Look, you know I love you. You know this isn’t me trying to tell you that you’re terrible forever. You know I don’t hate you for what I’m about to say.

But, well, y’all keep fucking up. And you keep fucking up in the same exact ways, even after hearing me and other trans women tell you ad nauseam exactly how you’re fucking up. And hell, you probably literally are sick of hearing it. But if you’re serious about doing right by trans women — and, if I call you friend, you are — then please listen.

(And please, don’t try to claim that it’s misogynist to specifically address cis women instead of just “cis people”. That’s BS and you know it. Cis women oppress us in certain ways that cis men do not.)

Okay, so:

I get how important it is to love your bodies, and I totally support that. I also get that it can be cathartic to attack your oppressors’ bodies. I understand where that’s coming from, totally.

But:

• As a woman with a penis, I can tell you with certainty that you would not be afforded more respect if you had a penis. In fact, you’d face even more of an uphill battle getting the jobs, recognition, etc. that you want, because every single time you did anything at all, people would just dismiss you for being a trans woman. You could fucking cure cancer, and all anyone would say in response is, “that’s a duuuuuuuuuude lol that’s disgusting”. You’d face even more misogyny, even more abuse, and even more dehumanization in general.
• The uterus and/or vagina is not the fount of all womanhood. In saying or implying that it is, you are saying that trans women are not women. And you know that’s not true.
• Trans women are women. Some trans women have penises. Ergo, some women have penises. So when you insult penises/testicles/etc. in general, you are attacking other women’s bodies. How is this pro-woman? How is it feminist? (Radscum needn’t bother replying to this, obvs.)
• Trans women’s health issues are women’s health issues. When you say you don’t care about the health of people with penises, you are necessarily saying that you don’t care about trans women’s health.

I know you know this already; it’s all pretty obvious remedial Trans 023 stuff. And yet, when I bring it up in reference to something you posted, y’all resist it in various ways, usually tearing pages from the Derailing for Dummies* playbook. Which frustrates me so much, because you know better, and I know you know better.

Yes, by all means, be proud of your vagina! And support/boost/offer education about how DFAB reproductive systems work, since society actively tries to suppress that information! And defend everyone’s right to choose tooth-and-nail! And raise holy hell about the fact that it’s easier to get Viagra than it is to get birth control! But here’s a thought: you can do all of that without degendering trans women, without shitting on our needs and our bodies, without situationally revoking our personhood when it’s convenient for your arguments.

You can. You really can. If I thought otherwise, we wouldn’t be friends.

So please, please pay more attention to what you say and what it means. This shit needs to change. So please, help change it.

—

* No, I don’t care for the title. It’s still a good (and wonderfully sarcastic) reference to the derailing tactics folks use.

Will be making a video about this soon. 

jesus fucking christ

Fuck transmisogynistic casting practices that lead to cis men playing trans women.

I rolled my eyes so hard my lens fell out. no joke.

*sigh* I understand how this can be upsetting, but here’s the thing. This movie is about the first trans person to undergo reassignment surgery. And at first I, too, was upset they didn’t get a trans actor. And Redmayne even STATES IN AN INTERVIEW THAT THERE ARE A BUNCH OF TRANS FEMALE ACTRESSES HE THINKS WOULD NAIL THE PART, but he believes the reason he was cast is because this film takes place in a time before hormones were a thing that the trans community could use, and those casting did not want to risk trans females going off hormones just for the shoot.

Breathe, guys.

wow y’all will do all kinds of of backflips to justify transmisogyny. Lili Elbe literally went on hormones and got SRS, so why can’t a trans woman play her?

you don’t think that a trans girl can play another girl pre-HRT? There aren’t any pre-HRT trans women that they could have scouted for this role? In Gun Hill Road, Harmony Santana a TRANS WOMAN plays a trans character who never even went on hormones. If that can work in one film why can’t that work in this one?

These are all excuses made to avoid casting trans women in trans women roles in the media. This isn’t just “upsetting” this is a form of violence, trans women are being shut out of roles in film, are shut out from making money in the industry, and aren’t even allowed to represent their own history. Its because this film is about a transgender pioneer that this is such an issue, fellow cis people need to sit back and let trans women speak on this issue and stop acting like we know everything. 

This is Sumaya Ysl, a TWOC friend of mine found murdered at her apartment yesterday. She was really sweet and funny, and a sex worker. She was a much loved part of Toronto’s Ballroom scene. According to the information going around, she took home a man (possibly a client) from the bar Saturday night, and was found murdered the next day. I can’t believe this is happening. I feel sick.

I literally cannot believe what I’m reading now. I cannot believe another one of us is dead and still there is no outcry for justice. There is no movement. This is where the movements for social justice for people of color, transgender people, and sex workers all intersect and we’re just going to keep on keeping on like there aren’t almost a dozen trans women dead in two months. A dozen trans women were killed in all of 2014. It is not even March. Y’all could wake up and I could be dead in a week. Rest in power, Sumaya, your execution is going to mean something.

Where is Dan Savage calling for justice? Where is the outpouring of support and tears and promises from cis allies? Where is the celebration of Ty and Lamia’s lives and dreams?

“Lamia Beard, 30, of Norfolk, Virginia loved music and travel. She sang and played the flute, oboe, piccolo, and piano. She earned a full scholarship to Bethune Cookman College. She spoke French fluently. Her favorite artist was Beyoncé. She was very close to her family and friends. In an Alternet article celebrating Beard’s life, her sister, Kiara Parker, said: “Lamia used to brag to friends that she had a family who accepted her because a lot of people in the LGBT community did not have their own family to accept them.” According to the Alternet interview, Beard and her other sister, Kendall Beard, had just gotten a manicures together the day before Beard’s death. Lamia Beard’s body was found with life-threatening gunshot wounds on the morning of Saturday, January 17th. She was transported to the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where she passed away.”

“Ty Underwood, 24, of Tyler, Texas was an assistant at a nursing home and was planning to go to school. She had recently been accepted to Kilgore College’s nursing program. Her friend, Kenya Darks, told KLTV, “She’s a fan favorite. Everybody likes Ty.” Just nine days after Beard’s murder, Underwood was found in her car, dead from three gunshot wounds, on Monday, January 26th.”

i recommend everyone read the article if possible but, these parts i think are important. we should remember these women as they lived, don’t let them become statistics

I keep noticing cis people tend to be more upset about an accusation of transphobia/cissexism/transmisogyny rather than the transphobia/cissexism/transmisogyny that hurts trans people everywhere.

Notorious TERF hate monger, Cathy Brennan has been “reaching out” to Leelah’s parents and providing support for their bigotry.

Cathy Brennan has personally outed trans youth to their schools and parents putting them in danger (among many other horrific things). Brennan runs this blog where she spews her hateful anti-trans rhetoric freely to anyone who will give her the attention she so craves.

(LINK TWs: extreme transmisogyny, anti-trans violence, ableism, racism, and more…)

Ignorant, hate-filled rhetoric like this helps prop up oppressive people and justify their behaviour in their minds.

Here is her current twitter account. (She has a tendency to create new social media accounts, blogs, etc. when she feels “threatened” by people commenting on her bigotry…. or she gets deleted due to her legit harassment of folks.)

Trans Activist Agnes Torres Murdered in Puebla

Trans activist and respected counselor Agnes Torres Hernández was found dead this past Saturday near the town of Atlixco, Puebla. Reports indicate she was tortured before being killed.

Friends and supporters gathered to mourn and pay tribute to Agnes this evening in Puebla, the state’s capital city. Earlier today, the hashtag #AgnesTorres was a trending topic on Twitter, with thousands posting messages of support for Agnes, her family, and the LGBT community.

Former colleagues of Agnes Torres are demanding a thorough investigation and calling for a special department within Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission dedicated to cases of hate crimes against lesbians, gays, and transsexuals.

¡Justicia Para Agnes Torres!