We are a group of detransitioned and re-identified women who have been doing grassroots organizing since 2013.
We oppose collusion with the right-wing. We do not consent to our stories being co-opted by an anti-LGBT and anti-woman agenda.
Some Reasons Why it Matters
Feminists in the Crosshairs - Not Just "Reaching Across the Aisle"
"We may think we are engaged on a single-issue basis with these groups, especially when they appropriate secular, even feminist language, but we are also in their crosshairs. The fact that they've shifted their attention, for the moment, to trans-women should fool nobody. Gender identity is a wedge issue against the whole package of what is known, in terms of international law, as 'SOGI - sexual orientation and gender identity - and against everything represented by the left, including anti-racism and feminism."
- "Women and the Religious Right" by Jayne Egerton |
LGBT Rights
"While we believe it protects the well-being of all patients for negligent medical providers to be held accountable, any relationship formed with [far-right organizations] assists them in their agenda of eroding the autonomy of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-identified and gender non-conforming youth [and adults] by legitimizing conversion therapy based on Christian fundamentalism."
- Statement adapted from "Detransitioned Women Resist the ADF" website |
We Speak for Ourselves Better Than They Can
"You may have seen detransition as a topic in the news. Distorted and sensationalized, our existence as detransitioned women is either presented as the ultimate tragedy or decried as a conservative myth, depending on what political agenda needs furthering that day. ... Being treated as ideologically inconvenient aberrations who are mistaken about the meaning of our experiences by liberal allies is not comparable to the incredibly well-funded, ongoing attacks on our basic civil rights (as women and, for many of us, as lesbians) by conservatives."
- Detransition: Beyond Before and After by Max Robinson |
D I D Y O U K N O WThe right-wing plays the long game by misusing detrans stories and having a fisheye focus on LGBT issues. Their end goals are not about "saving the children."
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What does "detransition" mean?
Detransitioned women have stopped transitioning, no longer identify as trans, and are reconciled with the reality of having a female body. Detransition does not have to include any attempts to change one's clothing choice, hair, behavior, or other things perceived as gender-markers, nor does it necessarily include plastic surgery or electrolysis to "reverse" the steps taken during medicalized transition. Many of us no longer understand gender in terms of "identity," but in terms of patriarchally-imposed sex-roles.
What does "RE-Identified" Mean?
Historically, our community has used the terms "re-identified" or "reconciled" to talk about women who have not taken steps to transition but had previously identified as trans and later left that identity. "Desisted" also means something along the lines of ceasing to identify as trans, with or without a history of transition.
Why Should I care?
The right-wing does not have your, or our, best interests in mind. We assume you arrived at this page because you care about women and girls. If you care about women and girls, you shouldn’t be arming their enemies.
Do you mean i should isolate myself in a liberal bubble and never speak to my conservative relatives?
No. When we say "colluding with the right-wing," we mean teaming up conservative organizations, celebrities, or legislators.
But I care about women's Sports!
So do we! But guess who really doesn't? Groups like Independent Women's Forum (originally formed as an ad hoc group in support of justice Clarence Thomas against allegations of sexual harassment) since its inception has been anti-Title IX being used to expand women's sports. They had the position that Title IX "artificially manufactured female interest in sports." Now their current slogan in regards to Title IX is "Protect Women's Sports"? Does this slogan indicate fighting for equal resources, equal media coverage, and equal pay for women in sports? What about penalties around pregnancy, unhealthy weight expectations, or supporting the inclusion of more women as coaches? No, the sole focus for organizations under this banner seems to be on trans women. The right-wing uses women's sports as a wedge issue. #NotYourPoliticalFootball
But I care about the health and Safety of Children!
Many of us were pediatric or teenage transitioners ourselves. No one is more concerned about the medical ethics of these interventions on children than we are. However, we do not trust the intentions nor support the political goals of right-wing organizations who have taken this up as their cause -- nor do we condone their disastrous strategies.
Does the right-wing take the same interest in child marriage, or cosmetic surgeries on teenage girls? What about access to safe abortions for teenage girls? What about the health impacts of rolling back child labor laws? How many minors are affected by these issues, as opposed to youth transition? If these groups want to save the children, why the fisheye focus on this one issue?
Does the right-wing take the same interest in child marriage, or cosmetic surgeries on teenage girls? What about access to safe abortions for teenage girls? What about the health impacts of rolling back child labor laws? How many minors are affected by these issues, as opposed to youth transition? If these groups want to save the children, why the fisheye focus on this one issue?
Liberal organizations and News outLets don't care. We don't have a choice!
Feminists have never enjoyed broad acceptance from male-dominated political organizations on any end of the spectrum, nor news outlets. The feminist response has always been to build our own or to act in creative ways that demand coverage. If you are putting out a message that is easily digestible and acceptable to male-dominated organizations and media, you can bet that it is not advancing a feminist agenda. If Tucker Carlson likes it, or Matt Walsh is advertising it, it's not going to liberate women or advance our interests.
Header image credit: Wikimedia Commons
"Did You Know" background image credit: Image by GarryKillian on Freepik