gender by stereotypes 🤡 like, OK...

check notes for Part 2!

#mine #tra reciepts #peak trans #trans activism #gender identity #gender ideology #radblr #radical feminism #misinformation #gender essentialism #bioessentialism

[punkeropercyjackson]

Stephanie Brown:

Is poor

Has an abusive dad who was also a supervillain and that led to her becoming a superhero to spoil his plans but she focused a lot on helping out other less fortunate people in addition to fighting crime

Did badly often in school despite her extreme intellegence

Has anger issues and violent tendencies that manifest in her getting extra brutal in fights and being lowkey mean in general but she almost entierly directs it to people who deserve it

Is emotionally intense with ways of showing friendship that her classmates found offputting and that led to her being isolated from them and having almost no friends

Listens to Metallica

Took Tim Drake on a date to a shitty basement party with a bunch of alt teens

Was willing to kill at 14,including her own dad and only changed that because Bruce Wayne convinced her too

Loved Cassandra Cain romantically in a gritty dark future Batman run,has been Batwoman in two which is a mantle that has been held exclusively by a Kate Kane who is a butch lesbian and has shown multiple hints of being bi in the main timelines

Yelled and screamed at and even assaulted grown ass adults in her teen years for treating her badly with no fear and this stays into her adulthood

Grew up to be a Team Mom by at least her Batgirl days and the targets of her mothering were a biracial boy(Damian Wayne),two darkskin black girls(Nell Little and Tiffany Fox),a japanese girl(Maps Mizoguchi)and MANY other unnamed kids we see her being implied to care for

Presents super femininely but in a way that most guys in-universe find bad instead of attractive and she dosen't care about this because she dosen't want normies

Is a literature nerd,an artist,a gamer,a pianist AND a gymnist

Makes her own superhero gear

Uses optimism for a better world and trauma fueled spite as her motivation for heroism

Got treated like shit by almost everyone as a kid but we see this explicitly in her hero days with how much Bruce puts her down because she wasn't good enough for him

Does activism even outside of hero work

Is canonically pastel punk and accidentally autistic-coded and genuinely a real weirdgirl,not a fucking 'basic white girl' or a queen bee just because she's blonde and blue eyed and it's worth noting she's also been described as flat-chested as a jab but it not working because she loves her looks perfectly and that she's never shown any particular liking for being blonde and seeing as she got her hair from her dad,this is completely valid

She's Stephanie Brown,not Stacie White.Stop.Making.Her.Only.Trait.Her.Gender.Babygirl deserves better

#she shares a name with hobie brown for a reason y'all #stephanie brown #pro stephanie brown #blasian stephanie brown #trans stephanie brown #autistic stephanie brown #pastel punk stephanie brown #team mom stephanie brown #skater stephanie brown #mermaid shifter!stephanie #batfam #young justice #dead sidekicks force #the umbreakables #honorary anomalies #all new teen titans #batgirls 2023 #timsteph #stephcass #summer and stephanie #spoiler #robin #batgirl #batwoman #violet phantom #stefanos #gender essentialism #summerposting #x black!reader #💌

[myimaginationplain]

It kind of fucks me up to see some people come out of watching RGU having absorbed absolutely nothing of what the show has to say about patriarchy, misogyny, & queerphobia, outside of "men bad, lesbian good." Which like.....sure, I guess? in the absolute barest sense, I suppose RGU is partially about that.

But if this show's thesis were really as simple as "lesbian good," then Juri & her role as an antagonist on the mini patriarchy that is the Student Council would simply not exist at all. Juri would've won all the duels, kicked Akio in the nuts, freed Anthy, & ridden away into the sunset with Shiori in her arms before Utena even showed up if that were the case. But she obviously didn't do any of that despite being a lesbian, so there must be something more complicated at work here.

A lot of RGU's narrative is dedicated to deconstructing binary social systems & the ways in which they harm those trying to and/or being forced to fit within one of two narrow boxes; man vs woman, adult vs child, princess vs witch, prince vs devil, special vs not special, romantic vs platonic, etc. So for someone to watch all of that beautiful complexity, only to filter it through yet another essentialist binary...sucks, to say the least.

#I know some of you are like 15 & are thinking about these sorts of things for the first time in your lives so I'll have grace #but at the same time...the average women's studies 101 class gets more complex than 'man bad woman good'. #in general that's an at best shallow + unhelpful & at worst actively destructive way of thinking #I'm gonna need some more critical thinking ok #btw this post wasn't spurred by anything in particular. it's just an attitude I've been thinking a lot about recently #rgu #revolutionary girl utena #feminism #gender essentialism #rant

[creature-wizard]

Eugenicist and bioessentialist beliefs about magic

Like New Age, modern witchcraft developed at a time period when eugenics and so-called race science were highly popular ideas - and consequentially, some of these ideas influenced people’s beliefs about magic. These beliefs also influenced modern conspiracy theories about the occult, which in turn influenced perceptions of magic in general. Here’s some of these beliefs:

People are either born with magical gifts, or they’ll never have them at all.

People born with magical gifts are meant to be spiritual leaders and guide the world into a new age.

There are special bloodlines whose members are more capable of performing magic than others.

People who can perform magic are able to do so only because they have special ancestry.

Some racial groups are more capable of performing magic than others.

Some bloodlines or racial groups are more capable of performing certain kinds of magic than others (EG, so-called “light magic” or “dark magic”).

The traditions of your genetic ancestors will always come to you easily and intuitively, with little to no study required. (And if they don’t, you aren’t a “true witch.”)

Modern witchcraft was also hit by the gender essentialism stick, and claims that come from this line of thinking include:

Magic requires or at least massively benefits from some performance or symbolic representation of heterosexuality or heteronormativity; other forms of magic will be inherently weaker.

Literally all magic is a recreation of heterosexual reproduction.

The womb is a woman’s most potent source of magic.

There are only two important deities: the god and the goddess.

All goddesses represent the divine mother archetype, all gods represent the divine father archetype.

Feminine energies are soft and nurturing, masculine entities are aggressive and bold.

Masculine energies are too strong in the world, and are the reason for imperialism, violence, etc. The imbalance can be corrected by focusing on feminine energies.

So yeah, always watch out for claims like this because they don’t come from a good place.

#spiritual eugenics #spiritual bioessentialism #magic #witchcraft #occult #occultism #witchblr #gender essentialism #pseudohistory #magical bioessentialism

[furbearingbrick]

"afabs can't be transfem" mfs when they find out multigender people exist

#brick speaks #im tired #vagueblogging #gender essentialism

[unhinged-transmasc-man]

I really do think that some trans people see the word “man” in trans man and their brain shuts off. Their brains go “Oh, man. Man privileged and bad. Men evil and oppressive. Therefore you, Man, equal evil and oppressive. I do not consider you a person now.” The usual acknowledgement of identities and nuance and lived experience they willingly apply to every other group flies out the fucking window. They are so blinded by gender essentialism they completely dehumanize trans men. They don’t know what to do with us in their simplistic bullshit radfem gender politics. Saying trans women are women doesn’t make you not a radfem, deconstructing bio/gender essentialism, and the belief that all masculinity and men/men-aligned/masculine people are inherently morally evil/oppressive/corruptive, and that all femininity and women/women-aligned-feminine people are inherently morally good/innocent/oppressed, THAT is what you have to do to not be a radfem, at the very least.

I am sick to death of non-trans men acting as if trans men never interrogate what it means to be a man. It is in the DEFINITION of being a trans man. We have thought about what it means to be a man more than anyone else (interestingly, trans women also have to grapple with manhood and masculinity in being raised with patriarchal expectations and realizing they don’t fit them and don’t identify with manhood). We build ourselves up from nothing (in terms of making the world acknowledge us as men instead of forcibly trapping as us “women”), we have to make our bodies match who we are, we have to figure out and be determined to be boys and men before anyone else knows we are. We are trans BECAUSE we are men. We have to figure out what being trans and what being a man means to us. Our sense of manhood and masculinity will always be rebellious (not by our own choice, but in the way any oppressed group is rebellious in existing). Trans men are inherently an anti-patriarchal concept. Obviously trans men can be misogynistic like anyone else, but the claim that transforming into a man is automatically misogynistic is radfem trash. The idea that identifying as a man suddenly erases experiences of misogyny is so inherently alien to the actual lived experience of all trans men that it can only come from people who do not interact with, care about, or view trans men as worthy of listening to, or even acknowledgment at all, or even just outright hate us for existing. Non trans men seem to legitimately think that putting on a binder will make cis people see us as men. That is not how it works, and the fact that I have to SAY THAT just shows the absolute miserable state of how rampant anti-trans man attitudes are (anti-transmasculinity more generally but specifically with trans men).

Trans men think about manhood a LOT. We think about it a lot, because manhood and masculinity are central to our identity in a way that is different from any other group of people. We are taking previous experiences and concepts, and re-framing and re-creating those concepts with what fits us. We have to completely construct both womanhood and manhood. It is also a different kind of thinking of being a man because we actually are the men in that situation, “the man” goes from being Other to Us. The complete disregard for our personal experiences, and the reliance on non-trans men and their endless parade of disgusting and bigoted options rather than US is very telling. Trans men have a unique perspective: manhood and masculinity, and the patriarchy (they are not the same thing) were likely traumatic for us, but our own masculinity and manhood are freeing and liberatory for us because we are trans, and because we are trans men. Obviously we don’t want to be what oppressed us, so our usual conclusion is to do masculinity and manhood in a different way. And yet is it so common for that to be turned against us, to assume that because we are trans men we must be willingly aligning ourselves with patriarchy without a second thought. But some trans people do not want to let us do a different form of masculinity, because they see all masculinity as inherently the same, equally oppressive, and evil.

We have a deeper understanding of misogyny and constructs of manhood than most people. We have a deeply profound awareness of how gender works, we live with it every day. Our perspective is critical for advancing any sort of gendered liberation of trans people, and to act like it isn’t, and to act as if only people who do not identify with manhood or masculinity have an inherently more valid perspective is gender essentialist nonsense. Gender is fluid and can be interpreted in many ways, the harmful ways of the patriarchy are not inherent in masculinity or femininity. Masculinity is not inherently oppressive, the patriarchy is. Of course people not allowed to be men who insist on our right to be men anyway think about our identities all the time. Far more than the people who make these nonsensical claims in the first place. Quite honestly, the only way to make this better (what we can do, because 1. It’s not our responsibility to make non-trans men not hate us and 2. Non trans men need to do their work in fixing their attitudes about us) is for trans men to use our voices and share our point of view. Anti-trans man and masc bigotry relies on silence and deliberate violent erasure, and it’s harder to do that if we never be quiet. Our identities are not morally wrong. We deserve to take up space.

#not sure what to tag this tbh #I am not sure if this is coherent but I had Thoughts #transandrophobia mention #gender essentialism #radfem mention #cw anti masculinity

[thee-radio-host-is-a-kookaburra]

Until all the radfem ideology and gender essentialism is gone, I will forever feel unsafe in the trans community as a trans man.

To any trans men who also feel unsafe: I love you. It will get better. People who bully trans men will one day be shunned, trust me. Keep going. You are amazing and wonderful. For every trans person that bullies and harasses transmascs, there are 10 more that love and support us.

#max squawks #transandrophobia #anti radfem #anti radical feminism #anti gc #anti tirf #anti terf #gender essentialism #bioessentialism #transmasc positivity #transmasc #trans man #trans masc #trans male #lateral aggression

[slithymomerath]

Me when cis boys act like girls are an alien species: Please make one (1) female friend. I am begging you please just make one friend you’ll see how beautiful and lovely and flawed and human of a person they are, it will brighten a whole part of your world, bro please—

Me when cis girls act like boys are an alien species: Please make one (1)—do I have to repeat the whole comparison or do you get it. Please stop with the gender essentialism, it’s literally the worst for everyone, once you make one (1) friend you’ll understand, no if you secretly look down on them or think of them as ‘other’ it doesn’t count, sorry to inform you but that’s not actually friendship. Love, your friendly neighborhood tran

#is this a little bit directed at my radfem sister? yes #anti radfem #anti gender essentialism #gender essentialism #queer #trans #gender #feminism #intersectionality #intersectional feminism #healthy masculinity #give your male friends a hug #campost

[someoneintheshadow456]

This took a long time (and the quiz itself is long), but after so many years of observing toxic femininity on Hellsite, I'm finally able to give a name to this type of woman.

And yes, many of these questions were based on real posts on this site plus real life experience.

#feminism #toxic femininity #white feminism #girlboss feminism #intersectionality #pick me #not like other girls #neurotypical feminism #gender essentialism #egalitarian #uquiz #uquiz quiz #tldr: a girls girl is a woman who puts other women down to get validation from girlbosses #tumblr used to be full of them but most of them moved to twitter and tiktok #girls girl (derogatory)

[draconifay]

Ngl as an abuse victim i hate this idea radfems and terfs spread that men are these "Vile, Disgusting, Ireedeemable Monsters by Blood whose chromosomes make them Evil by Default"

Aside from the ways they use it to justify their transphobia / transmisogyny, it's also an extremely flawed and harmful way of viewing things. Not only is it not fucking true because A.) Even if the patriarchy lets male abusers slide a lot of the time, there are plenty of non-shitty men out there and plenty of men who are willing to learn to be better, and B.) There are plenty of men who have been abuse VICTIMS and making this implication that they're doomed to be like their abusers is an incredibly cruel and anti-recovery thing to do. Not only are you hurting victims - you're also not helping stop abuse at all.

That, and: it leads to this implication that women, by contrast, are "Weak, Demure, Confused Little Creatures who can Do No Wrong" which, aside from how infantilizing that is, makes it seem like women are incapable of causing harm to others - which is ALSO not true. Everyone is capable of being incredibly cruel if they're not careful, and that includes women. And spreading this idea that women are "weak little creatures" not only harms abuse victims who were abused by women by delegitimizing their experiences- you're also giving a free pass to female abusers to not change and keep being shitty people. Not only that, but setting this precedent that they can do no wrong and that they will be protected just because they're women and their abuse is "not serious" (just look at the way authorities handle abuse cases where women are the perpetrators. So many times they don't take it seriously at all. It's vile.)

Abuse is a choice - it is not ingrained in someone's DNA. And making steps to improve yourself is also a choice. And, once again, everyone has the capacity to hurt others whether intentionally or unintentionally - which is why we have make the choice to be kind and make things better. You are not helping anyone by putting people into a box because of circumstances out of their control, and you are CERTAINLY not helping abuse victims nor are you helping women by saying "X gender are Monsters By Blood and need to all die"

(Don't even get me started on how their "evil by their DNA" rhetoric can so easily bleed into eugenics and this idea that certain people are 'undesirables' because of their DNA. I see so many ableist terfs who use disability to hurt others so it doesn't surprise me how their bigotry bleeds into ableism, too.)

#transphobia #transmisogyny #transmisogny tw #terfs fuck off #abuse #abuse mention #abuse tw #gender essentialism #rant