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→‎Trans activist Dana Rivers commits triple homicide: Not sure if adopted, one of them could be the biological mother.
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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 [[Radical feminism|radical feminists]] in the true sense.
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 [[Radical feminism|radical feminists]] in the true sense.


Over time, the acronym pretty much became a [[Wikipedia: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.
Over time, the acronym pretty much became a [[Wikipedia: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 (especially when considering that 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.
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.
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=== Political justification of physical violence ===
=== Political justification of physical violence ===


In May 2020, a blog post was published on Medium.com equating so-called TERFs with Nazis in a credible-sounding tone and explaining how various methods such as infiltration, censorship, property damage, and physical violence should be used against them.<ref name=medium-izaguirre/>  The account posting the article was suspended from Medium.com on the same day and the content re-uploaded on WordPress soon after.<ref name=wp-izaguirre/>  (Still online as of February 20th, 2021)
In May 2020, a blog post was published on Medium.com equating so-called TERFs with Nazis in a credible-sounding tone and explaining how various methods such as infiltration, censorship, property damage, and physical violence should be used against them.<ref name=medium-izaguirre/>  The account posting the article was suspended from Medium.com on the same day and the content re-uploaded on WordPress.com soon after.<ref name=wp-izaguirre/>  (Still online as of February 20th, 2021)


=== Not even pretending that this isn't a witch hunt? ===
=== Not even pretending that this isn't a witch hunt? ===


[[File:Spain-witch-puppet.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Witch-like puppet of [[Wikipedia:Carmen Calvo|Carmen Calvo]] hanging from a tree.]]
[[File:Spain-witch-puppet.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Effigy of [[Wikipedia:Carmen Calvo|Carmen Calvo]] hanging from a tree.]]


In February 2021, Spanish news reported about the appearance of a puppet looking like a stereotypical "witch" figure, with its face made to resemble female politician, author, and vice president [[Wikipedia:Carmen Calvo|Carmen Calvo]] of the Socialist Workers' Party.<ref name=elcomun-calvo/>  Calvo had come under fire from trans activists for her opposition to a proposed [[gender self-identification]] law.  The puppet was hanging from a tree in Plaza 8 de Marzo in Santiago de Compostela, with a sign hanging from its neck saying "Me he perdido…por dónde queda el patriarcado" which could be translated as "I'm lost... where's the patriarchy again?" referring clearly to trans activist claim that it's not them who uphold patriarchal norms, but rather the feminists who oppose them.
In February 2021, Spanish news reported about the appearance of a puppet hanging from a tree, with its face made to resemble female politician, author, and vice president [[Wikipedia:Carmen Calvo|Carmen Calvo]] of the Socialist Workers' Party.<ref name=elcomun-calvo/>  Calvo had come under fire from trans activists for her opposition to a proposed [[gender self-identification]] law.  The puppet was hanging from a tree in Plaza 8 de Marzo in Santiago de Compostela, with a sign hanging from its neck saying "Me he perdido…por dónde queda el patriarcado" which could be translated as "I'm lost... where's the patriarchy again?" referring clearly to trans activist claim that it's not them who uphold patriarchal norms, but rather the feminists who oppose them.


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=== Physical assault at Speakers' Corner, London ===
=== Physical assault at Speakers' Corner, London ===


In September 2017, Maria MacLachlan was physically [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_d3ozhSE-U assaulted] by a transgender activist. 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. At 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 September 2017, Maria MacLachlan was physically assaulted by a transgender activist.
 
Initially, 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 then decided to meet at Speakers' Corner, before going to the newly chosen meeting place, which was not announced to protect it from harassment.
 
[[File:Tara-Flik-Wood-threat.webp|thumb|right|300px|Wolf going by the name "Tara Flik Wood" on social media, posting intent to assault prior to the event]]
 
At Speakers' Corner, the women 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.  The whole sequence of events was [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_d3ozhSE-U caught on camera] thanks others at the place also filming what was going on.  MacLachlan's camera was broken and the memory card stolen.
 
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/>
 
<gallery caption="Images" widths=300px heights=175px>
File:Tara-Flik-Wood-attack.png | A frame from the video documenting the assault
File:Tara-Flik-Wood-supporters.jpg | Some of Wolf's supporters outside court
File:MacLachlan-supporters.jpg | For contrast, MacLachlan's supporters
</gallery>


=== Verbal abuse and other harassment against Prof. Rosa Freedman ===
=== Verbal abuse and other harassment against Prof. Rosa Freedman ===
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=== Trans activist Dana Rivers commits triple homicide ===
=== Trans activist Dana Rivers commits triple homicide ===


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 [[Wikipedia: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 2018, transgender activist Dana Rivers was on trial for triple murder.<ref name=rivers/>  The victims were a lesbian couple and their 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 [[Wikipedia: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/>


=== Trans activist lashes at Julie Bindel after speech ===
=== Trans activist lashes at Julie Bindel after speech ===