I care because the basis of women’s oppression is and has always been their female body. To me, it feels completely wrong and like a new, “progressive” form of misogyny to deny women the language to talk about their own oppression.
The ideology behind the trans movement is logically inconsistent and inherently sexist – that “woman” is an amalgamation of sexist stereotypes, that women could somehow identify out of the violence and oppression perpetrated against them, that men could somehow identify into experiencing life just like a woman, that women who speak up are deserving of hatred, threats, losing their jobs, or violence.
This all just feels like the same old misogyny in a new package, and I’m appalled by how many women are falling for it. Men I might expect, but the women who enforce it are the most painful of all.
I have spoken up on social media and I have donated to feminist organizations. I don’t feel like I have done enough. Most of my speaking up on social media has been under the protection of anonymity, and when it hasn’t been, there was backlash. I’ve also spoken to certain people in my real life about this, and have found that most people tend to agree once I’ve explained my thoughts to them. I have been threatened and called names online.
I have been told that I am a bigot, that I am hateful, and that I need to be “educated” (I hold a doctoral degree in human biology and have never expressed hatred towards anyone identifying as trans).
These things have been said by strangers as well as a close friend. I have had my Twitter account suspended multiple times for saying things like, “Men cannot become women.” I work in a professional career, and although there have been no professional repercussions yet, I really fear professional repercussions if I were to continue to speak out.
D, feminist scientist, USA
The Gender Dissidents Survey 