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TERF: Difference between revisions
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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/> | 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. | |||
File: | |||
=== Real-life vandalism, harassment, and assaults === | === 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> | <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 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_d3ozhSE-U | ||
</youtube> | </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 Speaker's Corner, before going to the newly chosen meeting place, which was not announced to protect it from harassment. In Speaker's 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, 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 Speaker's Corner, before going to the newly chosen meeting place, which was not announced to protect it from harassment. In Speaker's 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/> | ||
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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/> | 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="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 == | == Analysis of the term == | ||