Anti Transmasculinity - Tumblr Posts
TW: trans violence and suicides
This has been shared a few times but have you ever sorted by violence type? Have you scrolled to the suicide section? Have you seen how many children there are? How many children over all? Have you read any of their stories?
Don't push yourself into reading if you don't have the emotional capacity, it's rough. I don't understand how people can claim we aren't abused
Idk what trans man needs to hear this but you're NOT evil or disgusting for being a man. You do NOT have to suffer for the sins of the patriarchy committed by cis dudes. Being a man doesn't invalidate the misogyny you experienced growing up or experience now. Being a man doesn't mean you deserve to be isolated. Being a man doesn't mean you're inherently predatory or scary. You didn't "choose" this, and finding your true self is NOT "betraying the community" because you happen to be a man and/or masculine rather than a woman and/or feminine. You ARE allowed to be upset when people "affirm" your gender by malgendering you.
You DO deserve a community that uplifts you. You DO deserve to experience trans joy. You DO deserve to have your voices heard and your struggles recognized. Wanting the bare minimum of solidarity is NOT "making everything about trans men".
this is an extremely well written post, bravo to you my friend.
(also sweet url)
Intro to Anti-transmasculinity (ATM)
(also ft. an about me section)
Defining ATM:
Anti-transmasculinity refers to the systematic oppression of transmasculinity. âTransmasculinityâ refers to the concept of people seen as female having a masculine or manly gender or gender expression*. Other terms used for this are transandrophobia, transmisandry, and transmascphobia.
In 1963, feminist Betty Freidan described misogyny as âthe problem with no name,â illustrating how at the time, womenâs language to understand, describe and communicate their oppression was underdeveloped. Anti-transmasculinity has been, similarly, a problem with no name; transmasculine people have not had the language or framework to understand, describe, and communicate our oppression. Transmasculinity suffers from erasure, often called âinvisibilityâ. This does not protect transmasculine people from violence; it silences us to prevent us from speaking out against, or realizing, the violence done to us. It alienates us from our history, our brothers, siblings and sisters, and ourselves, by preventing transmasculinity from being seen, heard, discussed, or considered. For more posts of mine and others that help expand on the theory of anti-transmasculinity, see my #theory tag.
*This is not my definition of transmasculinity as an identity. This definition is for the form of transness targeted by transphobia, which is based around the idea of "female/woman trying to be male/a men." My definition of transmasculinity as an identity is any form of masculinity or manhood that is trans* in nature, regardless of presentation or assigned sex. I make this distinction because a GNC man assigned male could see his manhood as trans, but be targeted by transphobia based around the idea of a man trying to be a woman.
Who can be affected by ATM?:
Anyone can suffer from anti-transmasculinity, regardless of gender, sex or sexuality. Anti-transmasculine violence targets perceived transmasculinity, which means anyone perceived as transmasculine can be victimized. That is not the extent of how people are affected, though; people who perceive themselves to be transmasculine, consciously or unconsciously, or who have traits associated with transmasculinity can also be affected by witnessing anti-transmasculinity.
(TW: transphobic murder)
People who are associated with transmasculinity (such as partners, friends, and family of transmasculine people) can also be affected, not just through emotional pain but targeted for physical violence. As an example, Italian cis woman Maria Paola Gaglione was murdered by her brother to "teach her a lesson" after she got engaged to a trans man.
Who can be anti-transmasculine?:
Anyone can be anti-transmasculine, regardless of gender, sex, or sexuality. It is a systemic way of thinking that is spread throughout society and culture, and reproduces itself constantly in people's thoughts and actions.
Who benefits from anti-transmasculinity?:
In the grand scheme of things, everyone suffers from the restrictive nature of transphobia. However, in general, only cisgender, gender-conforming people systematically benefit from anti-transmasculinity. Other trans* people do not; trans* people do not systematically benefit from each otherâs oppression.
* *trans is a way of writing âtransâ that emphasizes it as a broad umbrella term inclusive of everyone who trangresses gender and sex norms
Is ATM caused by âmisandryâ?
In transunity theory, âmisandryâ is used to refer to the way that gender roles around manhood/masculinity are weaponized to harm marginalized people, (in this case) specifically trans* people; trans* people are viewed as having the worst traits of both masculinity and femininity, as well as the inherent negativity associated with androgyny. In this sense, anti-transmasculinity does involve misandry, as do anti-transfeminity* and exorsexism**. However, all of these also involve misogyny and misandrogyny***. Which one of these is more dominant varies between types of transphobia, as well as the individuals doing the violence and the ones experiencing it.
To quote this article, "Misandry [...] can never reliably be prevented from collapsing into transphobia."
*i use anti-transfemininity (ATF) as a companion to anti-transmasculinity, as an alternative to âtransmisogyny.â This is because, as I explain, my philosophy on transphobia is that all transphobias are inherently misogynistic and all trans* people experience the intersection of misogyny. Additionally, transunity theory frames transphobia as being the intersection of many forms of gendered bigotry, so using the âanti-â terms lets me talk about these transphobias without having to specify it by only one kind (like -misogyny or -androphobia)
** exorsexism refers to oppression of people who violate the gender or sex binaries; it includes intersexism, but also oppression against non-binary people.
*** misandrogyny is the hatred of/bigotry against androgyny, a companion to misogyny and misandry. âandrogynyâ here refers to anything outside the exclusive male/female binary; examples of misandrogyny are violence done when someone cannot tell someoneâs gender/sex, and the idea of nonbinary and genderqueer language as immature, annoying, and pointless, while binary language is considered mature, normal, and useful.
Evidence of ATM:
I have the tags #examples of transandrophobia and #experiences with transandrophobia; the first is posts showing transandrophobia in action, and the second is people describing the transandrophobia they have experienced or witnessed.
I also keep the Archive of Violence Against Trans*masculine People, which keeps a record of events of anti-transmasculine violence. This includes murder, rape, abuse, physical assault, harassment, and the suicides of transmasculine people. Also on this archive is a list of academic research & writing related to anti-transmasculinity; the studies provide more objective evidence of the systemic oppression transmasculine people face, and analyses which can help with understanding how anti-transmasculinity works.
You can also look at @transandrophobia-archive which collects examples of anti-transmasculine Tumblr posts.
Info on Me:
Iâm genderqueer, transsexual, and a transvestite; I am a man and a woman and neither (all of which affect each other), and identify with both transmasc, transfem, and transother. Iâm also aromantic + greysexual. My sexuality is everything everywhere all at once.
Originally this blog was just made for me to process and deal with my own internalized anti-transmasculinity, but then people liked what I wrote and now its a place where I talk about queer issues & related things I find important.
Iâm multiply disabled (both physically and mentally) and I struggle with answering asks; if I donât answer you for a while feel free to just send your ask again, I will not mind. Also feel free to ask me to explain anything in plain language if you have difficulty understanding something. I donât mind educating people or helping people find resources, as long as you are respectful and are in good faith and all that.
I am going into philosophy and sociology with a focus on religion, and run @transtheology where I collect posts on trans-affirming spirituality and religion. If you have any questions or want advice related to transness and spirituality/religion (or madness & spirituality/religion) Iâd love to help you the best I can.
If you would like to support me, hereâs my kofi
Further Resources:
""Transandrophobia" Primer" by nothorses
"As a transfem, what's your insight on the way transmascs are treated when talking about their experiences?" by cipheramnesia
"This is just your regular free-of-charge reminder that when people argue that transandrophobia does not exist, or that its not important enough to talk about, they are explicitly saying they don't care about sexual assault victims or victims of suicide (among other things)" by nothorses
"Transandrophobia Posts Masterpost- 2022" by transgentlemanluke
Pinned post with links to discussions about transandrophobia, baeddelism, and other issues by nothorses
"What is transandophobia actually?" by transmasc-pirate, with additions by doberbutts and psychoticallytrans
"Transandrophobic Fundamentals and the Intersections of Trans Masc Marginalization" by none-gender-left-man
"Hello, I apologise if you've already received questions like this, but can you explain why you would say that transmisandry/androphobia is distinct from misogyny?" by transfaguette
"I Am A Transwoman. I Am In The Closet. I Am Not Coming Out." by Jennifer Coates
This conversation between doberbutts and folly-of-alexandria
Transandrophobia Explained carrd, by myself
Transmisogyny is not the intersection of transphobia and misogyny by luckyladylily
This post on misogyny, misandry, and transandrophobia by thorne1345
"tumblr can make fun of Blizzardâs Oppression Calculator all they want, thatâs exactly how people act with discourse poisoned queer discussions" by cardentist
Invisible Men: FTMs and Homelessness in Toronto by the FTM Safer Shelter Project Research Team
On Hating Men (And Becoming One) by Noah Zazanis
There is a hidden epidemic of violence against transmasculine people by Orion Rodriguez
âIrl we just kissâ: âtransmasc vs transfemâ discourse & reactionary âboys vs girlsâ politics in trans spaces by S.L Void
Making Sense Out of the Murders of Trans Men by Mitch Kellaway
Collateral Damage: mathematical odds & the sum of survival. by S.L Void
Op-ed: Trans Men Experience Far More Violence Than Most People Assume by Loree Cook-Daniels
How the Criminalization of Testosterone Attacks Gender Variant People by Adryan Corcione
A Tale of a Trans Man in Pakistan by Ikra Javed
Not transmasc invisibility, but erasure: intricacies of transmasc invisibility, and the fallacies of strictly gendered transphobia by S.L Void
Girlboy Boygirl Blues: antitransmasculinity as a denial of individual history & more by S.L Void
The r/transandrophobia subreddit
seen a lot of Anti-Transmasc rhetoric especially the hatred for trans men for being men.
we don´t owe anyone shit but also we are just as valid in our manhood, we can celebrate the fact we are men. our love of men and our happiness connected to being men as much as we want!
fuck anyone who says otherwise! TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS.
seen a lot of Anti-Transmasc rhetoric especially the hatred for trans men for being men.
we don´t owe anyone shit but also we are just as valid in our manhood, we can celebrate the fact we are men. our love of men and our happiness connected to being men as much as we want!
fuck anyone who says otherwise! TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS.
god fucking damn i am so angry at stupid people on this stupid website. transandrophobia/anti trans masculinity is real and i am so tired of trying to explain this.
INVISIBILITY IS NOT PRIVILEGE, ITS ERASURE
WE ARE NOT ON THE SAME LEVEL AS CIS MEN
WE ARE NOT LESS OPPRESSED THAN TRANS WOMEN
full offense, some of y'all heard 'dismantle toxic masculinity' and took it as 'dismantle masculinity' and it shows.
I feel like people forget most trans guys still had to grow up as girls.
We were still forced to be mature early
We were still told to not to take up space
We were still subject to female beauty standards
Our bodies were still treated as inappropriate
We were still pitted against each other
We were still excluded from âmaleâ activities
We were still treated as lesser the boys
Those things donât evaporate once we transition theyâre fucking internalized. I constantly have to remind myself Iâm allowed to exist. We donât stop dealing with misogyny.
Idk what trans man needs to hear this but you're NOT evil or disgusting for being a man. You do NOT have to suffer for the sins of the patriarchy committed by cis dudes. Being a man doesn't invalidate the misogyny you experienced growing up or experience now. Being a man doesn't mean you deserve to be isolated. Being a man doesn't mean you're inherently predatory or scary. You didn't "choose" this, and finding your true self is NOT "betraying the community" because you happen to be a man and/or masculine rather than a woman and/or feminine. You ARE allowed to be upset when people "affirm" your gender by malgendering you.
You DO deserve a community that uplifts you. You DO deserve to experience trans joy. You DO deserve to have your voices heard and your struggles recognized. Wanting the bare minimum of solidarity is NOT "making everything about trans men".