So you have been called a Transphobe.
Maybe even a TERF! Hot words have been exchanged.
It's easy to get defensive, dig in, camp up and not take any shit from these "woke idiots" on the internet.
Yeah you could do that.
Mind you, you could also have a read and try to understand some of what they are trying to tell you. Here is a reading list of links to help you digest all this new information outside of an angry twitter thread. They range across the scientific and cultural, to news pieces, politicla statements, and informational statistics.
No one can make you read these, no one can force you to develop your understanding of the world around you, only you can take the step to being a person capable of educating themselves and changing their opinion based on new information. I truly hope you are able to do this and begin your journey to better understanding this whole trans thing.
It's worth noting as well that the arguments your transphobic friends and sources present usually utilise are laden with scientific reductionism and pseudo scientific jibberish. This reminds me very much of climate change denialism, these links are often presented as an obvious truth and are used to make you feel like a victim, a defender of the obvious against a self indulgent enemy who is trying to make you change everything you know to be true. The right wing call this "Cultural Marxism", the left wing tend to call it "the PC Brigade" or "IdPol". Tho woefully inaccurate in their usage these terms are often used as a "dog whistle" for horrendous bigotry, racism and misogyny.
Subsequently when you've shared a seemingly righteous link defending women from predatory men or something, someone has got pissed off at you, cussed you out and spewed out all that angry rage which you've been warned about so much.
The thing is, whether wittingly or not, when you share those articles you are finding on Mumsnet or whatnot you are contributing to a hostile environment which very literally kills people. Overwhelming it kills women, and of them, women from the black and minority ethnic communities are over represented.
This series of links is a counter to that, the vast majority are from peer reviewed publications and institutions. If you believe in science, you have to come to terms with the reality that some of the things you have "always known" are false and that our understanding of the world around is ever developing. It is here to provide you with a easily accessable source of information to cleanse that rot from your head. A tool to educate yourself with and hopefully return to being a person who uses their political voice for compassion and solidarity. ■
Peter Ó Maille
- This is a living document and is subject to change and addition, feel free to suggest new links -
- This list is partially based on a version I was sent as a email, I assume it is online and would appreciate a link to it -
TO BE ADDED
Expansive list of studied and data
https://twitter.com/DadTrans/status/1533890784663154690
Canadian census
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220427/dq220427b-eng.htm
Summary of the above https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/06/08/trans-non-binary-census-data-canada-uk-stonewall-nancy-kelley/
SCIENTIFIC LINKS
Erin Reed
New Randomized Trial Shows Trans Care Lowers Suicidality
www.erininthemorning.com/p/new-randomized-trial-shows-trans
The European Professional Association for Transgender Health (EPATH)
Inside Matters. On Law, Ethics and Religion / Book of Abstracts
www.epath.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Boof-of-abstracts-EPATH2019.pdf
NCBI
Factors Leading to “Detransition” Among Transgender and Gender Diverse People in the United States: A Mixed-Methods Analysis
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8213007/
American Academy of Pediatrics
Gender Identiity 5 Years After Social Transition
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/150/2/e2021056082/186992/Gender-Identity-5-Years-After-Social-Transition
American Psychological Association (APA)
Answers to Your Questions About Transgender People, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression
www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/transgender
AP News
Sciences Says: Sex and Gender Aren't the Same
www.apnews.com/2a67da6515aa48e68e56cd97817b097a?fbclid=IwAR2p8Bltq7AvzCzA4W5bAocyBFs5VGrRdqLXW3JdSP6_mTu79pITGlKU6HU
Discover Magazine
Skeletal Studies Show Sex, Like Gender, Exists Along A Spectrum
https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/skeletal-studies-show-sex-like-gender-exists-along-a-spectrum
Disrupting Dinner Parties
Take the Red Pill: The Truth Behind the Biology of Sex
www.disruptingdinnerparties.com/2014/09/29/take-the-red-pill-sex-determination
European Society of Endocrinology
Transgender Brains Are More Like Their Desired Gender From An Early Age
www.ese-hormones.org/publications/press-releases/transgender-brains-are-more-like-their-desired-gender-from-an-early-age/
Study: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2014.00060/full)
Harvard University
Between the (Gender) Lines: The Science of Transgender Identity
www.sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2016/gender-lines-science-transgender-identity
Intersex Society of North America
How common is intersex?
www.isna.org/faq/frequency
What is Intersex?
www.isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
Suicide and Suicidal Behavior Among Transgender Persons
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5178031/
National Geographic
How Science is Helping Us Understand Gender
www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/how-science-helps-us-understand-gender-identity
Nature
Sex Redefined
www.nature.com/news/sex-redefined-1.16943
NY Times
Anatomy Does Not Determine Gender, Experts Say
www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/health/transgender-trump-biology.html
Scientific American
Evidence Undermines ‘Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria’ Claims
www.scientificamerican.com/article/evidence-undermines-rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-claims/
Beyond XX and XY: The Extraordinary Complexity of Sex Determination
www.scientificamerican.com/article/beyond-xx-and-xy-the-extraordinary-complexity-of-sex-determination
Stop Using Phony Science to Justify Transphobia
www.blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/stop-using-phony-science-to-justify-transphobia
The New Science of Sex and Gender
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-new-science-of-sex-and-gender
Where Transgender is No Longer a Diagnosis
www.scientificamerican.com/article/where-transgender-is-no-longer-a-diagnosis
Trans Girls Belong on Girls' Sports Teams
www.scientificamerican.com/article/trans-girls-belong-on-girls-sports-teams
Springer
Blossoming Child, Mourning Parent: A Qualitative Study of Trans Children and Their Parents Navigating Transition
www.link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-021-02178-w
UCLA
Challenging Gender Identity: Biologists Say Gender Expands Across A Spectrum, Rather Than Simply Boy And Girl
www.socgen.ucla.edu/2015/03/01/challenging-gender-identity-biologists-say-gender-expands-across-a-spectrum-rather-than-simply-boy-and-girl
WESTERN LIBRARIES
Katie L. Kirkland (Arizona State Univercity)
Feminist Aims and a Trans-Inclusive Definition of “Woman”
https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/fpq/article/download/7313/5961/
World Health Organization (WHO)
Gender and Genetics
www.who.int/genomics/gender/en
Genetic Components of Sex and Gender
www.who.int/genomics/gender/en/index1.html
Medline Plus Encyclopedia
Intersex
www.medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001669.ht
TRANS RESOURCES:
Transgender Action Block
Transgender Healthcare: A Guide for GPs
https://cryptpad.fr/drive/#/2/drive/view/lCHbuXqvNnkhitIC0ROvCn64iTNW1xOAFWzC8ypHyrs/
TRANSPHOBIA ANALYSIS
Ada Blockadia
Mapping the transphobia/far-right Twitter nexus
https://medium.com/@AdaBlockadia/mapping-the-transphobia-far-right-twitter-nexus-bf613d9385cc
CULTURAL LINKS:
Organise
Fix Your Hearts or Die
organisemagazine.org.uk/2023/03/07/fix-your-hearts-or-die-opinion/
Transphobia is a Class Issue.
https://organisemagazine.org.uk/2018/09/09/%EF%BB%BFtransphobia-is-a-class-issue/
Aljazeera
‘Mahu’ demonstrate Hawaii’s shifting attitudes toward LGBT life
www.america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/1/9/mahu-hawaii-gender-LGBT-acceptance.html
Androgyneity
Sex And Gender Are Actually The Same Thing (but bear with me…)
www.androgyneity.wordpress.com/2015/12/19/sex-and-gender-are-actually-the-same-thing-but-bear-with-me
Battered Womens Support Service (BWSS)
Transmisogyny 101: What It Is and What Can We Do About It
www.bwss.org/transmisogyny-101-what-it-is-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/
Buyu Afrika
The Ashtime of Ethiopia
www.buyuafrika.wordpress.com/2019/04/29/the-ashtime-of-ethiopia/amp
Culture Trip
A Brief History of Thailand's Transgender Community
www.theculturetrip.com/asia/thailand/articles/a-brief-history-of-thailands-transgender-community
Fa'afafines: The Third Gender in Samoa
www.theculturetrip.com/pacific/samoa/articles/fa-afafines-the-third-gender
Life Outside the Binary: Meet Mexico’s Muxe Community Celebrating Genderqueerness
www.theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/a-brief-history-of-muxe-mexicos-third-gender/
Eli Erlick
Coloring The Past (Eli colorizes, restores, and digitizes photos from queer and trans history)
www.elierlick.com/color.html
The Guardian
Early men and women were equal, say scientists
www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/14/early-men-women-equal-scientists
In the Philippines they think about gender differently. We could too
www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/03/in-the-philippines-they-think-about-gender-differently-we-could-too
Nature and sex redefined – we have never been binary
www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2015/feb/19/nature-sex-redefined-we-have-never-been-binary
Indian Country Today
Two Spirits, One Heart, Five Genders
www.newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/api/amp/indiancountrytoday/archive/two-spirits-one-heart-five-genders-9UH_xnbfVEWQHWkjNn0rQQ
Jewniverse
The 8 Genders of the Talmud
www.jta.org/jewniverse/2015/the-6-genders-of-the-talmud
Medium
Adam Keawe Manalo-Camp
Māhū Resistance: Challenging Colonial Structures of Power and Gender
www.medium.com/@adamkeawe/m%C4%81h%C5%AB-resistance-challenging-colonial-structures-of-power-and-gender-6f0c1e96cded
Men's Health
Annie Hayes
The Truth About Trans Athletes
https://www.menshealth.com/uk/fitness/a26798247/trans-athletes-sporting-performance/
Brian Whitaker
Transgender Issues in the Middle East
www.medium.com/@Brian_Whit/transgender-issues-in-the-middle-east-9f40d0559afa
Mallory Moore
How Many Trans Kids Should There Be?
www.chican3ry.medium.com/how-many-trans-kids-should-there-be-2aeead72651d
Refinery29
I’m A Butch Woman & Feel Unsafe In Women’s Toilets Because Of Transphobes
www.refinery29.com/en-gb/bathroom-transphobia-butch-women
The Nib
Gender Isn’t Binary, and Neither is Anatomy
www.thenib.com/gender-isn-t-binary-and-neither-is-anatomy
The Singapore LGBT encyclopaedia Wiki
Gender in Bugis society
www.the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.wikia.org/wiki/Gender_in_Bugis_society
The Transadvocate
Fact check: study shows transition makes trans people suicidal
www.transadvocate.com/fact-check-study-shows-transition-makes-trans-people-suicidal_n_15483.htm
Transgender Action Block
Post Is A Fascist
https://posieisafascist.com/
Well.com
The Third Gender in Ancient Egypt
www.people.well.com/user/aquarius/egypt.htm
Wikipedia
Ardhanarishvara
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardhanarishvara
Hermaphroditus
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermaphroditus
List of of murdered transgender people
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unlawfully_killed_transgender_people
Planned Parenthood
Trans Men need abortions too
www.miplannedparenthood.org/post/trans-men-need-abortions-too
ANARCHIST LINKS:
Organise! Magazine
Transphobia is a Class Issue
https://organisemagazine.org.uk/2018/09/09/%ef%bb%bftransphobia-is-a-class-issue/
RESOURCES GENERAL
Remembering Our Dead - https://tdor.translivesmatter.info/
A supporting resource for anyone involved in Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) events which keeps a record of those who have passed.
VIDEOS
ABC
You Can't Ask That: Intersex people answer 'What is Intersex?'
https://youtu.be/lFre9a0wEPE
ASAP Science
The Science of Being Transgender
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MitqjSYtwrQ
BBC
Things Not To Say To A Non-Binary Person
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b4MZjMVgdk
Trans 101
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0gz6OLCPng
Chase
Trans 101: Ep 1 - What is Transgender?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRH0pwENbx8&list=PL7SgbxvTR7N5-jYeT2Coj99qnRQTIArKP
Fox and Owl
So, I've got a CERVIX
www.youtube.com/user/tigersnack
Minus18
Trans 101 - The Basics
www.youtu.be/-3ZzpTxjgRw?t=61
What Are Pronouns?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xpvricekxU
My Gendereration
Trans AND: Charlie Martin
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKGtQeNohu8&list=PLbeZBtR_FvDEMWqIxqeuX9U8WvUGtBj9e&index=2
Riley J. Dennis
How to talk about trans people
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ErLPd-7zVc
TEDx (Lyndsay Muir)
Tea with Trans: What's on (and off) the menu.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6CPVn9q3ao
TEDx (Rachel Lucas)
Why You Can Pee Next To Me
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmZpFy1QUww
DEBUNKING LINKS
Gemma Stone
80–95% of trans women keep their genitals
www.medium.com/@notCursedE/80-95-of-trans-women-keep-their-genitals-37f2270cde85
REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE
Allure
Trans and Nonbinary People Get Abortions Too (Caitlin Van Horn)
www.allure.com/story/abortion-gender-neutral-language-transgender-men-nonbinary
Why I Didn’t Tell My Doctor I’m Trans Before My Abortion (Kam Burns)
www.allure.com/story/abortion-trans-man-nonbinary-experience
Rewire News Group
For Trans Men Seeking Reproductive Health Care, ‘There Are Barriers Every Step of the Way’
www.rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2019/07/03/trans-men-reproductive-health-care/
National Organization Women
Transgender healthcare & reproductive justice
www.now.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Transgender-Healthcare.pdf
Positive Womens Network
Trans-Centered Reproductive Justice Factsheet
www.pwn-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCRJ-Factsheet-1.pdf
National Center For Transgender Equality
Transgender Sexual and Reproductive Health: Unmet Needs and Barriers to Care
www.transequality.org/issues/resources/transgender-sexual-and-reproductive-health-unmet-needs-and-barriers-to-care
National Women's Law Center
If You Really Care About Reproductive Justice, You Should Care About Transgender Rights!
https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/rj_and_transgender_fact_sheet.pdf
William & Mary Law School
The Right to (Trans) Parent: A Reproductive Justice Approach to Reproductive Rights, Fertility, and Family-Building Issues Facing Reproductive Rights, Fertility, and Family-Building Issues Facing Transgender PeopleTransgender People (Laura Nixon)
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1370&context=wmjowl
Harpers Bazaar
Black Trans Women Have Always Been Integral in the Fight for Women’s Rights (Ashlee Marie Preston)
www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a35746428/black-trans-women-fight-for-womens-rights/
Medium
Reproductive Justice for Trans and Non-binary People is About More Than Language (Melz)
https://medium.com/@melzowusu/reproductive-justice-for-trans-and-non-binary-people-is-about-more-than-language-83cc784c477e
The Gayley Prophet
What’s wrong with what JKR said? A resource guide for allies and accomplices:
Addressing The Claims In JK Rowling’s Justification For Transphobia, by Katy Montgomerie for Medium
TinyURL.com/TGPAlly1
A Letter to J.K. Rowling From A Young Transgender Person Who’s Sick of Her Shit, by Hayden Moon for Junkee
TinyURL.com/TGPAlly2
J.K. Rowling Triples Down on Transphobia, by Claire Lampen for The Cut
TinyURL.com/TGPAlly5
JK Rowling’s ‘TERF Wars’ YouTube video by Jammidodger
TinyURL.com/TGPAlly6
ADDITIONALS
Freedom Means Can Rather Than Should: What the Harper’s Open Letter Gets Wrong, by Gabrielle Bellot for Lit Hub
TinyURL.com/TGPAlly3
Twitter thread breaking down the issues in the Harper’s letter, by @spiantado
TinyURL.com/TGPAlly4
Transgender hate crimes recorded by police go up 81%
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48756370?fbclid=IwAR3sFY3LFRpRbsyycMBu8ikTzNkO4rq7YKFlj_zidXjJUdynXs4Lr8rVSBs
https://massivesci.com/articles/sex-gender-intersex-transgender-identity-discrimination-title-ix/
https://dallasvoice.com/say-their-names-trans-women-murdered-in-2019/
Why Sex Is Not Binary
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/opinion/sex-biology-binary.html
I hate social media.
I really do, I think it's an insidious poison that has fragmented our communities.
However, there is no point longing after the days of telephone trees, weekly meetings and mates from Bristol popping into social centre to share a joint and write up something about the ZAD before heading down the pub.
Let's be clear about this. Tear gas is a weapon of terror which is used to intimidate and disperse. It is neither a “none lethal” nor “less lethal” option.
Riot medicine is the practice of medicine in an adversarial environment. It exists outside of formal and State sanctioned medical services. Practitioners of riot medicine go by many names but at the end of the day, their goals are the same. They take to the streets as part of the diverse system of mutual aid that allows individuals to engage in protest.
Here in the Anarchist Federation we sometimes joke that the revolution is 60% admin. Although some of the most beautiful examples of resistance have occurred ad- hoc and “of the moment”, you can sure that for almost every on going campaign, network and social movement there is a wave of meetings and bureaucracy that can be extremely daunting! Whether it’s the Paris Commune or The Free Territory there was no doubt, someone sat up all hours, drinking way too much wine, trying to compile the minutes from the last assembly.
This article is a call to action to protect and defend the trans community.
There is no space for neutrality.
We strongly suggest you listen to G.L.O.S.S. when reading this article.
If you have any trans or gender non-conforming friends, you may have already heard about binding. But what is it and how do you do it safely? Binding, put simply, is the act of compressing your chest with material to achieve a flatter form, with the intention of appearing more androgynous or masculine. It is […]