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Discussione:Transwomen in women's sports

2019-10-19T17:55:37Z

AlanHenness: Created page with "== Notable transwomen in women's sports == I've added a few names and links to some information - they need a sentence or two to describe their feats. There are a few more he..."

== Notable transwomen in women's sports ==
I've added a few names and links to some information - they need a sentence or two to describe their feats.

There are a few more here who could be added: https://savewomenssports.com/transgender-athletes-1 --[[User:AlanHenness|AlanHenness]] ([[User talk:AlanHenness|talk]]) 19:55, 19 October 2019 (CEST)

Transwomen in women's sports

2019-10-19T17:53:16Z

AlanHenness: /* Notable transwomen in women's sports */ Added a few names

{{PageSeo | title = Transwomen in women's sports | description = Transwomen competing in women's sports creates a problem for women, since male physiology brings many performance advantages.
| keywords = women's sports, transwomen, sports, transwomen in sports
}}

Since the [[Transgender ideology|trans activist]] notion of "trans women are women" is meant literally, it follows that transwomen would be allowed to partake in women's sports. When a sports organization adheres to this notion, it poses a problem to women's sports, since the various physiological differences between the sexes allow peak-performing male athletes to significantly outperform peak-performing female athletes in most disciplines. The extent to which [[hormone replacement therapy]] (HRT) decreases the advantages of being male is yet unstudied, however it is clear that many of the changes the male body undergoes during puberty are not reversed by HRT, such as overall body size, skeletal structure, or the size of the lungs and heart.

== Physiological differences ==

Significant physiological differences between the human sexes that might affect athletic performance include but are not limited to:

* Males weigh about 15% more on average<ref name="pmid15544194">Ogden CL, Fryar CD, Carroll MD, Flegal KM (2004) [https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad347.pdf Mean body weight, height, and body mass index, United States 1960-2002.] ''Adv Data'' (347):1-17. PMID: [https://pubmed.gov/15544194 15544194]</ref>
* Males are about 15 cm (6 in) taller on average<ref name="pmid15544194"/>
* Males have denser and therefore more durable bones on average<ref name="pmid16637873">Benjamin M, Toumi H, Ralphs JR, Bydder G, Best TM, Milz S (2006) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks&id=16637873 Where tendons and ligaments meet bone: attachment sites ('entheses') in relation to exercise and/or mechanical load.] ''J Anat'' 208 (4):471-90. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00540.x DOI:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00540.x] PMID: [https://pubmed.gov/16637873 16637873]</ref>
* Males have stronger tendons and ligaments on average<ref name="pmid16637873" />
* Males on average have greater total muscle mass<ref name="Janssen">Janssen, I., Heymsfield, S. B., Wang, Z., & Ross, R. (2000). [http://jap.physiology.org/content/89/1/81 Skeletal muscle mass and distribution in 468 men and women aged 18–88 yr.] Journal of Applied Physiology, 89(1), 81-88. doi:10.1152/jappl.2000.89.1.81 </ref>
* Males on average have a greater ratio of muscle mass to total body mass<ref name="Janssen"/>
* Males have about 56% greater lung volume relative to body mass<ref name="Glucksmann">Glucksmann, A. (1981). Sexual dimorphism in human and mammalian biology and pathology. London: Academic Press. pp. 66–75</ref>
* Males have larger airways and larger expiratory airflow, even when matched to women for height and lung volume<ref name="Hackney">Duke J.W. Sex Hormones and Their Impact on the Ventilatory Responses to Exercise and the Environment (Chapter 2). In: Hackney, A. (ed.) (2017). Sex hormones, exercise and women: Scientific and clinical aspects. Cham (Switz.): Springer, pp. 21-22</ref>
* Males have larger hearts, with 10% higher red blood cell count and higher haemoglobin, meaning greater oxygen carrying capacity, although the difference is less pronounced among athletes<ref name="Glucksmann"/>
* Males have higher circulating "clotting factors" which allow for faster healing of wounds and higher peripheral pain tolerance<ref name="Glucksmann"/>

The differences in strength can be very significant. For instance, gross measures of body strength suggest that women are approximately only 50% to 60% as strong as men in the upper body, and 60% to 70% as strong in the lower body.<ref name="pmid8477683">Miller AE, MacDougall JD, Tarnopolsky MA, Sale DG (1993) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks&id=8477683 Gender differences in strength and muscle fiber characteristics.] ''Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol'' 66 (3):254-62. PMID: [https://pubmed.gov/8477683 8477683]</ref> A study of hand-grip strength found that even elite female athletes can be surpassed by a man with no athletic training.<ref name="pmid17186303">Leyk D, Gorges W, Ridder D, Wunderlich M, Rüther T, Sievert A et al. (2007) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks&id=17186303 Hand-grip strength of young men, women and highly trained female athletes.] ''Eur J Appl Physiol'' 99 (4):415-21. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00421-006-0351-1 DOI:10.1007/s00421-006-0351-1] PMID: [https://pubmed.gov/17186303 17186303]</ref> Another study of sports performance in various disciplines found that males tend to perform 5.5% to 36.8% better, depending on the discipline.<ref name="pmid24149688">Thibault V, Guillaume M, Berthelot G, Helou NE, Schaal K, Quinquis L et al. (2010) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks&id=24149688 Women and Men in Sport Performance: The Gender Gap has not Evolved since 1983.] ''J Sports Sci Med'' 9 (2):214-23. PMID: [https://pubmed.gov/24149688 24149688]</ref>

== Notable transwomen in women's sports ==

=== Fallon Fox ===

Male mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter [[Fallon Fox]] brutalized a female opponent, Tamikka Brents, causing her to suffer a concussion, an orbital bone fracture, and seven staples to the head, in the first round of a fight. Brents took to social media to convey her thoughts on the experience of fighting Fox: "I've fought a lot of women and have never felt the strength that I felt in a fight as I did that night. I can't answer whether it's because she ''[sic]'' was born a man or not because I'm not a doctor. I can only say, I've never felt so overpowered ever in my life and I am an abnormally strong female in my own right," she stated. "Her grip was different, I could usually move around in the clinch against other females but couldn't move at all in Fox's clinch..."<ref>Cage Potato. (n.d.). After Being TKO'd by Fallon Fox, Tamikka Brents Says Transgender Fighters in MMA ‘Just Isn’t Fair’. [online] Available at: https://archive.is/yZfcs [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].</ref> According to Wikipedia, Fox has won 5 out of 6 MMA fights in total as of May 2019, three of which were by knockout.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallon_Fox</ref>

=== Rachel McKinnon ===

Male transgender cyclist [[Rachel McKinnon]] won the women’s 35-44 sprint during the UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships in Los Angeles, in October 2018.<ref>Ballinger, A. (2019). Rachel McKinnon becomes first transgender woman to win track world title - Cycling Weekly. [online] Cycling Weekly. Available at: https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/rachel-mckinnon-becomes-first-transgender-woman-win-track-world-title-397473 [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].</ref> Third place finisher Jennifer Wagner commented that this was unfair, and later commented on Twitter that she would work on getting the rules changed, which Rachel McKinnon characterized as transphobic.

=== Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood ===

Two male transgender high school athletes, [[Terry Miller]] and [[Andraya Yearwood]], won first and second place in the Connecticut state championship 100-meter dash in 2018. Miller also won first place in the 200-meter dash.<ref>Hudak, A. (2018, June 14). Transgender track stars win state championship, ignites debate over rules. Retrieved from https://www.wkbn.com/news/national-world/transgender-track-stars-win-state-championship-ignites-debate/1238813951 </ref>

=== Laurel Hubbard ===

''Wikipedia article: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Hubbard Laurel Hubbard]''

Male weightlifter [[Laurel Hubbard]] from New Zealand has been taking many women's gold and silver medals. In the 2017 Australian International & Australian Open in Melbourne, he took the gold medal of the women's heaviest 90 kg+ category at a bodyweight of 131.83 kg.<ref name=hubbard-heraldsun/> He thus became the first person to win an international women's weightlifting title for New Zealand.<ref name=hubbard-wapo/><ref name=hubbard-nzherald/>

Hubbard met the official eligibility requirements to compete against women, but many female competitors pointed out the unfairness of the situation. These include Iuniarra Sipaia, Toafitu Perive, Deborah Acason, and Tracey Lambrechs.<ref name=hubbard-samoaobserver/><ref name=hubbard-wapo/> Australian Weightlifting Federation's chief executive, Michael Keelan, said it was unfair to other competitors.<ref name=hubbard-heraldsun/>

Hubbard qualified for the 2018 Commonwealth Games,<ref name=hubbard-nzolympic/> but an elbow injury during the competition forced his withdrawal from the event,<ref name=hubbard-radionz/> while however leading the field.<ref name=hubbard-guardian/>

Hubbard took another two women's gold medals at the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa.<ref name=hubbard-insidethegames/>

=== Michelle Dumaresq ===

Canadian professional downhill mountain-bike competitor [[Michelle Dumaresq]], who is a [[Sex reassignment surgery|post-operative]] male-born transsexual, won the 2002 Canada Cup series, which qualified Dumaresq for the Canadian National team. In September 2002, Dumaresq co-represented Canada at the World Mountain Bike Championships. However, due to technical issues with the bike, Dumaresq only managed a 24th-place finish in the event. In 2003, Dumaresq won the 2003 Canadian National Championships and again represented Canada in the 2003 World Championships. Dumaresq repeated a Nationals win in 2004 and finished 17th at the 2004 World Mountain Bike Championships held in Les Gets, France.

At the 2006 Canadian Nationals, a protest from one of the competitors during the podium ceremonies brought attention to Dumaresq's participation in female sports. The boyfriend of second-place finisher Danika Schroeter jumped up onto the podium and helped Schroeter put on a T-shirt reading '100% Pure Woman Champ'. The Canadian Cycling Association suspended Schroeter for her actions. However, the CCA announced that Schroeter's time off the race course would be served during the off-season when it would have no impact on her.

=== Hannah Mouncey ===

On 27 May 2018, male transgender handball player [[Hannah Mouncey]] scored three goals for Melbourne Handball Club in their win over University of Queensland Handball Club for the 2018 Oceanian Open Club Championship.<ref>http://handballvic.org.au/event/5628/</ref>

=== Gabrielle Ludwig ===

At 52, [[Gabrielle Ludwig]], a Navy veteran, enrolled in Santa Clara Community College's women basketball team. [https://culturallyboundgender.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/bilde.jpg Towering at 6’8”], and more than 30 years older than the female players, this post-operative transwoman was predicted by the team's coach to become "the most dangerous player in the state”,<ref>[https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/50-year-old-transsexual-8216woman8217-makes-college-basketball-debut-video 50-year-old transsexual ‘woman’ makes college basketball debut]. (n.d.). Retrieved 31 January 2019.</ref> a prediction which proved to be accurate.<ref>[http://www.espn.com/espnw/athletes-life/article/10170842/espnw-gabrielle-ludwig-52-year-old-transgender-women-college-basketball-player-enjoying-best-year-life espnW -- Gabrielle Ludwig, a 52-year-old transgender women’s college basketball player, enjoying best year of her life.] (n.d.). Retrieved 31 January 2019</ref>

=== Lana Lawless ===

The Story Behind Transgender Trying to Play On LPGA Tour<ref>Lana Lawless: The Story Behind Transgender Trying to Play On LPGA Tour | Bleacher Report | Latest News, Videos and Highlights https://bleacherreport.com/articles/490657-lana-lawless-the-story-behind-transgender-trying-to-play-on-lpga-tour#slide4</ref>

=== Chloe Anderson ===

This transgender volleyball player’s path leads to an NCAA women’s team<ref>Transgender Volleyball Player | Identify | Olympic Channel https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/original-series/detail/identify/identify-season-season-1/episodes/this-transgender-volleyball-player-s-path-leads-to-an-ncaa-women-s-team/</ref>

=== Nattaphon Wangyot ===

Transgender student's all-state honors in girls' track and field ignites backlash<ref>Transgender student's all-state honors in girls' track and field ignites backlash https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jun/6/nattaphon-wangyot-transgender-student-riles-critic/</ref>

=== Amelia Galpin ===

Why This Trans Woman Is Running the Boston Marathon<ref>Boston Marathon and Transgender Runners | them. https://www.them.us/story/boston-marathon-trans-women</ref>

=== Aron Taylor ===

First transgender woman finishes Jacksonville Marathon<ref>First transgender woman finishes Jacksonville Marathon | firstcoastnews.com https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/first-transgender-woman-finishes-jacksonville-marathon/372266597</ref>

== References ==

<references>

<ref name=hubbard-heraldsun>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/more-sports/laurel-hubbard-wins-female-90kg-division-at-weightliftings-australian-international/news-story/cd4a5fa012eb9a5ceb0281faceea5c7a
|title=Laurel Hubbard wins female 90kg+ division at weightlifting’s Australian International
|date=March 20, 2017
|author=Matt Windley
|publisher=Herald Sun
}}
</ref>

<ref name=hubbard-wapo>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/03/22/transgender-woman-wins-international-weightlifting-title-amid-controversy-over-fairness/?noredirect=on
|title= Transgender woman wins international weightlifting title amid controversy over fairness
|date=March 22, 2017
|author=Marissa Payne
|publisher=The Washington Post
}}
</ref>

<ref name=hubbard-nzherald>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11821399
|title=Weightlifting: Transgender lifter Laurel Hubbard wins first international outing
|date=March 19, 2017
|publisher=NZ Herald
}}
</ref>

<ref name=hubbard-nzolympic>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.olympic.org.nz/athletes/laurel-hubbard/
|title=Laurel Hubbard - New Zealand Olympic Team
|date=November 24, 2017
|publisher=New Zealand Olympic Team
}}
</ref>

<ref name=hubbard-radionz>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/cwg18/354570/hubbard-has-no-regrets-stays-true-to-sport
|title=Hubbard has no regrets, stays 'true to sport'
|author=Bridget Tunnicliffe
|date=April 9, 2018
|publisher=Radio New Zealand
}}
</ref>

<ref name=hubbard-guardian>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/apr/09/transgender-weightlifter-laurel-hubbards-eligibility-under-scrutiny
|title=Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard's eligibility under scrutiny
|date=April 9, 2018
|author=Helen Davidson
|publisher=The Guardian
}}
</ref>

<ref name="hubbard-samoaobserver">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.samoaobserver.ws/en/23_03_2017/local/18224/Woman-lifter-beaten-by-transgender-speaks-up.htm
|title=Woman lifter beaten by transgender speaks up
|date=March 23, 2017
|author=Sina Filifilia Seva’aetasi
|publisher=Samoa Observer
}}
</ref>

<ref name=hubbard-insidethegames>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1082023/transgender-hubbard-beats-samoan-stars
|title=Transgender weightlifter Hubbard beats home favourites at Samoa 2019 after driving incident revealed
|date=July 13, 2019
|author=Michael Pavitt
|publisher=Inside the Games
}}
</ref>

</references>

Sex

2019-10-19T17:09:27Z

AlanHenness: Changed mobile to motile.

{{stub}}

In biology, '''sex''' refers to the categorization of organisms (or their parts) with regard to the role they play in reproduction. When a species reproduces sexually, it usually does so by producing two types of gametes that have to come together to form a new member of the species. One type of gamete is large and non-mobile (ova), whereas the other type is small and motile (spermia). When an organism or an organ produces large and non-mobile gametes, it's called '''female'''. If it produces small and motile gametes, it's called '''male'''.

In most mammals, in particular humans, female members of the species can be identified by having two X chromosomes, ovaries, a uterus and a vagina. The ovaries produce ova (also called egg cells), which may be fertilized into a zygote, which travels to the uterus to develop into an embryo, a fetus, and ultimately a baby which is brought to the world through the vaginal canal. Males can be identified by having an X and a Y chromosome, testes (testicles) and a penis. The testes produce sperm, which are ejaculated into the vagina during sexual intercourse, from where they might travel towards the ova to fertilize them.

Some disorders may cause a person not to develop typical sex organs. The umbrella term [[intersex]] covers persons who show ambiguity in their sex due to such a disorder.

Some legal systems also classify people according to sex. Under such systems, a person's legal sex may not correspond to their biological sex, because of errors in documentation, or because of legal sex-change procedures that may be allowed for [[transgender]] or [[transsexual]] people. Some systems allow a third sex category for those who don't want to be legally identified as female or male, either because they have an intersex condition, or because they claim to have a [[gender identity]] that is [[non-binary]].

<gallery caption="Images (click to enlarge)" perrow=2 widths=300px heights=400px>
File:Sex Explained by DrFondOfBeetles.jpg | A very long Twitter thread by @DrFondOfBeetles in which we see binary sex across a wide spectrum of species.
File:Sex Explained by NastySmurfette.jpg | A handy graphic by @NastySmurfette which might further clear up your confusion.
</gallery>

== Links ==

* https://twitter.com/FondOfBeetles/status/1133120326844506112
* https://twitter.com/NastySmurfette/status/1123635007615115264

TERF

2019-10-19T17:03:43Z

AlanHenness: Added plurals

{{PageSeo | description = TERF is a slur used by transgender activists to debase anyone who criticizes their movement on the basis of feminist concerns. }}

[[File:Terf-slur-02.png|thumb|300px|A typical tweet containing "terf"]]

The word ''TERF'' (or ''terf''; pl ''terfs'' or ''terves'') is a slur that is used predominantly by transgender activists and their allies against people who criticize the transgender movement on the basis of feminist concerns. Since the slur is used for people with feminist concerns, the main target tend to be women. As such, it's usually understood to be an anti-feminist, sexist and misogynist slur.

The word was invented as an acronym for ''Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist'', where the "trans-exclusionary" part referred to those holding roughly the position that transwomen should not be included under a feminist definition of womanhood, and the "radical feminist" part was meant neutrally, i.e. for people who would indeed describe themselves as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_feminism radical feminists] in the true sense. Over time, the acronym pretty much became a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-letter_word four-letter word]. Nowadays the capitalization is frequently omitted, and the already ambiguous original meaning ignored entirely. Still, users of the term tend to claim that it's a neutral description. The "trans-exclusionary" part may now refer to anyone who thinks transwomen should not have unfettered access to all female-only spaces (e.g. changing rooms), should not partake in women's sports where they have [[Transwomen in women's sports|unfair advantages]], should not be considered a natural part of the lesbian dating pool, etc. Although most members of the public would see these as rather sensible positions, considering a "transwoman" may have intact male anatomy, transgender activists nevertheless see all of these types of "exclusion" as unacceptable.

A closely associated term is ''SWERF'', which is supposed to stand for ''Sex-Worker-Exclusionary Radical Feminist'' and is used for those who see the sex industry (prostitution, pornography, etc.) as highly exploitative and sexist. Like ''TERF'', the term is almost always applied as a slur, and to misrepresent the political position of the person it's used against. Ironically, some of those who have to face the term most commonly are women who worked in prostitution and became anti-prostitution activists as a result of their own experiences as so-called sex workers.

== History ==

=== Origin ===

The oldest known use of the term is by Viv Smythe aka "tigtog" in a blog post from 2008.<ref name=terf-origin/> She defended the term as late as 2018, in an article for The Guardian.<ref name=guardian-smythe/> Transgender activists frequently try to defend the term on the grounds that Viv Smythe is a woman who herself claims to be a radical feminist, and seems to have first used the term in a way that is not derogatory. Of course, the benign origins of a term does not mean that it cannot evolve into a slur.

=== Evolution towards hate speech ===

[[File:Mya-byrne-punches-terfs.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Totally not a slur!]]

The evolution of the term from 2008 into the early to mid 2010s is not well documented. Mostly, feminists had to face the term on social media, where it began to be used regularly to debase their position. In July 2014, [https://www.feministcurrent.com/ Feminist Current] published two articles referencing the term. The first, written by C. K. Egbert and titled ''Defending the 'TERF': Gender as political'', explains and defends in length the political theory underlining the ideas supported by feminists who are slurred as "terf."<ref name=fc-egbert/> The second, written by [[Sarah Ditum]] and titled ''How 'TERF' works'', shortly analyses a situation in which a woman is pressured to retract a statement opposing violence against women, on the grounds that the statement originally stems from a feminist who is considered a "terf".<ref name=fc-ditum/> Since Feminist Current is highly acclaimed among radical-leaning feminists, its decision to support the women slurred with "terf" could be seen as a turning point.

In August 2014, Vice published an article titled ''I Am Now Officially a Transphobic Twitter Troll'' (subtitle: ''At least according to the 'Block Bot' I am'') by author Martin Robbins.<ref name=vice-robbins/> In the article, Robbins talks about how the "Block Bot" project on Twitter, which is supposed to help people avoid abusive trolls, has included feminist authors and journalists such as [[Caroline Criado-Perez]] and [[Helen Lewis]] among the people who should be blocked. Ironically, Lewis seems to have made it to the list for complaining about abusive trolls, as the "evidence" for the reason to ban her includes objections to tweets such as "kill TERFS", "burn TERFS", or hateful jokes such as "what's better than 1 dead terf? 2 dead terfs."

Another Feminist Current article defending those targeted with the slur was published in November 2015, written by [[Penny White]] and titled ''Why I no longer hate ‘TERFs’''.<ref name=fc-white/> In the article, White explains how she herself used to be convinced that so-called "TERFs" are worthy of contempt, but changed her mind after starting to look closer into the issue. This experience seems to resonate with many women and some socially liberal men to this day, who start out being supportive of the transgender movement, only to start becoming skeptical after negative experiences and observations, ultimately leading them to be also labeled "terf" and shunned by transgender activists and their allies. After that, Feminist Current started publishing articles critical of the transgender movement with some frequency, much to the enragement of transgender activists.

In June 2017, transgender activist [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mya_Byrne Mya Byrne] came to the San Francisco Pride Parade with a t-shirt reading "I PUNCH TERFS", decorated with a large fake blood-stain. Byrne uploaded a selfie of him wearing the t-shirt at the parade, captioned "This is what gay liberation looks like #pride #yesallterfs" which sparked many negative reactions.<ref name=fc-tra-violence/> The t-shirt would later be displayed at an "art exhibit" at the San Francisco Public Library, set up by the trans activist group ''The Degenderettes''. After complaints, the library removed the t-shirt from the exhibition, though similar items showcasing a violent mentality remained, such as baseball bats wrapped in barbed wire and painted in the colors of the transgender pride flag.<ref name=fc-tra-violence/>

[[File:Sonicfox.png|thumb|right|300px|The violent tweet by Dominique McLean.]]

In April 2019, professional video gamer Dominique McLean aka [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SonicFox SonicFox] uploaded a video on Twitter, captioned "what I do to terfs," in which a male video game character strikes a female character's neck so hard that her skin comes off, while the camera shows her agony-filled face. McLean can be heard yelling "terf!" into his microphone with each blow dealt to the female character, reminiscent of a lynching.<ref name=sonicfox/> The tweet garnered hundreds of thousands of views, and many thousands of retweets and likes.

McLean's tweet is made even worse by the fact that the hatred is not just directed at an imagined "terf" character, but at the voice actress behind the character, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronda_Rousey Ronda Rousey]. Rousey, who is an MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter, is deemed a "TERF" for having stated, with blunt wording, that it's unfair for male MMA fighter [[Transwomen in women's sports#Fallon_Fox|Fallon Fox]] to compete against women.<ref name=rousey-fox/><ref name=rousey-marysue/><ref name=rousey-reddit/> A year after Rousey's remarks, female MMA fighter Tamikka Brents had suffered a concussion and an orbital bone fracture during a fight with Fallon Fox,<ref name=fallon-fox/> but this does not seem to have changed the opinion of trans activists.

After McLean's tweet was reported for hate speech, Twitter initially decided that it [[:File:Sonicfox2.png|did not break their rules]]. Only after continued protest and many more reports did Twitter react, by removing the tweet and issuing SonicFox a mere 24-hour ban.

=== Real-life vandalism, harassment, and assaults ===

In February 2017, the newly opened Vancouver Women's Library was met with a small group of vandals, including a very obviously male person who claimed to be a female sex worker. They ripped off a poster, poured wine on a book, and harassed those trying to partake in the opening celebration. Their stated reason was that the library included books which they deemed to support so-called "TERF" and "SWERF" ideology.<ref name=vwl/>

<youtube dimensions=500 alignment=right description="The assault by Tara Wolf on Maria MacLachlan (September 13th, 2017)" container=frame>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_d3ozhSE-U
</youtube>

In September 2017, a group of feminists wanted to hold a meeting to discuss proposed changes to the [https://www.feministcurrent.com/2018/09/14/never-mind-reforming-gender-recognition-act-theres-no-need-gender-recognition-certificates/ Gender Recognition Act] (GRA) in the [https://newxlearning.org/ New Cross Learning] community Library in London. The library had to cancel the event after harassment by transgender activists. The organizers of the meeting decided to meet at Speakers' Corner, before going to the newly chosen meeting place, which was not announced to protect it from harassment. In Speakers' Corner, they were met with a group of transgender activists shouting slogans, notably "when TERFs attack, we fight back." Maria MacLachlan, who was filming the protesters with her digital camera, was attacked by someone running out of the trans activist group, who then tried to grab her camera. As the unsuccessful attacker ran back behind his friends, MacLachlan tried to get closer to the group to get his face on camera. Several of the activists started assaulting her in that moment. One of the attackers, later revealed to be Tara Wolf, was ultimately charged with assault by beating. Prior to the event, he had posted that he wants to "f*ck up some terfs" on social media. The event could be considered a cornerstone in the escalating hatred transgender activists show against feminists, as no such clearly documented assault in relation to the slur "TERF" existed before, and the event gained widespread attention in the news, being covered by The Guardian,<ref name=guardian/> The New Statesman,<ref name=statesman1/><ref name=statesman2/> The Telegraph,<ref name=telegraph/> The Times,<ref name=times1/><ref name=times2/> The Evening Standard,<ref name=standard/> and The Daily Mail.<ref name=dailymail/> Of course, it was also covered by Feminist Current.<ref name=fc1/><ref name=fc2/> In the aftermath of the event, many transgender activists online defended or even celebrated the assault, leading Meghan Murphy to publish the piece [https://www.feministcurrent.com/2017/09/21/terf-isnt-slur-hate-speech/ '' 'TERF' isn't just a slur, it's hate speech'']. Some publications in support of transgender activists have tried to claim that the assailant was really acting in self-defense, and tried to prove this claim by uploading carefully edited cuts of the recording showing the assault,<ref name=planettrans/> or by framing the assault as "standing up to bullies" who "provoke" transgender activists (by having opinions they don't like, we have to presume).<ref name=queerness/>

In December 2018, human rights lawyer Prof. [[Rosa Freedman]] found her office door covered in urine after attending debates surrounding proposed changes to the UK's Gender Recognition Act. She also reported being called a "Nazi" (she is Jewish) who "should be raped" (she is a survivor of sexual violence) and receiving abusive anonymous phone calls.<ref name=freedman/>

In 2018, transgender activist Dana Rivers was on trial for triple murder.<ref name=rivers/> The victims were a lesbian couple and their adoptive son. Rivers stabbed and shot the victims, before trying to set their house on fire, in November 2016. It remains unclear whether Rivers was motivated by the hatred against feminists and lesbians promulgated by transgender activists. Rivers was, however, a member of the group [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Trans Camp Trans], which was created to protest the women-only rule of the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival (aka MichFest).<ref name=camptrans/> Autostraddle described Rivers as a "very well-known transgender activist."<ref name=autostraddle/>

In June 2019, [[Julie Bindel]] was physically attacked by a trans-identifying male person after holding a keynote speech about male violence against women at the Edinburgh University, together with Prof. Rosa Freedman.<ref name=edinburgh/> "He was shouting and ranting and raving, 'you're a f***** c***, you're a f****** bitch, a f****** Terf" and the rest of it. We were trying to walk to the cab to take us to the airport, and then he just lunged at me and almost punched me in the face, but a security guard pulled him away." The male person, who calls himself "[[Cathy Brennan]]" (after famous lesbian and radical feminist lawyer, whom he despises) had previously stood out on social media for [[:File:Joe-brennan-twitter.jpg|encouraging physical violence]] against feminists at Gay Pride events.

In August 16, 2019, the Facebook account of [[Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter]] reported that a dead rat had been nailed to their door frame.<ref name=vrr-fb/> On August 26, their Twitter account followed up by reporting their door and windows were vandalized with phrases such as "FUCK TERFS" and "KILL TERFS" as well as "TRANS POWER".<ref name=vrr-twitter/> The repeated harassment and vandalism garnered attention in local and national news.<ref name=vrr-vancouverisawesome/><ref name=vrr-nationalreview/><ref name=vrr-citynews/>

=== Gallery ===

<gallery caption="Discussion of McLean's hate tweet" perrow=3 widths=400px heights=200px>
File:Sonicfox3.jpg | McLean defending his tweet on the grounds that Ronda Rousey is a "TERF" and as such deserving of the violent contempt
File:Sonicfox-copycat1.png | A copycat tweet showing another video game character dying brutally, with the caption "FUCK TERFS"
File:Sonicfox-copycat2.png | Another copycat tweet. The GIF is of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_Kombat_11 Mortal Kombat 11] character [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpion_(Mortal_Kombat) Scorpion] burning his opponent alive.
</gallery>

<gallery caption="Harassment and vandalism of Vancouver Rape Relief" perrow=3 widths=400px heights=200px>
File:Vrr-vandalism1.jpg | A dead rat nailed to the door frame of VRR
File:Vrr-vandalism2.jpg | The text "KILL TERFS ... TRANS POWER" written on the window
File:Vrr-vandalism3.jpg | The phrases "FUCK TERFS" and "TRANS WOMEN ARE WOMEN" written on the door and window
</gallery>

<gallery caption="Some examples of tweets using 'terf'" perrow=3 widths=400px heights=200px>
File:Terf-gallery-1.png | "terf isn't a slur ... terfs don't deserve rights"
File:Terf-gallery-2.jpg | "All terfs will be arrested on sight"
File:Terf-gallery-3.jpg | "It's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_pride#LGBT_Pride_Month Pride] punch a terf"
File:Terf-gallery-4.png | Putting "terf" right aside "nazi"
File:Terf-gallery-5.png | [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Chu Arthur Chu] supporting SonicFox's hate speech
File:Terf-gallery-6.png | "Being a TERF is a choice. Like being a Nazi."
</gallery>

== Analysis of the term ==

The original acronym could be split in two halves: "trans-exclusionary" and "radical feminist." Though many people targeted with the word do not see themselves as radical feminists, their ideals most often tend to align with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_feminism radical feminism] anyway, making that part somewhat accurate. The "trans-exclusionary" part however is rather ambiguous, and its meaning seems to change at the whim of the person using the term.

When those using the term want to justify it as an objective and accurate description, they will use rather mundane and basic definitions of "exclusion" that applies easily to most people the term is used against. Examples of this might include:

* Wanting transwomen with unfair anatomic advantages to be excluded from women's sports
* Wanting transwomen with an obvious male anatomy (such as intact male genitals) to be excluded from sex segregated spaces of privacy, such as changing rooms
* Not considering transwomen to be ''literally'' women, by pointing at the dictionary definition that is "adult human female"
* Wanting to exclude transwomen from some political groups that want to focus on struggles unique to people born with female anatomy
* Wanting to exclude crimes committed by transwomen from being recorded as female criminality, especially since the crime patterns of transwomen seem more in line with crime patterns of men,<ref name=dhejne/> who commit the vast majority of violent crimes, specifically sexual violence<ref name=wpcrime/>

[[File:Theterfs-delusion.png|thumb|right|500px|Some of the hyperbolic lies transgender activists use to justify hatred against feminists]]

However, once the term "TERF" is applied to someone on the basis of them holding these opinions (which many people including non-feminists would agree are sensible), the definition of "exclusion" is quickly sharpened to justify expressions of hatred. Sometimes, the "trans-exclusionary" is even hyperbolically turned into "trans-exterminatory" to increase its panic-inducing effect. The website (or should we say whacksite) [http://theterfs.com/ ''The TERFs''] goes as far as claiming that the people labeled "TERF" want to:

* Exclude trans people from housing (make them homeless)
* Exclude trans people from employment (make them unemployed)
* Exclude them from education
* Exclude them from accomodation equality
* Exclude them from local, state, national and United Nations protections(!)

As such, the women labeled "TERF" are represented less as women who simply want to uphold women's sex-based rights, and more like fascist monsters, which is then used to incite hatred and violence against them. It's also noteworthy how exclusion of transwomen (from female-only spaces etc.) turns here into supposed exclusion of all trans people (from whatever). As a matter of fact, women targeted as "TERFs" will frequently say explicitly that they welcome transmen in their groups, since transmen also face the sex-based oppression all women face from birth.

The strategy of transgender activists of using simple definitions of "TERF" to make the term look accurate, but then twist the definition to justify hatred, is quite similar to a "troll" strategy that has been noted by philosopher Nicholas Shackel, and dubbed the ''Motte and Bailey Doctrine'' in a paper titled [https://philpapers.org/archive/SHATVO-2.pdf ''The Vacuity of Postmodernist Methodology'']:

<blockquote><em>
"Troll’s Truisms are used to insinuate an exciting falsehood, which is a desired doctrine, yet permit retreat to the trivial truth when pressed by an opponent. In so doing they exhibit a property which makes them the simplest possible case of what I shall call a Motte and Bailey Doctrine (since a doctrine can be a single belief or an entire body of beliefs).

A Motte and Bailey castle is a medieval system of defence in which a stone tower on a mound (the Motte) is surrounded by an area of land (the Bailey) which in turn is encompassed by some sort of a barrier such as a ditch. Being dark and dank, the Motte is not a habitation of choice. The only reason for its existence is the desirability of the Bailey, which the combination of the Motte and ditch makes relatively easy to retain despite attack by marauders. When only lightly pressed, the ditch makes small numbers of attackers easy to defeat as they struggle across it: when heavily pressed the ditch is not defensible and so neither is the Bailey. Rather one retreats to the insalubrious but defensible, perhaps impregnable, Motte. Eventually the marauders give up, when one is well placed to reoccupy desirable land.

For my purposes the desirable but only lightly defensible territory of the Motte and Bailey castle, that is to say, the Bailey, represents a philosophical doctrine or position with similar properties: desirable to its proponent but only lightly defensible. The Motte is the defensible but undesired position to which one retreats when hard pressed. I think it is evident that Troll’s Truisms have the Motte and Bailey property, since the exciting falsehoods constitute the desired but indefensible region within the ditch whilst the trivial truth constitutes the defensible but dank Motte to which one may retreat when pressed."
</em></blockquote>

In our case, the ''Motte'' is an easily defensible statement like: ''"You don't consider transwomen literally women, therefore you are trans-exclusionary, which makes you a TERF."'' Whereas the ''Bailey'' is: ''"You want to exclude trans people from housing and employment, therefore I'm justified in hating you with a passion!"''

It could also be called a "bait-and-switch" argument, where one is "baited" into agreeing with the claim that someone is a "TERF" by using a mundane definition of "trans exclusion," and then the definition is switched into something bad, to justify expressions of hatred.

=== Inspection of the claims on ''The TERFs'' ===

[[File:Theterfs-logo.png|thumb|right|300px|Actual logo of TheTERFs.com: Evil black scribbles]]

It should be noted that ''The TERFs'' offers little more than out-of-context quotes from several decades ago as "evidence" for its hyperbolic claims regarding so-called "TERF" ideology. It also showcases a small number of cherry-picked tweets, half of which are from right-wing sources that also happen to oppose the transgender movement, which trans activists claim proves that feminists are secretly allied with them in a big conspiracy. (This line of thinking is often ridiculed as: "Hitler was a vegetarian, therefore vegetarians are Nazis.")

Regarding supposed evidence of "real-life violence motivated by TERF ideology," the website lists six examples, of which three don't actually present any violence. Those which do, relate to incidences from several decades ago, in which women tried to evict transwomen from female-only groups or spaces, using physical force or face-to-face threats. Since women are expected to be always nice and passive towards males, even when trying to form radical feminist groups and keep males out of them, this is of course seen as unacceptable. Two examples are about verbal threats, which is a run-of-the-mill experience for feminists opposing transgender activists, and the last one is about the deaths of trans people that are ''assumed'' to be related to lack of access to health care, which to be very blunt has fuck-all to do with feminist ideologies.

To summarize: there is not a single documented instance of a feminist group going up to a transgender group to assault or threaten them. Any claims of "violence by TERFs" refer either to women trying to evict transwomen from female-only spaces, extremely rare verbal threats, and lots and lots of fabrication. In comparison, transgender activists have gone to women's libraries to vandalize them,<ref name=vwl/> went to feminist meetings to assault women,<ref name=fc1/><ref name=fc2/> appeared with face masks at feminist conferences to intimidate women,<ref name=jamjar/> and the ubiquitous verbal abuse they send in the direction of women fills up [https://terfisaslur.com/ a whole website] set up solely to archive it.

=== The term 'SWERF' ===

The word ''SWERF'' is a close relative to ''TERF'' and is applied in a similarly dishonest, misrepresenting way. Women (and men who care about women's rights) who are critical of the sex industry for its exploitative nature are accused of being "sex-worker exclusionary" in an attempt to make them seem hateful towards an oppressed group.

In fact, the people slurred as "SWERF" tend to be supporters of the [[Nordic Model]] against prostitution, which sees a high-quality welfare system as a necessary component in tackling prostitution, and in alleviating problems faced by women who would otherwise choose to do prostitution out of economic desperation. Further, many of those slurred "SWERF" tend to be women who worked in prostitution themselves.

Notably, one of the biggest anti-prostitution and anti-pornography feminists [[Andrea Dworkin]] was an ex-prostitute herself, and not ashamed of admitting so. Another notable example is [[Rachel Moran]], who was in prostitution between the ages of 15 and 22, only to become one of the most notable anti-prostitution, pro-Nordic Model activists in recent years.

== See also ==

* [[Transgender ideology]]

=== External links ===

* [https://terfisaslur.com/ terfisaslur.com - Documenting the abuse, harassment and misogyny of transgender identity politics]
* [https://www.feministcurrent.com/tag/terf/ TERF Archives | Feminist Current]
* [https://speakupforwomen.nz/dont-call-women-terfs/ Don't Call Women 'Terfs' | Speak Up for Women NZ]
* [https://medium.com/@amydyess83/terf-is-hate-speech-and-its-time-to-condemn-it-6efc897ce407 TERF Is Hate Speech and It’s Time to Condemn It]

== References ==

<references>

<ref name=terf-origin>
{{cite web
|url=https://hoydenabouttown.com/2008/08/17/carnivalia-transgenderism-and-the-gender-binary/
|title=Carnivalia, transgenderism and the gender binary
|author=Viv Smythe (aka tigtog)
|date=August 17, 2008
|website=Hoyden About Town
}}
</ref>

<ref name=guardian-smythe>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/29/im-credited-with-having-coined-the-acronym-terf-heres-how-it-happened
|title=I'm credited with having coined the word 'Terf'. Here's how it happened
|author=Viv Smythe (aka tigtog)
|date=November 28, 2018
|website=The Guardian
}}
</ref>

<ref name=fc-egbert>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.feministcurrent.com/2014/07/16/defending-the-terf-gender-as-political/
|title=Defending the ‘TERF’: Gender as political
|author=C.K. Egbert
|date=July 16, 2014
|website=Feminist Current
}}
</ref>

<ref name=fc-ditum>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.feministcurrent.com/2014/07/29/how-terf-works/
|title=How ‘TERF’ works
|author=Sarah Ditum
|date=July 29, 2014
|website=Feminist Current
}}
</ref>

<ref name=vice-robbins>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/7bap7y/whats-the-block-blot-martin-robbins-757
|title=I Am Now Officially a Transphobic Twitter Troll
|author=Martin Robbins
|date=August 8, 2014
|website=Vice
}}
</ref>

<ref name=fc-white>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.feministcurrent.com/2015/11/10/why-i-no-longer-hate-terfs/
|title=Why I no longer hate ‘TERFs’
|author=Penny White
|date=November 10, 2015
|website=Feminist Current
}}
</ref>

<ref name=fc-tra-violence>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.feministcurrent.com/2018/05/01/trans-activism-become-centered-justifying-violence-women-time-allies-speak/
|title=Trans activism is excusing & advocating violence against women, and it’s time to speak up
|author=Meghan Murphy
|date=May 1, 2018
|website=Feminist Current
}}
</ref>

<ref name=sonicfox>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2019/05/welcome-age-ironic-bigotry-where-old-hatreds-are-cloaked-woke-new-language
|title=Welcome to the age of ironic bigotry, where old hatreds are cloaked in woke new language
|author=Helen Lewis
|date=May 1, 2019
|website=The New Statesman
}}
</ref>

<ref name=rousey-fox>
{{cite web
|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1651451-ronda-rousey-vs-fallon-fox-head-to-toe-breakdown
|title=Ronda Rousey vs. Fallon Fox Head-to-Toe Breakdown
|author=Jordy McElroy
|date=May 25, 2013
|website=Bleacher Report
}}
</ref>

<ref name=rousey-marysue>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.themarysue.com/ronda-rousey-and-transmisogyny/
|title=When Role Models Become Problematic: Ronda Rousey and Transmisogyny
|author=Teresa Jusino
|date=August 3, 2015
|website=The Mary Sue
}}
</ref>

<ref name=fallon-fox>
{{cite web
|url=https://archive.is/yZfcs
|title=After Being TKO’d by Fallon Fox, Tamikka Brents Says Transgender Fighters in MMA ‘Just Isn’t Fair’
|website=Cage Potato
}}
</ref>

<ref name=rousey-reddit>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/GamerGhazi/comments/ah4120/celebrity_terf_ronda_rousey_to_play_sonya_blade/
|title=Celebrity TERF Ronda Rousey to play Sonya Blade in Mortal Kombat 11
|website=reddit
}}
</ref>

<ref name=vwl>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.feministcurrent.com/2017/02/07/vancouver-womens-library-opens-amid-anti-feminist-backlash/
|title=Vancouver Women’s Library opens amid anti-feminist backlash
|author=Meghan Murphy
|date=February 7, 2017
|website=Feminist Current
}}
</ref>

<ref name=guardian>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/oct/26/woman-punched-in-brawl-between-transgender-activists-and-radical-feminists
|title=Suspects sought after brawl between transgender activists and radical feminists
|author=Press Association
|date=October 26, 2017
|website=The Guardian
}}
</ref>

<ref name=statesman1>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2018/04/madness-our-gender-debate-where-feminists-defend-slapping-60-year-old
|title=The madness of our gender debate, where feminists defend slapping a 60-year-old woman
|author=Helen Lewis
|date=April 20, 2018
|website=NewStatesman
}}
</ref>

<ref name=statesman2>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2017/09/trans-rights-terfs-and-bruised-60-year-old-what-happened-speakers-corner
|title=Trans rights, TERFs, and a bruised 60-year-old: what happened at Speakers’ Corner?
|author=Anoosh Chakelian
|date=September 14, 2017
|website=NewStatesman
}}
</ref>

<ref name=telegraph>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/04/12/radical-feminist-warned-refer-transgender-defendant-assault/
|title=Radical feminist warned to refer to transgender defendant as a 'she' during assault case
|author=Victoria Ward
|date=April 12, 2018
|website=The Telegraph
}}
</ref>

<ref name=times1>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/transgender-activist-denies-thumping-radical-feminist-wvzgq6fx7
|title=Transgender activist Tara Wolf denies thumping radical feminist
|author=Lucy Bannerman
|date=April 12, 2018
|website=The Times
}}
</ref>

<ref name=times2>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-attacker-tara-wolf-is-a-thug-says-feminist-maria-maclachlan-pq0bwvthv
|title=Trans attacker is a thug, says feminist
|author=Lucy Bannerman
|date=April 14, 2018
|website=The Times
}}
</ref>

<ref name=standard>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/transgender-activist-tara-wolf-fined-150-for-assaulting-exclusionary-radical-feminist-in-hyde-park-a3813856.html
|title=Transgender activist Tara Wolf fined £150 for assaulting 'exclusionary' radical feminist in Hyde Park
|author=Martin Coulter
|date=April 13, 2018
|website=EveningStandard
}}
</ref>

<ref name=dailymail>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5613057/Model-punched-feminist-smashed-120-camera-violent-brawl-walks-free-court.html
|title=Transgender model who punched feminist and smashed her £120 camera in violent brawl at Hyde Park Speakers' Corner protest walks free from court
|author=Bridie Pearson-jones
|date=April 13, 2018
|website=MailOnline
}}
</ref>

<ref name=fc1>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.feministcurrent.com/2017/09/15/historic-speakers-corner-becomes-site-anti-feminist-silencing-violence/
|title=Historic Speaker’s Corner becomes site of anti-feminist silencing and violence
|author=Meghan Murphy
|date=September 15, 2017
|website=Feminist Current
}}
</ref>

<ref name=fc2>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.feministcurrent.com/2018/04/27/trans-identified-male-tara-wolf-charged-assault-hyde-park-attack/
|title=Trans-identified male, Tara Wolf, convicted of assault after Hyde Park attack
|author=Jen Izaakson
|date=April 27, 2018
|website=Feminist Current
}}
</ref>

<ref name=rivers>
{{cite web
|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/03/07/transgender-activist-trial-oakland-triple-murder/
|title=Transgender Activist Ordered To Stand Trial For Oakland Triple Murder
|date=March 7, 2018
|website=CBS SF BayArea
}}
</ref>

<ref name=camptrans>
{{cite web
|url=http://eminism.org/michigan/20000812-camptrans.txt
|title='MICHIGAN EIGHT' EVICTED OVER FESTIVAL'S NEW 'DON'T ASK DON'T TELL' GENDER POLICY
|date=August 12, 2000
}}
</ref>

<ref name=autostraddle>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.autostraddle.com/more-bad-news-oakland-lesbian-couple-and-their-son-brutally-murdered-by-former-lgbt-activist-359026/
|title=Oakland Lesbian Couple and Their Son Murdered By Former LGBT Activist
|author=Riese
|date=November 16, 2016
|website=Autostraddle
}}
</ref>

<ref name=edinburgh>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/crime/feminist-speaker-julie-bindel-attacked-by-transgender-person-at-edinburgh-university-after-talk-1-4942260
|title=Feminist speaker Julie Bindel 'attacked by transgender person' at Edinburgh University after talk
|author=Gina Davidson
|date=June 6, 2019
|website=The Scotsman
}}
</ref>

<ref name=planettrans>
{{cite web
|url=https://planettransgender.com/when-terf-attack-at-hyde-park/
|title=Trans Activists Vilified For Defense against TERF Attack at Hyde Park
|author=Kelli Busey
|date=September 18, 2017
|website=Planet Transgender
}}
</ref>

<ref name=queerness>
{{cite web
|url=https://thequeerness.com/2017/09/29/trial-by-media-over-speakers-corner-fracas/
|title=Trial by media over Speakers’ Corner fracas
|author=Sam Hope
|date=September 29, 2017
|website=The Queerness
}}
</ref>

<ref name=jamjar>
{{cite web
|url=https://twitter.com/magdalenberns/status/988003582250291201
|title=Masked transactivists surround woman on stairwell
|author=Magdalen Berns
|date=April 22, 2018
|website=Twitter
}}
</ref>

<ref name=dhejne>
{{cite web
|url=https://fairplayforwomen.com/criminality/
|title=Study suggests that transwomen exhibit a male pattern of criminality
|date=September 8, 2018
|website=Fair Play For Women
}}
</ref>

<ref name=wpcrime>
{{cite web
|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_differences_in_crime#Statistics
|title=Sex differences in crime
|website=Wikipedia
|access-date=May 31, 2019
}}
</ref>

<ref name=freedman>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-46454454
|title=Rosa Freedman: Professor's door 'covered in urine' after gender law debate
|date=December 5, 2018
|website=BBC News
}}
</ref>

<ref name=vrr-fb>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.facebook.com/VancouverRapeRelief/posts/710603379412445
|title=Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter - Facebook
|date=August 16, 2019
|website=Facebook
}}
</ref>

<ref name=vrr-twitter>
{{cite web
|url=https://twitter.com/VanRapeRelief/status/1166426534321647616
|title=VancouverRapeRelief on Twitter
|date=August 26, 2019
|website=Twitter
}}
</ref>

<ref name=vrr-vancouverisawesome>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2019/08/28/vancouver-rape-relief-centre-targeted-vandalism-threats-transgender-controversy/
|title=Vancouver Rape Relief centre targeted with vandalism, threats over transgender controversy
|author=Jessica Kerr
|date=August 28, 2019
|website=Vancouver is Awesome
}}
</ref>

<ref name=vrr-nationalreview>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/08/women-only-rape-relief-shelter-defunded-then-vandalized/
|title=Women-Only Rape-Relief Shelter Defunded, Then Vandalized
|author=Madeleine Kearns
|date=August 28, 2019
|website=National Review
}}
</ref>

<ref name=vrr-citynews>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/08/27/vancouver-rape-relief-centre-vandalized-likely-over-restrictions-for-transgender-people/
|title=Vancouver Rape Relief centre vandalized, likely over restrictions for transgender people
|author=Jonathan Szekeres and Lauren Boothby
|date=Aug 27, 2019
|website=City News
}}
</ref>

</references>

Discussione:TERF

2019-10-19T17:01:37Z

AlanHenness: Created page with "== Real-life vandalism, harassment, and assaults == Would it be OK to link to Maria's account of her assault and trial on [https://www.peaktrans.org/ Peak Trans]? It gives a..."

== Real-life vandalism, harassment, and assaults ==

Would it be OK to link to Maria's account of her assault and trial on [https://www.peaktrans.org/ Peak Trans]? It gives a useful insight into the attack, how it was portrayed by TRAs and what she had to deal with in court, being told to refer to her male attacker is if he was female. --[[User:AlanHenness|AlanHenness]] ([[User talk:AlanHenness|talk]]) 19:01, 19 October 2019 (CEST)

Discussione:Magdalen Berns

2019-09-16T16:12:28Z

AlanHenness: Created page with "There is a lot to do here but I suspect this Wikipedia page will be deleted soon. I have not changed any links and Wikipedia uses several templates not used here but it's a st..."

There is a lot to do here but I suspect this Wikipedia page will be deleted soon. I have not changed any links and Wikipedia uses several templates not used here but it's a start.

I think we need a category for prominent feminists.

--[[User:AlanHenness|AlanHenness]] ([[User talk:AlanHenness|talk]]) 18:12, 16 September 2019 (CEST)

Magdalen Berns

2019-09-16T16:10:28Z

AlanHenness: Copy of Wikipedia page in case it is deleted. It needs a lot of work but thought it was worthwhile preserving it.

'''Magdalen Berns''' (6 May 1983 – 13 September 2019)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.feministcurrent.com/2019/09/13/whats-current-lesbian-feminist-shero-magdalen-berns-passes-away-at-36/ |title=What's Current: Lesbian feminist shero Magdalen Berns passes away at 36 |publisher=Feministcurrent.com |date= |accessdate=2019-09-14}}</ref> was a British [[Programmer|software developer]] and [[YouTuber]]. Berns, a [[lesbian]] and [[Radical feminism|radical feminist]], came to prominence as a result of a series of YouTube [[vlog]]s focusing on lesbian politics, [[Freedom of speech|free speech]], [[Women's rights|women's sex-based rights]] and the [[gender identity]] debate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvTTakI97sQ4SkMnsH8r0qQ |title=Magdalen Berns |publisher=YouTube |date= |accessdate=2019-09-14}}</ref>

== Biography ==

===Education===
Berns attended the [[University of Edinburgh]], where she was a recipient of a Doris Gray Scholarship Award.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wes.org.uk/content/current-recipients-doris-gray-scholarships |title=Current recipients of the Doris Gray Scholarships |publisher=[[Women's Engineering Society]] |accessdate=2019-09-15}}</ref>

=== Work and career ===
In 2013–2014, she participated in the [[Google Summer of Code]] programme,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/SciRuby/sciruby/wiki/Google-Summer-of-Code-2018-Application |title=Google Summer of Code 2018 Application |publisher=[[Github]] |date=January 2018 |accessdate=2019-09-15}}</ref> working on implementing the [[FFTW|FFTW3]] [[Library (computing)|library]] for [[Ruby (programming language)|Ruby]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sciruby.com/blog/2014/06/04/introducing-the-fftw-sciruby-gsoc-project/ |title=Introducing the FFTW SciRuby GSoC Project |publisher=SciRuby.com |date=2014-06-04 |accessdate=2019-09-15}}</ref> She went on to join the [[GNOME Foundation]] as a [[Programmer|software developer]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dgsiegel.net/talks/gnome-outreach-yearbook-2013.pdf |title=GNOME Outreach Program Yearbook 2013 |publisher=[[GNOME Foundation]] |date=August 2013 |accessdate=2019-09-15}}</ref> She developed the Java ATK Wrapper, a module to translate [[Swing (Java)|Swing]] [[Event (computing)|events]] for the [[Accessibility Toolkit]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gnome.org/news/2015/08/pictures-from-guadec-2015/attachment/magdalen-berns-present-her-work-with-improving-the-java-atk-wrapper/ |title=Magdalen Berns present her work with improving the Java-ATK-Wrapper |publisher=[[GNOME Foundation]] |date=August 2015 |accessdate=2019-09-15}}</ref>

=== Radical feminism ===
Berns' statement that "there's no such thing as a lesbian with a [[penis]]" made her well-known, as well as her opposition to the "cotton ceiling”, a term coined by Canadian [[Trans_woman|transwoman]] and activist Drew DeVeaux, which refers to the perceived injustice of lesbians not wanting to have sex with transwomen.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.afterellen.com/general-news/571815-celebrating-magdalen-berns-a-lesbian-feminist-warrior |title=Celebrating Magdalen Berns, a Lesbian Feminist Warrior |publisher=Afterellen.com |date=2018-05-29 |accessdate=2019-09-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/@mirandayardley/girl-dick-the-cotton-ceiling-and-the-cultural-war-on-lesbians-and-women-c323b4789368 |title=The Cotton Ceiling and the Cultural War on Lesbians and Women |publisher=medium.com |accessdate=2019-09-15}}</ref>

Berns was criticised by supporters of the [[transgender rights]] community as a [[trans-exclusionary radical feminist]], and has stated that it was this accusation that first led her to research radical feminism. She was also known for her arguments against the concepts of [[Gender variance|gender self-identification]] and [[Gender|gender]] itself. Speaking on the subject of gender and [[Human_sexuality|sexuality]], Berns stated: "You don’t get ‘assigned’ reproductive organs.....males are defined by their biological sex organs. Likewise, [[Homosexuality|homosexuals]] are people who are attracted to the same [[Sex|biological sex]].”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://feministlegal.org/scotlands-magdalen-berns-feminism-a-shero-among-women/#.XX5zTShKjIU |title=Scotland’s Magdalen Berns & Feminism — A ‘Shero’ Among Women |publisher=feministlegal.org |date=2019-09-07 |accessdate=2019-09-15}}</ref> In June 2019, British author [[J.K. Rowling]] followed Magdalen Berns on [[Twitter]], bringing her more visibility and prompting criticism towards Rowling from transgender activists.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indy100.com/article/jk-rowling-twitter-transphobe-magdalen-berns-terf-lgbt-8974041 |title=JK Rowling criticised for following 'transphobe' Magdalen Berns on Twitter |publisher=indy100 |date=2019-06-25 |accessdate=2019-09-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.altpress.com/news/j-k-rowling-transphobic-behavior/ |title=J.K. Rowling Faces Backlash For Allegedly Displaying Transphobic Behaviour |publisher=altpress.com |date=2019-06-28 |accessdate=2019-09-15}}</ref> Berns was labelled as a [[transphobia|transphobe]] and a self-professed transphobe.<ref>{{cite news |last= Zatat |first= Narjas |date= 25 June 2019 |title= JK Rowling criticised for following a 'famous transphobe' on Twitter |url= https://www.indy100.com/article/jk-rowling-twitter-transphobe-magdalen-berns-terf-lgbt-8974041 |work= Indy100 (from The Independent) |access-date= 15 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= Maurice |first= Emma |date= 25 June 2019 |title= JK Rowling under fire for following a ‘proud transphobe’ on Twitter |url= https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/06/25/jk-rowling-under-fire-following-transphobe-twitter/ |work= Pink News |access-date= 15 September 2019}}</ref> In August 2019, Dr. [[Rachel McKinnon]] of the [[College of Charleston]] attracted criticism after describing the celebration of Berns' impending death as "ethically justified" in light of Berns' positions on gender.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.postandcourier.com/news/the-tweet-heard-round-the-world-charleston-professor-sparks-global/article_4a462cda-c9c7-11e9-8134-d32dc721835d.html |title=The tweet heard 'round the world: Charleston professor sparks global Twitter debate |publisher=[[Evening Post Industries]] |work=[[The Post and Courier]] |date=2019-08-29 |accessdate=2019-09-15 |author=Jenna Schiferl}}</ref>

=== Health and death ===

Berns was diagnosed with a [[Glioblastoma|glioblastoma]] in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-brCJkXxzaM|title=My ladybrain update #2}}</ref> Notably, [[Irish_people|Irish]] comedy writer [[Graham Linehan]] voiced vocal support for Berns on Twitter and other platforms,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Linehan|first1=Graham|title=Magdalen Berns 1983–2019|url=https://glinner.co.uk/stunning-and-brave-magdalen-berns-1983-2019/|website=Glinner|date=13 September 2019}}</ref> and visited her in [[Palliative_care|palliative care]]. She was also visited by fellow radical feminist activists [[Julie_Bindel|Julie Bindel]]<ref>{{cite tweet|user=bindelj |author-link=Julie Bindel|number=1171341052109873152|date=10 September 2019|title=I am visiting our Queen, Magdalen Berns tomorrow. I would be delighted to pass on any messages of love and appreciation to her if you would like to send me in a (short) DM? Thank you x}}</ref> and Rachel Moran.<ref>{{Cite tweet|user=RachelRMoran|author=Rachel Moran|number=1172459990570938368|date=13 September 2019|title=I just feel so lucky to have been able to spend time with Magdalen the two weekends before she died. If people could see the carry-on in that hospice room there would be peals of laughter. She was absolutely her feisty determined self to the very end. Rest well little Sister, xxx}}</ref>
She died on 13 September 2019, aged 36 in [[Edinburgh]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.feministcurrent.com/2019/09/13/whats-current-lesbian-feminist-shero-magdalen-berns-passes-away-at-36/ |title=What's Current: Lesbian feminist shero Magdalen Berns passes away at 36 |publisher=Feministcurrent.com |date= |accessdate=2019-09-14}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvTTakI97sQ4SkMnsH8r0qQ Official YouTube Page]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berns, Magdalen}}
[[Category:1983 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:British software engineers]]
[[Category:British YouTubers]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain tumor]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Scotland]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:Scottish feminists‎]]
[[Category:Trans-exclusionary radical feminism]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]

FeministWiki:Todo

2019-09-05T23:50:48Z

AlanHenness: /* Page ideas */ Added detail

=== Page ideas ===

* Queer theory (and its ties to pedophilia): Study & cite DrPankhurtEM's 4-part piece on QT/pedophilia
* Cotton ceiling: http://www.gettheloutuk.com/index.html
* Sexism on the left (denial of sexism, rape culture, male-centric sex liberalism, queer theory, etc.)
* List/discuss women who have suffered consequences of being gender-critical - women who have been deplatformed at events, lost jobs, been visited by police and been banned on Twitter. See Sam Barber Twitter threads and also Enough is Enough Twitter account. now 390 women's Twitter accounts suspended/banned? (June 18 2019)
* Summary of science we have on health effects of taking cross-hormones
:This could possibly start with Prof Carl Heneghan's bmj article: Gender-affirming hormone in children and adolescents https://blogs.bmj.com/bmjebmspotlight/2019/02/25/gender-affirming-hormone-in-children-and-adolescents-evidence-review/ Are there other good reviews?
* Biological aspects and basis for women's oppression
* Debates over idea that sex is non-binary (review treatment on Wikipedia first - do not duplicate/replicate well-sourced and balanced articles there)

=== Bugs ===

* Fix forum passwords (if changed after first login, "Edit account settings" page breaks)
* Some users cannot save drafts in RoundCube

=== Documentation ===

* Document use of third-party package source for PHP/MySQL stuff
* Continuously improve help pages

=== Features ===

* Switch from WikiSEO extension to this one: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Add_HTML_Meta_and_Title
* Page to request current account information.
* Scrub account request data automatically after processing is complete
* See if our ejabberd installation supports end to end encryption
* See if we can reduce automatic logging / scrub logs after a certain time period
* Welcome email
* Log last time of login of users, deactivate stale accounts
* Add "remember me" to RoundCube
* Quick search of member tree
* Email spam filter
* Single sign-on
* phpBB Jabber integration
* Mail forwarding

=== Stability ===

* Script to update the config & scripts repo

=== Additional Services ===

* Newsletter
* Spinster

__NOTOC__

TERF

2019-09-05T20:17:24Z

AlanHenness: /* Real-life vandalism, harassment, and assaults */ Typos.

{{PageSeo | description = TERF is a slur used by transgender activists to debase anyone who criticizes their movement on the basis of feminist concerns. }}

[[File:Terf-slur-02.png|thumb|300px|A typical tweet containing "terf"]]

The word ''TERF'' (or ''terf'') is a slur that is used predominantly by transgender activists and their allies against people who criticize the transgender movement on the basis of feminist concerns. Since the slur is used for people with feminist concerns, the main target tend to be women. As such, it's usually understood to be an anti-feminist, sexist and misogynist slur.

The word was invented as an acronym for ''Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist'', where the "trans-exclusionary" part referred to those holding roughly the position that transwomen should not be included under a feminist definition of womanhood, and the "radical feminist" part was meant neutrally, i.e. for people who would indeed describe themselves as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_feminism radical feminists] in the true sense. Over time, the acronym pretty much became a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-letter_word four-letter word]. Nowadays the capitalization is frequently omitted, and the already ambiguous original meaning ignored entirely. Still, users of the term tend to claim that it's a neutral description. The "trans-exclusionary" part may now refer to anyone who thinks transwomen should not have unfettered access to all female-only spaces (e.g. changing rooms), should not partake in women's sports where they have [[Transwomen in women's sports|unfair advantages]], should not be considered a natural part of the lesbian dating pool, etc. Although most members of the public would see these as rather sensible positions, considering a "transwoman" may have intact male anatomy, transgender activists nevertheless see all of these types of "exclusion" as unacceptable.

A closely associated term is ''SWERF'', which is supposed to stand for ''Sex-Worker-Exclusionary Radical Feminist'' and is used for those who see the sex industry (prostitution, pornography, etc.) as highly exploitative and sexist. Like ''TERF'', the term is almost always applied as a slur, and to misrepresent the political position of the person it's used against. Ironically, some of those who have to face the term most commonly are women who worked in prostitution and became anti-prostitution activists as a result of their own experiences as so-called sex workers.

== History ==

=== Origin ===

The oldest known use of the term is by Viv Smythe aka "tigtog" in a [https://hoydenabouttown.com/2008/08/17/carnivalia-transgenderism-and-the-gender-binary/ blog post] from 2008. She defended the term as late as 2018, in [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/29/im-credited-with-having-coined-the-acronym-terf-heres-how-it-happened an article] written for The Guardian. Transgender activists frequently try to defend the term on the grounds that Viv Smythe is a woman who herself claims to be a radical feminist, and seems to have first used the term in a way that is not derogatory. Of course, the benign origins of a term does not mean that it cannot evolve into a slur.

=== Evolution towards hate speech ===

[[File:Mya-byrne-punches-terfs.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Totally not a slur!]]

The evolution of the term from 2008 into the early to mid 2010s is not well documented. Mostly, feminists had to face the term on social media, where it began to be used regularly to debase their position. In July 2014, [https://www.feministcurrent.com/ Feminist Current] published two articles referencing the term. The first, written by C. K. Egbert and titled [https://www.feministcurrent.com/2014/07/16/defending-the-terf-gender-as-political/ ''Defending the 'TERF': Gender as political''], explains and defends in length the political theory underlining the ideas supported by feminists who are slurred as "terf." The second, written by Sarah Ditum and titled [https://www.feministcurrent.com/2014/07/29/how-terf-works/ ''How 'TERF' works''], shortly analyses a situation in which a woman is pressured to retract a statement opposing violence against women, on the grounds that the statement originally stems from a feminist who is considered a "terf". Since Feminist Current is highly acclaimed among radical-leaning feminists, its decision to support the women slurred with "terf" could be seen as a turning point.

Another Feminist Current article defending those targeted with the slur was published in November 2015, written by [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qUruyYQQ60 Penny White] and titled [https://www.feministcurrent.com/2015/11/10/why-i-no-longer-hate-terfs/ ''Why I no longer hate 'TERFs''']. In the article, Penny White explains how she herself used to be convinced that so-called "TERFs" are worthy of contempt, but changed her mind after starting to look closer into the issue. This experience seems to resonate with many women and some socially liberal men to this day, who start out being supportive of the transgender movement, only to start becoming skeptical after negative experiences and observations, ultimately leading them to be also labeled "terf" and shunned by transgender activists and their allies. After that, Feminist Current started publishing articles critical of the transgender movement with some frequency, much to the enragement of transgender activists.

In June 2017, transgender activist [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mya_Byrne Mya Byrne] came to the San Francisco Pride Parade with a t-shirt reading "I PUNCH TERFS", decorated with a large fake blood-stain. Byrne uploaded a selfie of him wearing the t-shirt at the parade, captioned "This is what gay liberation looks like #pride #yesallterfs" which sparked many negative reactions.<ref name=fc-tra-violence/> The t-shirt would later be displayed at an "art exhibit" at the San Francisco Public Library, set up by the trans activist group ''The Degenderettes''. After complaints, the library removed the t-shirt from the exhibition, though similar items showcasing a violent mentality remained, such as baseball bats wrapped in barbed wire and painted in the colors of the transgender pride flag.<ref name=fc-tra-violence/>

[[File:Sonicfox.png|thumb|right|300px|The violent tweet by Dominique McLean.]]

In April 2019, professional video gamer Dominique McLean aka [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SonicFox SonicFox] uploaded a video on Twitter, captioned "what I do to terfs," in which a male video game character strikes a female character's neck so hard that her skin comes off, while the camera shows her agony-filled face. McLean can be heard yelling "terf!" into his microphone with each blow dealt to the female character, reminiscent of a lynching.<ref name=sonicfox/> The tweet garnered hundreds of thousands of views, and many thousands of retweets and likes.

McLean's tweet is made even worse by the fact that the hatred is not just directed at an imagined "terf" character, but at the voice actress behind the character, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronda_Rousey Ronda Rousey]. Rousey, who is an MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter, is deemed a "TERF" for having stated, with blunt wording, that it's unfair for male MMA fighter [[Transwomen in women's sports#Fallon_Fox|Fallon Fox]] to compete against women.<ref name=rousey-fox/><ref name=rousey-marysue/><ref name=rousey-reddit/> A year after Rousey's remarks, female MMA fighter Tamikka Brents had suffered a concussion and an orbital bone fracture during a fight with Fallon Fox,<ref name=fallon-fox/> but this does not seem to have changed the opinion of trans activists.

After McLean's tweet was reported for hate speech, Twitter initially decided that it [[:File:Sonicfox2.png|did not break their rules]]. Only after continued protest and many more reports did Twitter react, by removing the tweet and issuing SonicFox a mere 24-hour ban.

=== Real-life vandalism, harassment, and assaults ===

In February 2017, the newly opened Vancouver Women's Library was met with a small group of vandals, including a very obviously male person who claimed to be a female sex worker. They ripped off a poster, poured wine on a book, and harassed those trying to partake in the opening celebration. Their stated reason was that the library included books which they deemed to support so-called "TERF" and "SWERF" ideology.<ref name=vwl/>

<youtube dimensions=500 alignment=right description="The assault by Tara Wolf on Maria MacLachlan (September 13th, 2017)" container=frame>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_d3ozhSE-U
</youtube>

In September 2017, a group of feminists wanted to hold a meeting to discuss proposed changes to the [https://www.feministcurrent.com/2018/09/14/never-mind-reforming-gender-recognition-act-theres-no-need-gender-recognition-certificates/ Gender Recognition Act] (GRA) in the [https://newxlearning.org/ New Cross Learning] community Library in London. The library had to cancel the event after harassment by transgender activists. The organizers of the meeting decided to meet at Speakers' Corner, before going to the newly chosen meeting place, which was not announced to protect it from harassment. In Speakers' Corner, they were met with a group of transgender activists shouting slogans, notably "when TERFs attack, we fight back." Maria MacLachlan, who was filming the protesters with her digital camera, was attacked by someone running out of the trans activist group, who then tried to grab her camera. As the unsuccessful attacker ran back behind his friends, MacLachlan tried to get closer to the group to get his face on camera. Several of the activists started assaulting her in that moment. One of the attackers, later revealed to be Tara Wolf, was ultimately charged with assault by beating. Prior to the event, he had posted that he wants to "f*ck up some terfs" on social media. The event could be considered a cornerstone in the escalating hatred transgender activists show against feminists, as no such clearly documented assault in relation to the slur "TERF" existed before, and the event gained widespread attention in the news, being covered by The Guardian,<ref name=guardian/> The New Statesman,<ref name=statesman1/><ref name=statesman2/> The Telegraph,<ref name=telegraph/> The Times,<ref name=times1/><ref name=times2/> The Evening Standard,<ref name=standard/> and The Daily Mail.<ref name=dailymail/> Of course, it was also covered by Feminist Current.<ref name=fc1/><ref name=fc2/> In the aftermath of the event, many transgender activists online defended or even celebrated the assault, leading Meghan Murphy to publish the piece [https://www.feministcurrent.com/2017/09/21/terf-isnt-slur-hate-speech/ '' 'TERF' isn't just a slur, it's hate speech'']. Some publications in support of transgender activists have tried to claim that the assailant was really acting in self-defense, and tried to prove this claim by uploading carefully edited cuts of the recording showing the assault,<ref name=planettrans/> or by framing the assault as "standing up to bullies" who "provoke" transgender activists (by having opinions they don't like, we have to presume).<ref name=queerness/>

In December 2018, human rights lawyer Prof. [[Rosa Freedman]] found her office door covered in urine after attending debates surrounding proposed changes to the UK's Gender Recognition Act. She also reported being called a "Nazi" (she is Jewish) who "should be raped" (she is a survivor of sexual violence) and receiving abusive anonymous phone calls.<ref name=freedman/>

In 2018, transgender activist Dana Rivers was on trial for triple murder.<ref name=rivers/> The victims were a lesbian couple and their adoptive son. Rivers stabbed and shot the victims, before trying to set their house on fire, in November 2016. It remains unclear whether Rivers was motivated by the hatred against feminists and lesbians promulgated by transgender activists. Rivers was, however, a member of the group [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Trans Camp Trans], which was created to protest the women-only rule of the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival (aka MichFest).<ref name=camptrans/> Autostraddle described Rivers as a "very well-known transgender activist."<ref name=autostraddle/>

In June 2019, [[Julie Bindel]] was physically attacked by a trans-identifying male person after holding a keynote speech about male violence against women at the Edinburgh University, together with Prof. Rosa Freedman.<ref name=edinburgh/> "He was shouting and ranting and raving, 'you're a f***** c***, you're a f****** bitch, a f****** Terf" and the rest of it. We were trying to walk to the cab to take us to the airport, and then he just lunged at me and almost punched me in the face, but a security guard pulled him away." The male person, who calls himself "[[Cathy Brennan]]" (after famous lesbian and radical feminist lawyer, whom he despises) had previously stood out on social media for [[:File:Joe-brennan-twitter.jpg|encouraging physical violence]] against feminists at Gay Pride events.

In August 16, 2019, the Facebook account of [[Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter]] reported that a dead rat had been nailed to their door frame.<ref name=vrr-fb/> On August 26, their Twitter account followed up by reporting their door and windows were vandalized with phrases such as "FUCK TERFS" and "KILL TERFS" as well as "TRANS POWER".<ref name=vrr-twitter/> The repeated harassment and vandalism garnered attention in local and national news.<ref name=vrr-vancouverisawesome/><ref name=vrr-nationalreview/><ref name=vrr-citynews/>

=== Gallery ===

<gallery caption="Discussion of McLean's hate tweet" perrow=3 widths=400px heights=200px>
File:Sonicfox3.jpg | McLean defending his tweet on the grounds that Ronda Rousey is a "TERF" and as such deserving of the violent contempt
File:Sonicfox-copycat1.png | A copycat tweet showing another video game character dying brutally, with the caption "FUCK TERFS"
File:Sonicfox-copycat2.png | Another copycat tweet. The GIF is of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_Kombat_11 Mortal Kombat 11] character [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpion_(Mortal_Kombat) Scorpion] burning his opponent alive.
</gallery>

<gallery caption="Harassment and vandalism of Vancouver Rape Relief" perrow=3 widths=400px heights=200px>
File:Vrr-vandalism1.jpg | A dead rat nailed to the door frame of VRR
File:Vrr-vandalism2.jpg | The text "KILL TERFS ... TRANS POWER" written on the window
File:Vrr-vandalism3.jpg | The phrases "FUCK TERFS" and "TRANS WOMEN ARE WOMEN" written on the door and window
</gallery>

<gallery caption="Some examples of tweets using 'terf'" perrow=3 widths=400px heights=200px>
File:Terf-gallery-1.png | "terf isn't a slur ... terfs don't deserve rights"
File:Terf-gallery-2.jpg | "All terfs will be arrested on sight"
File:Terf-gallery-3.jpg | "It's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_pride#LGBT_Pride_Month Pride] punch a terf"
File:Terf-gallery-4.png | Putting "terf" right aside "nazi"
File:Terf-gallery-5.png | [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Chu Arthur Chu] supporting SonicFox's hate speech
File:Terf-gallery-6.png | "Being a TERF is a choice. Like being a Nazi."
</gallery>

== Analysis of the term ==

The original acronym could be split in two halves: "trans-exclusionary" and "radical feminist." Though many people targeted with the word do not see themselves as radical feminists, their ideals most often tend to align with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_feminism radical feminism] anyway, making that part somewhat accurate. The "trans-exclusionary" part however is rather ambiguous, and its meaning seems to change at the whim of the person using the term.

When those using the term want to justify it as an objective and accurate description, they will use rather mundane and basic definitions of "exclusion" that applies easily to most people the term is used against. Examples of this might include:

* Wanting transwomen with unfair anatomic advantages to be excluded from women's sports
* Wanting transwomen with an obvious male anatomy (such as intact male genitals) to be excluded from sex segregated spaces of privacy, such as changing rooms
* Not considering transwomen to be ''literally'' women, by pointing at the dictionary definition that is "adult human female"
* Wanting to exclude transwomen from some political groups that want to focus on struggles unique to people born with female anatomy
* Wanting to exclude crimes committed by transwomen from being recorded as female criminality, especially since the crime patterns of transwomen seem more in line with crime patterns of men,<ref name=dhejne/> who commit the vast majority of violent crimes, specifically sexual violence<ref name=wpcrime/>

[[File:Theterfs-delusion.png|thumb|right|500px|Some of the hyperbolic lies transgender activists use to justify hatred against feminists]]

However, once the term "TERF" is applied to someone on the basis of them holding these opinions (which many people including non-feminists would agree are sensible), the definition of "exclusion" is quickly sharpened to justify expressions of hatred. Sometimes, the "trans-exclusionary" is even hyperbolically turned into "trans-exterminatory" to increase its panic-inducing effect. The website (or should we say whacksite) [http://theterfs.com/ ''The TERFs''] goes as far as claiming that the people labeled "TERF" want to:

* Exclude trans people from housing (make them homeless)
* Exclude trans people from employment (make them unemployed)
* Exclude them from education
* Exclude them from accomodation equality
* Exclude them from local, state, national and United Nations protections(!)

As such, the women labeled "TERF" are represented less as women who simply want to uphold women's sex-based rights, and more like fascist monsters, which is then used to incite hatred and violence against them. It's also noteworthy how exclusion of transwomen (from female-only spaces etc.) turns here into supposed exclusion of all trans people (from whatever). As a matter of fact, women targeted as "TERFs" will frequently say explicitly that they welcome transmen in their groups, since transmen also face the sex-based oppression all women face from birth.

The strategy of transgender activists of using simple definitions of "TERF" to make the term look accurate, but then twist the definition to justify hatred, is quite similar to a "troll" strategy that has been noted by philosopher Nicholas Shackel, and dubbed the ''Motte and Bailey Doctrine'' in a paper titled [https://philpapers.org/archive/SHATVO-2.pdf ''The Vacuity of Postmodernist Methodology'']:

<blockquote><em>
"Troll’s Truisms are used to insinuate an exciting falsehood, which is a desired doctrine, yet permit retreat to the trivial truth when pressed by an opponent. In so doing they exhibit a property which makes them the simplest possible case of what I shall call a Motte and Bailey Doctrine (since a doctrine can be a single belief or an entire body of beliefs).

A Motte and Bailey castle is a medieval system of defence in which a stone tower on a mound (the Motte) is surrounded by an area of land (the Bailey) which in turn is encompassed by some sort of a barrier such as a ditch. Being dark and dank, the Motte is not a habitation of choice. The only reason for its existence is the desirability of the Bailey, which the combination of the Motte and ditch makes relatively easy to retain despite attack by marauders. When only lightly pressed, the ditch makes small numbers of attackers easy to defeat as they struggle across it: when heavily pressed the ditch is not defensible and so neither is the Bailey. Rather one retreats to the insalubrious but defensible, perhaps impregnable, Motte. Eventually the marauders give up, when one is well placed to reoccupy desirable land.

For my purposes the desirable but only lightly defensible territory of the Motte and Bailey castle, that is to say, the Bailey, represents a philosophical doctrine or position with similar properties: desirable to its proponent but only lightly defensible. The Motte is the defensible but undesired position to which one retreats when hard pressed. I think it is evident that Troll’s Truisms have the Motte and Bailey property, since the exciting falsehoods constitute the desired but indefensible region within the ditch whilst the trivial truth constitutes the defensible but dank Motte to which one may retreat when pressed."
</em></blockquote>

In our case, the ''Motte'' is an easily defensible statement like: ''"You don't consider transwomen literally women, therefore you are trans-exclusionary, which makes you a TERF."'' Whereas the ''Bailey'' is: ''"You want to exclude trans people from housing and employment, therefore I'm justified in hating you with a passion!"''

It could also be called a "bait-and-switch" argument, where one is "baited" into agreeing with the claim that someone is a "TERF" by using a mundane definition of "trans exclusion," and then the definition is switched into something bad, to justify expressions of hatred.

=== Inspection of the claims on ''The TERFs'' ===

[[File:Theterfs-logo.png|thumb|right|300px|Actual logo of TheTERFs.com: Evil black scribbles]]

It should be noted that ''The TERFs'' offers little more than out-of-context quotes from several decades ago as "evidence" for its hyperbolic claims regarding so-called "TERF" ideology. It also showcases a small number of cherry-picked tweets, half of which are from right-wing sources that also happen to oppose the transgender movement, which trans activists claim proves that feminists are secretly allied with them in a big conspiracy. (This line of thinking is often ridiculed as: "Hitler was a vegetarian, therefore vegetarians are Nazis.")

Regarding supposed evidence of "real-life violence motivated by TERF ideology," the website lists six examples, of which three don't actually present any violence. Those which do, relate to incidences from several decades ago, in which women tried to evict transwomen from female-only groups or spaces, using physical force or face-to-face threats. Since women are expected to be always nice and passive towards males, even when trying to form radical feminist groups and keep males out of them, this is of course seen as unacceptable. Two examples are about verbal threats, which is a run-of-the-mill experience for feminists opposing transgender activists, and the last one is about the deaths of trans people that are ''assumed'' to be related to lack of access to health care, which to be very blunt has fuck-all to do with feminist ideologies.

To summarize: there is not a single documented instance of a feminist group going up to a transgender group to assault or threaten them. Any claims of "violence by TERFs" refer either to women trying to evict transwomen from female-only spaces, extremely rare verbal threats, and lots and lots of fabrication. In comparison, transgender activists have gone to women's libraries to vandalize them,<ref name=vwl/> went to feminist meetings to assault women,<ref name=fc1/><ref name=fc2/> appeared with face masks at feminist conferences to intimidate women,<ref name=jamjar/> and the ubiquitous verbal abuse they send in the direction of women fills up [https://terfisaslur.com/ a whole website] set up solely to archive it.

=== The term 'SWERF' ===

The word ''SWERF'' is a close relative to ''TERF'' and is applied in a similarly dishonest, misrepresenting way. Women (and men who care about women's rights) who are critical of the sex industry for its exploitative nature are accused of being "sex-worker exclusionary" in an attempt to make them seem hateful towards an oppressed group.

In fact, the people slurred as "SWERF" tend to be supporters of the [[Nordic Model]] against prostitution, which sees a high-quality welfare system as a necessary component in tackling prostitution, and in alleviating problems faced by women who would otherwise choose to do prostitution out of economic desperation. Further, many of those slurred "SWERF" tend to be women who worked in prostitution themselves.

Notably, one of the biggest anti-prostitution and anti-pornography feminists [[Andrea Dworkin]] was an ex-prostitute herself, and not ashamed of admitting so. Another notable example is [[Rachel Moran]], who was in prostitution between the ages of 15 and 22, only to become one of the most notable anti-prostitution, pro-Nordic Model activists in recent years.

== See also ==

* [[Transgender ideology]]

=== External links ===

* [https://terfisaslur.com/ terfisaslur.com - Documenting the abuse, harassment and misogyny of transgender identity politics]
* [https://www.feministcurrent.com/tag/terf/ TERF Archives | Feminist Current]
* [https://speakupforwomen.nz/dont-call-women-terfs/ Don't Call Women 'Terfs' | Speak Up for Women NZ]
* [https://medium.com/@amydyess83/terf-is-hate-speech-and-its-time-to-condemn-it-6efc897ce407 TERF Is Hate Speech and It’s Time to Condemn It]

== References ==

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