There are many things possible in the universe. If you are called a TERF it could be that the person who said it is actually a self-loathing misogynist who hates feminism and puppies. It could be that the label was unfairly or inappropriately applied. It could also be that someone used the term to point out your casual trans antagonism or unconscionable jackass bigotry. Who the hell knows? Regardless, you have been told over and over again that once… Read more.

Months after the Minneapolis Star Tribune was strongly criticized for their coverage of Cece McDonald's case, despite local trans activists' earnest attempts to work with the Star Tribune to better understand the paper's responsibility to use professional standards concerning respectful and accurate language, the Star Tribune continues to repeat many of the same mistakes.  To add injury to insult, they recently ran a full-page advertisement for the anti-LGBT hate group The Minnesota Child Protection League. The ad was placed… Read more.

I have seen various version of this phrase. "Quit attacking your allies!" - many, many times.  I've only been involved heavily in trans activism for about two years.  How and why I've become as invested as I am is a long story; but at the end of the day, I am a woman who was assigned female at birth.  I am cis.  So, it's odd that this statement has been directed at me, but it often has.  It's also something… Read more.

At first, I wasn’t going to write a response piece to Caroline Criado-Perez (CCP) article concerning the term “cis”, because many of her ideas were similar to those in Sarah Ditum’s post I recently responded to. Then I realized those similarities should be pointed out. There are patterns emerging where otherwise respected feminists are injecting thinly veiled transmisogynist bigotry within self-congratulatory “bravery” narratives, as well as, patronizing pro-trans-sounding platitudes.  So, when trans activists respond to their seemingly conciliatory knives-in-the-back… Read more.

In late November of last year, Secular Woman began a petition asking the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to list Cathy Brennan's Gender Identity Watch as a hate group. In January, during the SPLC's internal discussions concerning their yearly hate group list, Cathy Brennan made public her donations to the SPLC on her facebook page. And the SPLC accepted her donation. When asked about the donations, the Gender Identity Watch twitter account claimed that Cathy Brennan routinely donated money… Read more.

If you’re of my generation and grew up in the U.S., you’ll remember the movie “Kindergarten Cop” where a gruff police officer goes undercover as a Kindergarten teacher.  At one point, one of his students raises his hand and blurts out “Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina”.  At the time, publicly discussing genital anatomy, much less discussing genital anatomy with other people’s children, was incredibly taboo.  So, the audience recognized the awkwardness of the situation and found it… Read more.

The Observer recently featured a photograph of a tourist casually sexually assaulting a trans feminine performer by slipping his hand under her dress and squeezing her breast while posing for a picture. The photo was featured as one of the best photographs commissioned by the Observer. The same photograph was published in December of 2013 and focused on the increase in Chinese travelers to Pattaya, Thailand due to the recent changes in travel restrictions. This photograph, as well as a second… Read more.