romeo is crazy as a guy’s name bcuz it’s famously one of the most well known love stories between a man and a woman in history but if i were to meet a dude named romeo id probably assume he’s gay
Was doing some light reading, and came across this paper that reminded me of discourse from a few weeks back.
Anyone remember when that post was floating around about how “theyfab” was actually invented by transfems to make fun of trans men/enbies who use their AGAB as a shield to protect themselves against criticism? Basically leveraging “oh I’m just a female, I’m so innocent”, strawman bullshit?
Then others chimed in about how it actually came from 4chan as a way to mock enbies who aren’t “trans enough”?
Well, here’s an actual academic source on the issue, to shove a knife in this whole argument, as I’m sure it’ll pop up again:
…
Sure looks like the “transandrobros” were right once again
“Theyfab” is infact 4chan lingo made to shit on people “not doing trans right” and isn’t some transfem counter culture buzzword like some people claim it to be
Literally there’s something about the late Roman Republic about how all of these men were at the same time so self important about how civilised they were and so genuinely capable of political subtlety and were ultimately such complex often conflicted figures and at the same time they’re doing shit like “I don’t like this guy so I’m gonna hire a bunch of thugs to beat the shit out of him”. Which is ultimately the contrast at the very core of Roman society as a whole, a very complex and refined machine run by the blood and tears of slaves.
Especially in the view of mainstream historical reception in the Western world that often held up the idealistic self-portrayal of these men as if it was the historical truth in order to claim themselves heir and justifying their OWN atrocities (the slave owners that wrote Americas constitutions calling their own chamber the Senate and their seat the Capitol Hill and building all of these beautiful neoclassical white marble constructions are probably the most familiar example but like. The Church did it and the British Empire did it etc etc).
This whole like. Having a shiny and well-produced surface of civilization covering a cesspool of infamy and human suffering. Plato’s Republic vs Romulus’ shithole indeed.
I feel like Bilbo would teach the elves of Rivendell the concept of a mathom with the express purpose of oh so politely asking them over dinner how were the Silmarils not a mathom
Random Feanorian elf inherited by Elrond: That’s not… No.
Bilbo: Oh so they were useful?
Elf: Well. No, not exactly
Bilbo: But the owners didn’t want to throw them away.
Elf: Yeah
Bilbo: And they were in possession of several people over the course of years.
Elf: Yeah
Bilbo: That’s a mathom.
Elf: No! We loved them because were very pretty!!! And one of a kind!!! Crafted by hands more skilled than any of ours!!!
Bilbo: Yes, like my great aunt’s set of painted dishcloths
Elf, in tears: The Silmarils were not like your great aunt’s set of painted dishcloths
Bilbo: How’s The Great Mathom War as a title for a poem about the First Age?
By the way, it’s important to me that Elrond supports Bilbo’s claim and finds it quite insightful actually
“Being treated like an enemy and a traitor because we had the temerity to survive is seemingly one of the core transmasculine experiences.
…Trans men are literally dying in the closet, just to prove to you how good they are, how not-toxic and not-sexist and not-selfish they are, how committed they are to "changing womanhood from the inside,” how much they care about you and about women and about feminism – they’re dying, and they’re still trying to keep you comfortable, and you can’t be bothered to care about them for one brief second. Take that thought home, sit with it, eat with it, let it sing you to sleep. What does that tell you about who you are?“
Damn.
Let’s imagine that you’re this feminist. You know you’re not supposed to be transphobic, but you’re also enlightened enough to know that “dysphoria” is really just a social construct. How do you reconcile yourself to the idea that trans women “want to be women?” Well, you can tell yourself that they’re heroically giving up their Male Privilege. You can conclude that they are sensitive enough to side with the truly oppressed (you, the cis woman; cis women generally) and should be rewarded for it. You can feel flattered, in the way I sometimes felt flattered when my toddler told me she wanted to be “just like me” when she grew up. You can Welcome Them to Womanhood, and thrill in their gratitude and the self-esteem boost you get from being a benevolent gatekeeper.
None of this involves thinking of trans women as your equals — none of it involves thinking of trans women as women, in fact — but you can tell yourself it’s tolerant, because you’re deploying pity and condescension rather than hate and fear. However, now that you’ve gone down this road, you also have to explain why trans men “want to be men.” This is where your attempts at tolerance will fail you.
Why would someone who is “really” a woman “want to be” a man? Easy: She’s experiencing sexism, and she wants out. So do you, but you are fighting sexism the right way, by being a feminist. This other person, who claims to have “gender dysphoria,” is just trying to cut to the head of the line. They’re cheating. They’re trying to become the oppressor rather than fighting the oppression. Why would anyone be a trans man? Because they’re a bad, sexist person. That’s the only possible answer. After all: It’s not like they will literally die if they don’t transition. Right?
….damn indeed.
If you are genuinely shocked that "transandrobros” heavily agree with this article you also agree with, I highly recommend actually engaging in the discussion around anti-transmasculinity rather than assuming its all about hating trans women because someone told you so.
Literally everything in these quotes—analyzing trans men’s experiencs through an intersectional feminist lens that centers us, seeing us as a uniquely targeted group under patriarchy as opposed to “basically cis women” or “basically cis men"—is a cornerstone of transandrophobia theory. That’s why there are so many people tagging it "transandrophobia.” This is what we’ve all been talking about the whole time. Very much including the part about how this ideology also harms trans women.
so i think this interaction highlights a difference in approaches to these conversations that i have noticed very often.
transandrophobia theorists are simply trying to get our voices heard in a world that tries to completely silence and erase us. sometimes, someone who makes great points, may disagree with a part of our theory and observations.
the thing is- an article that describes the transandrophobia we face with 99 percent accuracy, and then fumbles a little bit by insisting transmascs have privilege over transfems, is by and large still very valuable to us! we do not expect perfection!
but in the same vein, because this article disagrees with a very small part of what we believe, and something pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of actual oppression… @fuck-philip-banks throws the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. because of that slight dissonance, we clearly could not possibly understand in any way what jude was actually talking about…. because she expects perfection from our theory.
and right here- this second half of her response shows a deep misunderstanding of transandrophobia theory. we do not use labels like “transandrophobia affected/exempt” BECAUSE WE AGREE THAT TRANS PEOPLE ALL SHARE THE VAST MAJORITY OF STRUGGLES.
the term transandrophobia does not describe a completely unique form of oppression that nobody else could ever relate to or experience! it describes how our oppression manifests when it targets the intersection of transness + masculinity, when aimed at trans men. which IS exactly what this article is describing.
transandrophobia theory has ALWAYS treated transfems as comrades in arms- we just ask for that sentiment to be returned, instead of claiming we have privilege or the ability to oppress them, as a justification for them to refuse to see US as their comrades in arms.
it is a ridiculous double standard to demand we stand by the sides of the ones who attack us, thinking they’re punching up at us. of course i will never punch back! i have no desire to punch anyone at all! but the ones claiming we have privilege over them will keep ignoring my outstretched hand to punch it over and over and over, and my arm is starting to hurt.
I don’t even think that the snippet is “against” any theory either, nor do I disagree with what’s being said there.
I have always- always- been in the camp that when it comes to marginalized voices I would rather listen to the person describe their own experience rather than have someone who is not them (or worse- someone who does not know them at all and is going off an assumption based on this person’s identity or presentation) describe it for them.
Ok. So he says he has less social power than most cis women and more than most trans women. Maybe that is true for him. Notice that he is describing his own experience and not trying to say that all trans men have more or less than one or the other.
I am a mostly cis passing trans man. There are times that I do have some conditional social privilege over my cis woman friends. There are times when I have that same conditional social privilege over my trans woman friends. I have often said that a woman- cis or trans doesn’t matter- living my exact life with my exact demographics otherwise would likely struggle in ways that I do not. I have also said that I struggle in ways that they would not- and who has it “worse” is incredibly subjective. The problem is that often the people who are upset at me saying this are, in fact, not living my exact life with my exact demographics, because you are rarely going to find your fraternal identity twin in life, and thus that changes the way we compare experiences and intersections.
I also think that seeking to figure out who has it worse and only letting that person speak is a bad way to go about discussing oppression, and at its heart is anti-intersectionality as intersectionality is about a balance of privilege and marginalization and how the sum of the whole changes the picture and not like. Using a weighted scale to determine who is oppressed and who you’re allowed to punch.
I also deliberately don’t get into public fights with trans women and in fact hesitated to reblog this post because it has her URL in it- but wanted to state that I don’t actually disagree with the part she pulled from the article. I don’t want people to be harassed, or to be banned, or anything like that- and tumblr is really bad about doing that to people. I actually try to avoid getting into public fights with other vulnerable bloggers for the same reason- kids, black people, trans women- because I feel they probably experience enough bullshit and don’t need anything from my followers or hangerson despite me blocking folks I actively catch doing this shit.
I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about piracy lately and in light of this i do need to say something because I’ve been seeing a lot of misinformation.
anti-viruses, vpns, ad-blockers- none of these are going to help you here.
the first thing you’re going to need is a good solid boat (preferably oak wood). you will also want some cannons and a plank depending on the sort of shenanigans you plan on getting into.
Also! Not once have i seen any of you talking about the importance of citrus fruits and vitamin C. antivirus doesn’t prevent scurvy. come on you should know this by now.
this sort of misinformation is wildly dangerous and irresponsible.
