Category: Trans

person lifts hand as if to refuse something or ask someone to stop

Transphobia is a form of denialism

We have to counter Holocaust denial, and also transphobia. Transphobia is an ideological lie. Certain arguments can identify and deconstruct it. (Transgender atheist Jews, by the way, also have humanities degrees.)

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person in a formal gray suit, crossing their fingers behind their back

Hate-crimers and their pronouns

Ignore the Club Q shooter’s statement of gender identity. A homophobic, transphobic murderer says they’re what? Let’s differentiate good-faith and bad-faith declarations, as well as reality and fiction.

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Letters LGB on a rainbow background. Letter T has been ripped off the paper.

The people who use LGB-minus-T are homophobes

Brendan O’Neill does not support gay marriage and is impressed with the LGB Alliance. Yes, everyone may speak their mind. What’s on mine: Gay organizations that are trans-exclusive are homophobic too in complicated ways. Homophobes love this.

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brick wall

MAGA’s ‘not conservative’?

Well, is Trumpism conservative, or isn’t it? It doesn’t feel like natural order. It feels like state power. Some parts will be dismantled, and yet more monstrous heads will regrow.

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wildflowers silhouetted in sunlight in a field

The freedom to be left alone

We should have the choice, but we don’t always have it. In the past, when prompted to think about whether I’m ‘out’ or ‘queer,’ I’ve thought about the transgressive sense and about the meaning of visibility.

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three women walk hand-in-hand down a path by a meadow

When labels don’t feel right

She had two moms, and she didn’t like the word ‘straight’. If we have a stake in a shared outcome, we might avoid declaring how we’re different and separate from others, especially to imply our superiority.

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two silhouettes shaking hands by the water's edge

‘Cis’ or ‘biological’?

They’re both adjectives, but we have preferences. No, ‘cis’ doesn’t imply that trans people are better. ‘Cis’ implies that trans people are equal. People who object to this equalization are transphobes.

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