Friendly reminder that I believe in transandrophobia / transmascphobia / treiphobia
Meaning I believe transmascs experience oppression specifically for being transmasc
I legitimately don’t understand how that’s a controversial take but I just saw yet another “if you believe in transandrophobia you deserve to die” post so :|
literally none of that exists. transandrophobia is a term coined by a man who fantasizes about raping lesbians and trans women. all those terms are transmisogynistic in nature because they were created by butthurt transmisogynistic transmascs who believe in misandry. there is literally 0 use for the term as there is nothing that affects transmascs but not transfems/other trans people, it is literally just an attempt to steal from trans women’s specific terminology. but transmisogyny has a reason to exist as it is the intersection between transphobia and misogyny. misandry however does not exist and androphobia is the legit fear of men that people who have been abused/traumatized by men experience. and thats not even getting into all the details on how fucking rotten the transandrophobia community is. theres a reason why no one can stand u lmao
literally shut the fuck up and eat shit
woah thats pretty transmascphobic of u :/ what do u have against trans men speaking their minds??? huhh??
good to see youre exactly the kind of garbage person i was talking about
yeah im such a garbage man who thinks raping women and being a misogynist is bad :((( thats sooo evil and unmasculine of me
hiii sorry to barge in but there are things that effect transmascs specifically, particularly in healthcare a la being forced to detransition in the event of pregnancy, but that is not transmisandry because it isn’t an intersection of transphobia and misandry (bc misandry isn’t a thing, these things don’t happen specifically because we are men but rather specifically because we are trans men). everything else from loewsvillage tracks i think, we should not be using terminology coined by someone who publicly fantasizes about assaulting women especially when that terminology refers to an intersection of an oppression that does not exist (misandry)
Once again transandrophobia is not supposed to be “an intersection of transphobia and misandry”
exactly, misandry doesn’t exist, the oppression transmascs face is just transphobia because its happening because we’re trans, not because we’re men
transmascs face a combination of transphobia and misogyny that is different from transmisogyny. one of the words coined for that is transandrophobia. trans men are actually oppressed for living as their true gender, which is to say, being men.
“i dont want this on my blog anymore. anyhow. did you just say transmascs experience misogyny (ie oppression for being women)… also, transmascs experience oppression for being their true gender, but so do all trans people. thats literally what transphobia is. what is the reason behind relying on a term made by a horrible person to distance yourself from other trans people having the same sorts of experiences as you?? i seriously dont get it”
I need you to understand that experiencing misogyny =/= being a woman, and whether you experience a type of oppression is much more dependent on how bigots perceive you than your actual identity.
Friendly reminder that I believe in transandrophobia / transmascphobia / treiphobia
Meaning I believe transmascs experience oppression specifically for being transmasc
I legitimately don’t understand how that’s a controversial take but I just saw yet another “if you believe in transandrophobia you deserve to die” post so :|
literally none of that exists. transandrophobia is a term coined by a man who fantasizes about raping lesbians and trans women. all those terms are transmisogynistic in nature because they were created by butthurt transmisogynistic transmascs who believe in misandry. there is literally 0 use for the term as there is nothing that affects transmascs but not transfems/other trans people, it is literally just an attempt to steal from trans women’s specific terminology. but transmisogyny has a reason to exist as it is the intersection between transphobia and misogyny. misandry however does not exist and androphobia is the legit fear of men that people who have been abused/traumatized by men experience. and thats not even getting into all the details on how fucking rotten the transandrophobia community is. theres a reason why no one can stand u lmao
literally shut the fuck up and eat shit
woah thats pretty transmascphobic of u :/ what do u have against trans men speaking their minds??? huhh??
good to see youre exactly the kind of garbage person i was talking about
yeah im such a garbage man who thinks raping women and being a misogynist is bad :((( thats sooo evil and unmasculine of me
hiii sorry to barge in but there are things that effect transmascs specifically, particularly in healthcare a la being forced to detransition in the event of pregnancy, but that is not transmisandry because it isn’t an intersection of transphobia and misandry (bc misandry isn’t a thing, these things don’t happen specifically because we are men but rather specifically because we are trans men). everything else from loewsvillage tracks i think, we should not be using terminology coined by someone who publicly fantasizes about assaulting women especially when that terminology refers to an intersection of an oppression that does not exist (misandry)
Once again transandrophobia is not supposed to be “an intersection of transphobia and misandry”
exactly, misandry doesn’t exist, the oppression transmascs face is just transphobia because its happening because we’re trans, not because we’re men
transmascs face a combination of transphobia and misogyny that is different from transmisogyny. one of the words coined for that is transandrophobia. trans men are actually oppressed for living as their true gender, which is to say, being men.
Friendly reminder that I believe in transandrophobia / transmascphobia / treiphobia
Meaning I believe transmascs experience oppression specifically for being transmasc
I legitimately don’t understand how that’s a controversial take but I just saw yet another “if you believe in transandrophobia you deserve to die” post so :|
literally none of that exists. transandrophobia is a term coined by a man who fantasizes about raping lesbians and trans women. all those terms are transmisogynistic in nature because they were created by butthurt transmisogynistic transmascs who believe in misandry. there is literally 0 use for the term as there is nothing that affects transmascs but not transfems/other trans people, it is literally just an attempt to steal from trans women’s specific terminology. but transmisogyny has a reason to exist as it is the intersection between transphobia and misogyny. misandry however does not exist and androphobia is the legit fear of men that people who have been abused/traumatized by men experience. and thats not even getting into all the details on how fucking rotten the transandrophobia community is. theres a reason why no one can stand u lmao
literally shut the fuck up and eat shit
woah thats pretty transmascphobic of u :/ what do u have against trans men speaking their minds??? huhh??
hi there! it’s very telling that you’re white. how about you actually listen to trans men of color? because it’s very clear that you’ve probably never spoken to a single man of color, yes including the cis ones, in your life, if you think that all masculinity goes without oppression.
now, im white as well so i wont get into the specifics. instead, consider reading these posts by transmascs of color about being a transmasc of color so maybe next time you will think before opening your pathetic little mouth <3
also you do understand men get shit for doing masculinity wrong? like femme gay men? and all trans men inherently are doing masculinity “wrong” by being trans and not cis men
Friendly reminder that I believe in transandrophobia / transmascphobia / treiphobia
Meaning I believe transmascs experience oppression specifically for being transmasc
I legitimately don’t understand how that’s a controversial take but I just saw yet another “if you believe in transandrophobia you deserve to die” post so :|
literally none of that exists. transandrophobia is a term coined by a man who fantasizes about raping lesbians and trans women. all those terms are transmisogynistic in nature because they were created by butthurt transmisogynistic transmascs who believe in misandry. there is literally 0 use for the term as there is nothing that affects transmascs but not transfems/other trans people, it is literally just an attempt to steal from trans women’s specific terminology. but transmisogyny has a reason to exist as it is the intersection between transphobia and misogyny. misandry however does not exist and androphobia is the legit fear of men that people who have been abused/traumatized by men experience. and thats not even getting into all the details on how fucking rotten the transandrophobia community is. theres a reason why no one can stand u lmao
literally shut the fuck up and eat shit
woah thats pretty transmascphobic of u :/ what do u have against trans men speaking their minds??? huhh??
hi there! it’s very telling that you’re white. how about you actually listen to trans men of color? because it’s very clear that you’ve probably never spoken to a single man of color, yes including the cis ones, in your life, if you think that all masculinity goes without oppression.
now, im white as well so i wont get into the specifics. instead, consider reading these posts by transmascs of color about being a transmasc of color so maybe next time you will think before opening your pathetic little mouth <3
you truly are stupid beyond help huh. trans and cis moc face racism not misandry u fucking dumb piece of shit. go back to the MRA subreddit you came from
you heard it here first folks, caring about the oppression of men of color is the same as being an MRA
Friendly reminder that I believe in transandrophobia / transmascphobia / treiphobia
Meaning I believe transmascs experience oppression specifically for being transmasc
I legitimately don’t understand how that’s a controversial take but I just saw yet another “if you believe in transandrophobia you deserve to die” post so :|
literally none of that exists. transandrophobia is a term coined by a man who fantasizes about raping lesbians and trans women. all those terms are transmisogynistic in nature because they were created by butthurt transmisogynistic transmascs who believe in misandry. there is literally 0 use for the term as there is nothing that affects transmascs but not transfems/other trans people, it is literally just an attempt to steal from trans women’s specific terminology. but transmisogyny has a reason to exist as it is the intersection between transphobia and misogyny. misandry however does not exist and androphobia is the legit fear of men that people who have been abused/traumatized by men experience. and thats not even getting into all the details on how fucking rotten the transandrophobia community is. theres a reason why no one can stand u lmao
literally shut the fuck up and eat shit
woah thats pretty transmascphobic of u :/ what do u have against trans men speaking their minds??? huhh??
hi there! it’s very telling that you’re white. how about you actually listen to trans men of color? because it’s very clear that you’ve probably never spoken to a single man of color, yes including the cis ones, in your life, if you think that all masculinity goes without oppression.
now, im white as well so i wont get into the specifics. instead, consider reading these posts by transmascs of color about being a transmasc of color so maybe next time you will think before opening your pathetic little mouth <3
Y'all hate transmascs. And you say it with your entire fucking chest. Thanks a bunch for being “trans siblings” and all that. Fuck trans unity, right?
I saw this response from one of my (former) mutuals and i was just aghast. How is it “male privilege apologia” to acknowledge that trans men are the ones who, like, deal with medical transphobia and fucking die because we’re denied gynelogical healthcare?
Not once did he insinuate let alone say that hypervisibility was a privilege or that trans women were responsible for transmasc invisibility and erasure.
Why are people so incredibly eager to find a reason to hate transmascs, for fuck’s sake…
They really fully genuinely and BLATANTLY misread his entire fucking thread, didn’t they? Shoved those words RIGHT into his mouth so they could get angry at him for what????
“We don’t have to defer to you on issues that directly affect you and your own bodies. As a matter of fact WE are the victims because you expect to have a seat at the table :)”
These folks really just dont get how disgusting they sound do they?
a few things to keep in mind as you talk about the current situation with roe v wade:
women are not the only people who can get pregnant, and therefore are not the only people who get abortions or the only people affected by restrictions to abortion access — sincerely, a man with a uterus
the recent legislation against trans people transitioning, particularly as it relates to trans men and transmasc people, has been justified by the politicians supporting it using the argument that transitioning jeopardizes our reproductive potential, which they see as more important than our actual lives. if you support the legislation against us or have been silent about it, you cannot claim to be fighting for reproductive rights. you don’t get to only care about it when it affects you — if you let them get away with that rhetoric against trans people, you give them the power to use it against you. if you can’t stand in solidarity with us, you will end up standing against yourself
please don’t forget us in these conversations, and don’t be silent about the attacks on our bodily autonomy
all of this is connected — criminalizing transition, overturning roe v wade, it’s all working toward the same goal. if you care about one part of it, you have to care about all of it, or any efforts against it willfail
if you don’t care enough about us to fight our oppression for our sake, do it because you cannot fight against your own oppression without fighting ours too
“Transmascs are pressured to be feminine” “transmascs are pressured to be masculine” two things can be true at the same time.
From a young age, we are pressured to be feminine, because ultimately we are pressured to be women. Society does not want us to be masculine because it wants us to be feminine women, which is what is expected of all AFAB people.
Once we come out as transmasc, we are still pressured to be feminine because people still want us to be cis women. Our identities are not respected and people want us to fit into the binary as feminine women. That is why gender-conforming transmascs are pressured to stop being masculine.
For people who accept that we are not women, but still uphold a system of binary gender roles and transphobia, the only way they will accept we are not women is if we denounce femininity in every way. The only way they will accept that an AFAB person could be anything but a women is if that person is the antithesis of everything society perceives women to be. That is why GNC transmascs are pressured to start being masculine.
TL:DR; transmascs are pressured to be feminine, AND transmascs are pressured to be masculine. BOTH are true.
heard someone say “people act like cis people have a monopoly on gender” and that’s exactly what it is that makes people so adverse to transandrophobia. They consider cis people the definers of gendered oppression- men oppress women, there you go, case closed. and this works to an extent when talking about transmisogyny, sure. But you can’t be that lazy forever, you have to acknowledge the deeper systems at play, why exactly it is that *cis* men oppress cis *and* trans women, how they are similar and different and why. If you can’t do that, you are leaving out a lot of people in your activism who don’t neatly map to the expectations of womanhood.
When it comes to transandrophobia, cis men do not define manhood alone. as trans men and transmasculine people we have our own experiences. It’s frankly lazy to just say “men oppress women” and move on with your day. It’s lazy, damaging, and hurtful. Do better, listen to transmasculine people. We are not out to get anybody, we are literally just trying to keep our head above water while we keep getting pushed down.
NYT phallo article disclosed info about trans bucket leading to a huge influx of white nationalist traffic resulting in the creator(s) of trans bucket deciding to take the site down until further notice.
I’ll post about it more tomorrow
I’m literally still so upset with this. But here’s what happened:
For context, the New York Times recently published an article about a trans man named Ben’s phalloplasty journey with ALT phallo under Dr. Rachel Bluebond-Langer & Zhao. The article was written by a non-binary theythem author that is presumably not seeking phallo.
Here is what the article did well: Gave in-depth descriptions of phalloplasty, scrotoplasty, urethroplasty, and glansplasty; discussed the history of phalloplasty starting with Lawrence Dillon Francis (the first trans man to get phallo); mentioned the customizable nature of phalloplasty
Now here’s what the article did WRONG:
in a time of rising transphobic violence and especially transphobic legislature restricting access to transgender biomedical care, the article went out of its way to describe phalloplasty as a half-baked dangerous procedure with “high complication rates” (what do complications mean exactly) that is essentially only worthwhile if you would rather die that not get this surgery.
The language around post op penises was often callous and disrespectful.
The article named specific inter community resources (Transbucket, phallo Facebook groups) as well as naming surgeons outside of Ben’s specific practitioner. TRANSBUCKET had to be taken down as a result of a huge influx of white nationalist web traffic with no restoration date in site.
The article even quoted RBL saying basically “well phalloplasty uniquely kinda sucks and in other contexts we wouldn’t accept such complication rates but it’s for transgenders so whatever”. Which, what the fuck kind of attitude is that for a popular surgeon??? Fuck all the ppl who have had phallo with you I guess.
Made the correct assertion that the small patient sample Pool makes it difficult to come to consensus on overall all best practices. BUT did go into any description whatsoever about the extensive research being done by surgeons around the world to improve safety. (Assuming there even is a One True Best Practice). Basically didnt discuss at all how various surgeons /researchers are actively trying (and succeeding) in optimizing their methods
Glossed over the fact that phallo has like a 96/97% satisfaction
Gave a really graphic description of urethroplasty for shock value (“slicing open the underside of the penis”) without mentioning that this technique is unique to Dr RBL’s ALT urethroplasty only.
& the biggest thing: DID NOT EVEN DISCUSS THE INSANE BARRIERS TO ACCESS!!!!! Getting phallo is an unfortunately expensive, time consuming, and heavily involved surgery from prepping for surgery to recovering from surgery and beyond. Somehow this was actively ignored instead choosing to briefly mention “more demand = more new inexperienced surgeons” (who are trained by the very experienced surgeons btw)
HOW the FUCK are you, as a non-binary journalist & trans contributor/subject going to back handedly dunk on phallo the entire article IN THIS CURRENT CLIMATE and also COMPLETELY IGNORE HOW DIFFICULT PHALLO ACCESS CAN BE. Trans ppl across the US are having their rights restricted for medical transition, RvW is eroding people right to privacy & bodily autonomy yet the focus was “uhhhh phalloplasty kinda shitty but I guess if you’d rather die it’s worth it”.
Are you fucking kidding???? The same climate that the UK bottom surgery crisis left phalloplasty patients without care for nearly 2 years & effectively pushed back the over 5 year waitlist for the single (1) phallo team for the entire region?
The same time many states are actively putting forward legislature that makes biomedical transition increasing illegal for minors and potentially even ADULTS????
What the fuck is wrong with the both of you????? How as a non-binary/trans journalist could you even for a second think this was ok?????? I literally hope they rot in hell.
This is just your regular free-of-charge reminder that when people argue that transandrophobia does not exist, or that its not important enough to talk about, they are explicitly saying they don’t care about sexual assault victims or victims of suicide (among other things).
Addressing these issues means talking about them, and we need a word for what this is in order to do that.
This is what “transandrophobia” is for. This is why we need that word.
It’s not about hurting or blaming trans women, it’s not about saying cis men are oppressed for being men or that cis women aren’t, it’s not a “white issue” or an “MRA” thing- and the people who argue that it is, and that we shouldn’t have the word because it is, are distracting from the real issues. They are taking attention away from, ignoring, and erasing those issues. They not only do not care about them- they want you not to care, too.
They want to remove the language we need in order to talk about these problems. They want us to stop taking about them. They want these problems to continue happening.
There’s a wild amount of misinformation about the term “transandrophobia” going around, and has been for a long time. So let’s dig in a bit and set the record straight.
What it is
“Transandrophobia” was coined as an alternative to “transmisandry”, and describes the unique oppression targeted at and faced by transmasculine folks (and people perceived to be transmasculine).
Transmascs experience oppression not just on the basis of being trans, or (typically) AFAB, and certainly not on the basis of being men alone. What we experience is unique to being transmasculine, and the way cissexist society categorizes and responds to us: not as women, not as men, but as an “other” that lies between the two.
Transmascs are generally placed in one of two categories: confused “girls” they believe can be saved, and evil, dangerous “other” they believe are beyond saving. There’s a ton of overlap in these two categories, both in what they experience, and in the fact that oftentimes the two are experienced simultaneously; even in the same situation.
A quick, incomplete list of how these things can manifest:
Infantilization (“soft”, “little”)
Removal of autonomy
Stereotyping as “whiny”, “hysterical”, or “entitled”.
“Butch flight” or “ROGD” - the idea that transmascs are stealing butch lesbians.
Pressuring transmascs to be more feminine/womanly, either through overt force, or through subtler manipulation.
The desire to “make transmascs women” via sexual assault (corrective rape).
The idea that testosterone causes aggression; emotional, physical, and sexual- therefore transition is dangerous, and transmascs who transition are dangerous.
Fearmongering around transmasc transitions; “binders can never be safe”, “vaginal atrophy is untreatable”, “you’ll get fat/ugly/acne/sweaty/oily/smelly”, “phalloplasty is too dangerous/expensive/unsatisfying to be worth it”, etc.
Medical professionals dissuading transmascs from transitioning; stressing risks that can in actuality be mitigated easily, nitpicking family history without presenting options, etc.
The idea that transmascs only become trans to “escape misogyny” or to “gain male privilege”.
Erasure of transmasc experiences, esp. experiences with misogyny and transphobia.
Lack of resources for transmascs in need of reproductive healthcare on the basis of “male” gender markers, names, voices, and appearances.
Why We Call it That
“Transandrophobia” can be broken down in two ways:
“Trans” + “androphobia” = the “trans version” of “androphobia”, a fear of men or social bigotry toward men.
“Trans-andro” + “phobia” = a social bigotry directly specifically at trans men/transmascs.
The second is the more common interpretation and usage, largely because the first can be interpreted, by some, to mean that those using the word are suggesting that it’s actually (cis) women who oppress (cis) men, that we don’t believe patriarchy exists, etc. This, of course, has never been the intention of the word.
The first break-down above could also be interpreted to refer to patriarchy’s negative stereotyping of men- as aggressive, dangerous, and sexually predatory.
While that doesn’t translate to systemic oppression of cis men, those same feelings- a general disgust and fear toward the concept of manhood- do inform how society responds to transmascs. As a group of people who are oppressed on the basis of being transmasculine, those feelings do play a role in transmasc oppression.
What it Isn’t
“Transandrophobia” is not an attack on, or accusation toward, any other group of people.
The word does not imply that trans women oppress trans men, that transmascs have it worse than anyone else, that transfems are horrible bigots, that transfem issues do not deserve the attention they receive (or, ideally, far more attention than they currently receive).
It does not imply that cis misandry exists, that “MRAs were right”, that patriarchy and misogyny aren’t real, or that feminism isn’t necessary.
It does not signal bigotry toward other groups. Whatever your personal opinion of the word, of who uses it, or of who coined it, the word is a word and it stands alone from those things. It belongs to the transmasculine community.
It does not demand anyone pay any less attention to other important issues. It does not accuse other trans people of oppressing us. It does not dismiss the existence of patriarchy or structural oppression of women. It does not belong to any one individual.
Why We Need it
There are real, tangible issues within the transmasc community- things that are unique to transmascs- and those things happen because of a unique bigotry toward transmasculinity.
In order to address those problems, we have to be able to talk about what they are and why they happen.
In order to talk about that, we need a word for what it is. “Transandrophobia” is that word.
Don’t get me wrong: the word might change at some point, and that’s fine. If the transmasc community as a whole decides that we would like a new word, and creates one together that suits those new needs, that’s fine. But as of now, this is the most common, recognizable, easy-to-understand word we have.
“Transandrophobia” belongs to the transmasc community, and it’s up to transmascs to define, interpret, create or remove associations, revise, and replace, as it sees fit.
What You Can Do
If you’re transmasc:
Talk about your experiences. Connect with other transmascs. Join transmasc community spaces, create new ones, and maintain a positive, productive, and inclusive culture within those spaces. Uplift transmascs with different experiences from you.
Be an ally to other trans people, to people of color, to disabled people, and to other marginalized groups. Do not allow resentment toward the trans community- any part of it, and especially toward transfems- to fester in any space you inhabit.
If you’re not:
Listen to transmascs. Seek transmascs out to listen to. Uplift transmasc voices. Learn. Ask questions, even if they’re scary, and be ready to be surprised by the answers.
Think for yourself. Own your opinions, and own where they’re coming from; don’t blame them on other trans people. Acknowledge your limitations in experience. Know that you don’t need to understand in order to respect us. Try to understand anyway.
@/maleprivilegehaver is propably a terf who tries to pass as an anti- terf non binary person. Be very careful guys, he is posting on the transandrophobia tag
it really enrages me to see people claming they are pro-intersectionality while in reality they are just using an additive approach of identities/social positions when they aren’t using the unitary model.
Nooo. intersectionality is not adding disvataged/privileged idetities where the social effects of each identities are separated from one another. This is just a spread misconception of what intersectionality is.
What characterize intersectionality is the mutually co-constitutive nature of multiple aspects of identity meaning for example being a trans man, these two identities can’t be separated from each’s others. The experience of being a man is conditioned by being trans and being trans is conditioned by being a man. It’s mutually co-constitutive, it can’t be divided.
From an intersectional point of view the concept transandrophobia is valid.
Experience also means disadvantages and from an intersectional approach there are going to be disadvantages specifically for being a trans man (and not for just being trans or just being a man)in a cishetpatrical (etc etc) context.
•They could identify as a cis man, but view their sexuality as lesbian due to being intersex.
•They could be multigender and identify as both a cis man and another identity that’s more commonly associated with lesbianism.
•They could have a complicated relationship to their gender due to being disabled or a POC.
•They could be in a system that has some alters that are cis men and some alters that are lesbians.
→ A cisgender man attracted exclusively to men isn’t necessary gay he can be a lesbian if he experiece lesbian attraction,, no matter if this attraction is only directed to men and still consider himself 100% cis man.
Lesbian attraction:it’s when you experiece a romantic/sexual attraction to someone that is lesbian. You feel ‘lesbianity’. Lesbian attraction works like a gender, but not regarding to gender identity but regarding to sexual/romantic attraction.
i love angry rude mean spiteful trans men. i love trans men who aren’t afraid to yell and make a scene and take up space. i love trans men who have no interest in being the good nice non-threatening men-lite that so many people want us to be. i love trans men who unapologetically want to see every single person who treats us like shit pay for it. i love trans men who got told they were “joining the enemy” one too many times and decided to embrace it. i love trans men who are entirely unconcerned with what anyone else thinks of them. i love trans men who just laugh when people talk about how horrible and evil they must be. i love trans men who couldn’t give less of a shit about respectability. i love trans men who don’t shy away from rage.
we have every reason to be so fucking angry and we deserve that anger. it is ours and no one can take it away from us, no matter how many people might try to. trans anger is so powerful and we have just as much of a right to it as anyone else; we don’t have to defang ourselves just because “men scary”. i love us, let’s be pissed off and a little bit evil together
There’s a wild amount of misinformation about the term “transandrophobia” going around, and has been for a long time. So let’s dig in a bit and set the record straight.
What it is
“Transandrophobia” was coined as an alternative to “transmisandry”, and describes the unique oppression targeted at and faced by transmasculine folks (and people perceived to be transmasculine).
Transmascs experience oppression not just on the basis of being trans, or (typically) AFAB, and certainly not on the basis of being men alone. What we experience is unique to being transmasculine, and the way cissexist society categorizes and responds to us: not as women, not as men, but as an “other” that lies between the two.
Transmascs are generally placed in one of two categories: confused “girls” they believe can be saved, and evil, dangerous “other” they believe are beyond saving. There’s a ton of overlap in these two categories, both in what they experience, and in the fact that oftentimes the two are experienced simultaneously; even in the same situation.
A quick, incomplete list of how these things can manifest:
Infantilization (“soft”, “little”)
Removal of autonomy
Stereotyping as “whiny”, “hysterical”, or “entitled”.
“Butch flight” or “ROGD” - the idea that transmascs are stealing butch lesbians.
Pressuring transmascs to be more feminine/womanly, either through overt force, or through subtler manipulation.
The desire to “make transmascs women” via sexual assault (corrective rape).
The idea that testosterone causes aggression; emotional, physical, and sexual- therefore transition is dangerous, and transmascs who transition are dangerous.
Fearmongering around transmasc transitions; “binders can never be safe”, “vaginal atrophy is untreatable”, “you’ll get fat/ugly/acne/sweaty/oily/smelly”, “phalloplasty is too dangerous/expensive/unsatisfying to be worth it”, etc.
Medical professionals dissuading transmascs from transitioning; stressing risks that can in actuality be mitigated easily, nitpicking family history without presenting options, etc.
The idea that transmascs only become trans to “escape misogyny” or to “gain male privilege”.
Erasure of transmasc experiences, esp. experiences with misogyny and transphobia.
Lack of resources for transmascs in need of reproductive healthcare on the basis of “male” gender markers, names, voices, and appearances.
Why We Call it That
“Transandrophobia” can be broken down in two ways:
“Trans” + “androphobia” = the “trans version” of “androphobia”, a fear of men or social bigotry toward men.
“Trans-andro” + “phobia” = a social bigotry directly specifically at trans men/transmascs.
The second is the more common interpretation and usage, largely because the first can be interpreted, by some, to mean that those using the word are suggesting that it’s actually (cis) women who oppress (cis) men, that we don’t believe patriarchy exists, etc. This, of course, has never been the intention of the word.
The first break-down above could also be interpreted to refer to patriarchy’s negative stereotyping of men- as aggressive, dangerous, and sexually predatory.
While that doesn’t translate to systemic oppression of cis men, those same feelings- a general disgust and fear toward the concept of manhood- do inform how society responds to transmascs. As a group of people who are oppressed on the basis of being transmasculine, those feelings do play a role in transmasc oppression.
What it Isn’t
“Transandrophobia” is not an attack on, or accusation toward, any other group of people.
The word does not imply that trans women oppress trans men, that transmascs have it worse than anyone else, that transfems are horrible bigots, that transfem issues do not deserve the attention they receive (or, ideally, far more attention than they currently receive).
It does not imply that cis misandry exists, that “MRAs were right”, that patriarchy and misogyny aren’t real, or that feminism isn’t necessary.
It does not signal bigotry toward other groups. Whatever your personal opinion of the word, of who uses it, or of who coined it, the word is a word and it stands alone from those things. It belongs to the transmasculine community.
It does not demand anyone pay any less attention to other important issues. It does not accuse other trans people of oppressing us. It does not dismiss the existence of patriarchy or structural oppression of women. It does not belong to any one individual.
Why We Need it
There are real, tangible issues within the transmasc community- things that are unique to transmascs- and those things happen because of a unique bigotry toward transmasculinity.
In order to address those problems, we have to be able to talk about what they are and why they happen.
In order to talk about that, we need a word for what it is. “Transandrophobia” is that word.
Don’t get me wrong: the word might change at some point, and that’s fine. If the transmasc community as a whole decides that we would like a new word, and creates one together that suits those new needs, that’s fine. But as of now, this is the most common, recognizable, easy-to-understand word we have.
“Transandrophobia” belongs to the transmasc community, and it’s up to transmascs to define, interpret, create or remove associations, revise, and replace, as it sees fit.
What You Can Do
If you’re transmasc:
Talk about your experiences. Connect with other transmascs. Join transmasc community spaces, create new ones, and maintain a positive, productive, and inclusive culture within those spaces. Uplift transmascs with different experiences from you.
Be an ally to other trans people, to people of color, to disabled people, and to other marginalized groups. Do not allow resentment toward the trans community- any part of it, and especially toward transfems- to fester in any space you inhabit.
If you’re not:
Listen to transmascs. Seek transmascs out to listen to. Uplift transmasc voices. Learn. Ask questions, even if they’re scary, and be ready to be surprised by the answers.
Think for yourself. Own your opinions, and own where they’re coming from; don’t blame them on other trans people. Acknowledge your limitations in experience. Know that you don’t need to understand in order to respect us. Try to understand anyway.
So I wanted to put this together not because anyone needs to see all of this stuff, or read every word here, but because I think compiling these kinds of posts is useful when we’re talking about transmasc issues in the community.
There is, frankly, way too much for anyone to go through and dissect here. It’s exhausting, and it stressed me out just trying to find the posts to make this. I’m not going to go through everything here and point out why it’s all wrong. I don’t have that kind of time.
What I’m saying is that there is a problem.
Not that the problem is worse than anyone else’s, not that it’s the only problem, not that nobody else has problems on par with or even worse than this.
But there is a problem.
Transmascs are made to feel unwelcome- intentionally or not. There is dwindling space, there is less and less room for our voices. Less support for our perspectives. Less compassion for our experiences.
There is a hostility growing, an assumption that trans men are inherently violent people- are the oppressor. That we must be stopped, that we must be kept out of the community, that our oppression doesn’t matter or worse, doesn’t exist.
I lay this out for you because I want it to be clear why I and others are trying to build space for a healthier community for transmasculine folks; spaces that support and validate them, that are compassionate, trusting, and understanding (without allowing room for misogyny or transmisogyny). I want it to be very clear why I make the posts that I do, why I think it’s so important to change the broader understanding of transmasculine struggles and transphobic oppression.
I’m exhausted after compiling this. A lot of these posts are recent; this year, or within the last few. Some of them are older. Some of them are from my own inbox, or comments off my posts- and I left many of the posts I found out, too, prioritizing the ones that make sense without the surrounding context and the ones that contain their entire message, stated, and easy to understand. These posts are from other trans men, trans women, nonbinary people- from within our own community.
I just want folks to understand that this is something that exists, that people believe, and that can and does permeate spaces in ways we might not see right away. This is important. This matters. This isn’t okay.
[ID: A compilation transphobic and trans-androphobic posts that read as follows:
1. A post titled “Notes about trans men”. It is a bulleted list that reads:
trans men and trans women have almost nothing in common as classes (so stop talking about ‘the trans community/umbrella/whatever’ as if it exists in a meaningful way)
trans men have systemic power that they can and do leverage against women, including cis women, regardless of the status or type of their transition (it’s always okay to call them out for their misogyny, and you don’t have to specificy that you’re talking about cis men unless you’re actually only talking about cis men)
trans men may not reclaim the slur “tranny” because it’s a transmisogynistic slur that is rarely used against them (and, when it is, it’s because of their proximity to trans women)
boys are icky
The last bullet point is highlighted in yellow.
2. A post titled “Trans men are men even when that’s not a positive statement”. The body of the post reads, “(it’s never a positive statement)”.
3. A post that reads, “Finally, a trans political situation where some trans dude’s unresolved aggressive masculinity issues can shine (bonus points to this guy’s name being Logan”
4. Post titled “PSA”. Its OP states, “Support boys. Support bi boys. Support gay boys. Support pansexual boys. Support ace boys. Support aro boys. Support trans boys. Support all boys.”
Another user (username and icon redacted) commented, “No [kissing emoji] boys don’t need support, they need to get over themselves. Support girls. Support bi girls. Support gay girls. Support bi girls. Support trans girls. Support all girls. Fuck boys. What do you need support in? Upholding the patriarchy? Lmao.”
That is not a typo. Support of pan, ace, and aro girls was removed in place of repeating “support bi girls”.
5. A non-bulleted list that reads, “Men are disgusting / This applies to cis men / this applies to trans men / both are men / both benefit from misogyny / both are disgusting.”
6. An ask that reads, “There’s a post going around about how misdirected misogyny cancels out male privilege and I spoke against it and now a bunch of whiny trans guys are reblogging it with shitty commentary and just. oh my god. how do u deal with this. I don’t know how to tell them they have male privilege”.
7. A typed alignment chart that reads:
lawful good: trans women
neutral good: nonbinary people
chaotic good: lesbians
lawful neutral: bi women
true neutral: aromantics
chaotic neutral: asexuals
lawful evil: gay men
neutral evil: bi men
chaotic evil: trans men
The post is tagged #fixed it
8. Post that reads, “If you think that cis men are scum but trans men are okay, are you saying that trans men aren’t real men? That’s pretty shitty, SJW’s.”
9. A post that reads as follows:
Masculinity is the same construct whether displayed by trans men or cis men. Masculinity is a privileged position in white supremacist capitalist heteropatriarchy. Trans men occupy that position whether they acknowledge it or not.
Common expressions of masculinity include ignoring women’s boundaries, enacting physical violence against women, and policing womanhood in other people.
Trans men asserting what they think womanhood is doesn’t fall under that “masculinity” umbrella by coincidence. To listen to their assetions as nonwomen about what womanhood is, is just as dangerous as letting cis men tell you what women are and what women are like.
Trans men deciding they belong in women’s spaces doesn’t fall under that “masculinity” umbrella either.
Trans men being masculine and hurting women is not a coincidence. It is a systematic oppressive framework.
10. A post which reads, “Trans girls: soft and to be cherished / trans boys: a grotto of discomfort”
11. Post that reads, “trans men: just as shitty as cis men but more accepted than you will ever be in women’s spaces!”
12. Post that reads “shrimp dicks and truscum please remove yourself from online and forward into the trash”. The trans-androphobic slur “shrimp dicks” is highlighted in yellow.
13. Post that reads “Valid: Women!!! Trans Women!!! Nonbinary women!!! Any other person who is not on the binary spectrum, was born as a woman, and still acknowledges that they are a woman!!! / Not Valid: Cis Men!!! Trans Men!!! (especially you) Nonbinary Men!!! Any other person not on the binary spectrum, is biologically male, and still identifies as biologically male. / Men are scum xoxo !” It is then followed by a big smiley emoticon.
14. Post that reads “(The half of the trans population that doesn’t have to worry about physical abuse is trans men, in case you were wondering, lol)”
15. A post by autobaeddelphile (baeddel is a fringe anti-trans man/transmasc term) that reads “The idea of a ‘trans community’ is hella fucking toxic in that it allows for trans men to feel entitled to resources and spaces by and for trans women”
16. Post reading, “There is no such thing as cis privilege. I do not - and should not have any reason to - treat trans men and cis men as being separate classes that oppress trans women. While cis men may be cis, everyone not classed as women benefits from patriarchy. Cis women also oppress trans women along a cis/trans axis. But let’s expand this out a little.
“What do we say when we say ‘cis privilege’? It means that we are saying that both cis women and men have privilege over trans women and men. However, this doesn’t make any sense - it’s been well documented in many discussions that trans men exercise significant privilege over cis women. A better understanding of the “transphobia” dynamic is more accurately described under a “transmisogyny” framework.”
17. Post reading “Trans men who fail to acknowledge that TWEF’s harm trans women and protect trans men are complicit in the continued oppression of trans women.”
18. A post where an OP writes, “We’re a minority who’s oppressed as fuck but because we’re men it’s OK to say you hate us all”. A response reads, ‘oppressed as fuck’ literally where, honey. Both usernames and icons have been redacted.
19. a text post that reads as follows:
Trans person: hi I’m trans
The Cis™: OMG Yaaaas Queen Slay [what appears to be a waving hand emoji]
Trans person: I’m actually a tans boy
The Cis™: I am [blushing/shocked emoji] so sorrey!! he trans boi sweet innocent flower prince [leaf emoji] uwu must protec at all cost [two sparkle emojis] u adorable pupper [either a fox emoji or a dog] here is a flower crown ur so smol!!! [sun emoji] u can do no harm [sunflower emoji] I love u sweet precious babby [swirling star emoji]
Trans person: what…the fuck
A redacted user replies “Trans men really out here thinking they’re oppressed because cis people find them non-threatening.”
As a PSA for people unfamiliar, the spelling B-O-I was originally intended to be an inclusive term for male-aligned/masc-aligned trans people who liked the term. It is mostly used now to denote a non-man/to “softly” misgender trans men as men-lite.
20. Post reading, “There is no specific struggle of a trans man. If you think there is, typically a trans woman has faced it, and much worse at that, so really only transmisogyny is a thing, since they DO have issues we will never face.”
21. Post reading “Trans men were socialized as men, and as such they benefit from misogyny rather than suffer from it. Men are not oppressed by misogyny. Women are.”
End ID.]
I’m sorry, but I can’t transcribe any more of the images. I tried. Hell, I’ve tried for months, actually. I’ve been working on this post for months on and off, trying to image describe everything, cleaning up the grammar, adding notes for clarity. Fuck, I even managed to finish it up this afternoon. And then the page reloaded. I hadn’t saved. I lost approximately 13 post descriptions.
I can’t physically finish this description. The contents of this compilation, as I’m sure is prominent in the amount that I did manage to describe, is filled with violence, vitriol, misgendering, belittling, erasing of oppression, speaking over, infantilizing, villianizing, mockery, and general hatred. Every time I pick up this post to work on the descriptions, it triggers my anxiety and depression so aggressively that, often times, I dissociate after. I’m sorry. I can’t finish them. If anyone wants to finish what I’ve started, I finished the first three slides.
I’m sure it doesn’t need pointing out how much gender essentialism is present in these posts. The lack of intersectional politics. If we keep going on like this, talking about each other like this, pushing each other out of our spaces and cannibalizing our communities and tearing each other to shreds, there will only be pieces left for transphobes to easily sweep up and throw out like so much trash.
It is in all of our best interests to listen to each other with sympathy, boost each other’s voices, and uplift each other where we can. We are stronger united.
finishing off this image description. sigh, here we go.
[ID: Compilation of transphobic and transandrophobic posts continues.
22. Post entitled “We need to take back the trans community from trans men”. It reads:
Trans men don’t belong in our safe spaces. I don’t want men in spaces which were created for trans women. It’s not safe.
Trans men haven’t done anything for trans rights, trans women have been at the forefront of trans and queer right movements throughout history, while trans men have done nothing for us.
Trans men almost always pass and don’t need a safe space. They’re men. Men [clap emoji] do [clap emoji] not [clap emoji] need [clap emoji] safe [clap emoji] spaces [clap emoji]
Trans women shouldn’t need to make room for men. End of discussion.
23. Post that reads as follows:
Trans men are men. Which is why they don’t have a space in feminism, unless they are uplifting the voices of women.
Stop bringing up trans men, when you should be acknowledging trans women and our issues.
What do trans men have to deal with? Not transmisogyny, not gay bashing. They’ve got their easy to purchase binders and packers (because of course, they can’t feel like a man without a penis. Of course they want to define manhood with a cock.)
Trans women need your help, we’re the ones dying. We’re the ones facing actual oppression.
24. Post which reads as follows:
The combination of trans men’s male positioning in society, combined with the widespread lie that they understand women, leads to a unique and sinister type of misogyny.
Trans men, as men, are taken more seriously than women. When they purport to be experts on women’s lives, they will often be listened to even more than cis women are. This position of their objectivity occurs regardless of whether they explicitly claim it or not. That is to say, trans men are respected and listened to about women’s experience more than women are, even when they parrot feminist theory about “listening to women.”
25: A post where OP writes “When trans dudes lament that they don’t appear trans enough, a part of me understands - I, too, sometimes wish people didn’t read me as a faggy cis dude. The other part is screaming: dude shut up, you have no fucking idea.”
A reply (possibly by the OP themself, but uncertain as both names are blacked out) reads “I kind of wish other trans men would like…. not talk about their “issues” to literally everyone because 1. people don’t want to hear it, for good reason, and 2. they’re not issues.“
[i can reclaim the f slur so did type it out in the first response]
26. A post in which OP asks, “Actual question, do trans men have to deal with anti-trans cis gay men in the same manner that trans women have to deal with transphobic radfem lesbians and TERF lesbians?” A replier, whose name is blacked out, says “Trans men don’t have to deal with shit, lol.”
27. Post entitled “Trans men are disgusting”. It reads as follows:
They’re literally all just out there performing masculinity. You all can claim that you are “taking back masculinity” and “reshaping” it to a “positive”. But you can’t do that. Only women can take back masculinity.
Only women have been hurt by masculinity enough to reshape. Only women can truly understand the harm that masculinity causes.
There can never be a “positive masculinity” that is performed by a man. All male masculinity is toxic.
28. Post which reads as follows:
Trans women’s stated reasons for going into porn: “so I can eat food and sleep in a bed”
Trans men’s stated reasons for going into porn: “I think it’s hot lol”
29. Post which reads “go figure that trans men would feel “safer” at a women’s college, any man would feel safe in a space where he has violent coercive power over every single person there”
30. An anonymous Tumblr ask, dated September 9th 2020, 12:56.59pm. It reads “when you say trans men don’t oppress cis women, do you mean cishet women? or do you mean trans men don’t inherently oppress cis women? because trans men can certainly oppress cis bi women and cis lesbians”
31. Post in which OP (whose name is blacked out) says “mainstream trans discourse is pretty centred around telling trans women we’re men.” They appear to reply to themself (name is again blacked out), saying “like, all this “sex and gender are two different things”, “gender is an infinite cornucopia of aesthetics”, “self identified woman”, “some men have vaginas” crap is entirely about excluding trans women and putting us in harm’s way, to be murdered or w/ever for the sake of trans men’s attempts to gain access to womens spaces”
32. A reblog in which the poster’s name is blacked out. It reads as follows:
a sampling of the trans men i have met IN PERSON: kail, aiden, aiden, jaden, caiden, skyler, lance, duncan, elliot, ren, rhee, kai, kye, em, elijah, clyde, clove, aleksandr, sebastian
there is nothing immoral about having an uncommon name, but the trans male drive for hyperindividuality seems to reveal a deeper truth of y'all’s lives - that, especially in “queer” and “feminist” spaces, you often have a vested interest in sticking out (something that is not generally advisable or accessible for trans womyn).
that really undermines the concept of a universally experienced “”“transphobia”“"doesn’t it? it’s almost like we don’t have anything meaningful in common, isn’t it?
33. A post in which OP, whose name is blacked out, reads as follows:
“Hwuhhh bwuhhh Tumblr is so mean to the poor trans menz”
It’s probably because we’re collectively sick of ur shit tbh
A replier, whose name is also blacked out, says:
“nobody respects us” buddy you never earned that respect in the first place
34. Post which reads as follows:
blow-back transmisogyny, or, why cafab trans people don’t suffer “transphobia” because transphobia doesn’t exist.
this post is for trans women and camab trans people only
transphobia is only properly understood, if it is a ‘thing’ at all, as spillover damage from cultural transmisogyny and misogyny.
this isn’t even really a idea we aren’t already used to: most people (myself included) don’t deny that patriarchy has negative consequences for some men. it imposes structure and forces it violently on men - but at the same time it gives them a great deal more freedom, and power. but those consequences don’t equate to oppression in-and-of-themselves without any further patriarchal influence on them.
there isn’t really a specific term for that (as far as i am aware). it’s a consequence, a reaction, a repercussion, a by-product. we don’t call it manphobia, and “misandry” is a shibboleth for a ridiculous impossibility believed in by only the most self-obsessed.
and so most of the structural barriers that exist for trans men (medical gatekeeping, state refusal to acknowledge gender, denial of other social services like housing or employment protections) were specifically designed with the thought of barring trans women from accessing them. the fact that they also negatively impact men is by definition an unintended consequence or in some cases an ancillary benefit.
35. Post which reads “little known fun fact trans men have the smallest, most irrelevant, tiniest (almost no) place in the lgbt community”
36. A post titled “THE ISSUES OF TRANSMEN”. It is a bulleted list which reads:
The question of whether to pee in a relatively safe bathroom or a relatively safe bathroom.
Very occasional pushback on presence in women’s spaces.
Formally barred from being mass-murdering overseas enforcers of a america’s brutal imperialist regime.
Dysphoria :’(((
Tucutes.
Lots of feelings.
Unreliable information about how much creatine can safely be ingested.
End ID.]
grammar/spelling mistakes in original post screenshots have been corrected for greater clarity.
no amount of discourse is going to make transmascs go away. no amount of discourse is going to make us stop talking about transandrophobia. we are not going to let what happened to the tumblr aspec community happen to us.
