I've recently got interested about feminists currents, I'm currently reading The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir.

Could you recommend me some books? Since I'm european, I'd prefer european authors.

The more immersed into radical feminism I become the shorter my patience with men. I’m finding this difficult at work. I work in the medical field where i see the workings of a patriarchal society everyday. My real issue is with one of my coworkers. Although i believe he means well, he is an extreme mansplainer, constant talker, unable to listen or self reflect, and believes he knows everything, to name a few personal observations. I know that society has allowed him to be the way that he is without enough repercussion to have any meaningful change. I find myself exceedingly annoyed with him to the point where it is affecting our professional relationship because I can’t stand to be around him. While I think my views on him are valid, I am struggling with how to balance this with also having to work with him. I feel this way about more and more men I come into contact with. I notice that when my interactions with them are different than what they’ve come to expect from women, I’m seen as being unfriendly or having a bad attitude. Obviously this exemplifies the need for radfem, however my job requires teamwork and I want to be a team player, a good worker, and a reliable member of our work force because that’s who I am. it is unsettling that not pandering to men could keep me from being viewed in this way. How do I balance this? At what point am I being unreasonable or too extreme/sensitive with my attitudes towards men? How do I best address my male coworkers when they are so far removed from their privilege they see any interaction that goes against it as a measure of my character?

I’m rambling but I suppose I essentially want to be true to my beliefs and who I am without becoming bitter and angry to every man I meet. Would love any insight.

TLDR; Basically just the title. Can it be done right, or will it always be a form of objectification in our current society? Interested in your thoughts!

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Some contextual background:

I am fairly new to the radfem community (~2 months) but not new to the ideas and beliefs commonly shared within it. I came across “the banned sub” by chance and finally seeing how many others felt the same way was such a great relief.

Since the bans, while waiting for the new platforms to get set up, I’ve dusted off Tumblr after hearing about the active radfem community there.

The thing is, my Tumblr account is 10 years old, and the last time I’ve logged in was over 4 years ago. I’ve changed a lot over those years, but combing through old posts I’ve been shocked by just how much I’ve changed. I had reblogged so many sexualized posts, and my interests weren’t even really my own, just things I felt made me “more attractive” to others.

Despite the shock, I’m proud of the awareness I’ve gained, to know I’ve grown enough to recognize the problems. I went through as best I could and deleted the major offenders.

The one thing that’s caused a hang-up though, are the “artistically nude” posts. Not necessarily sexual, but not not meant to be attractive. So for example a low light silhouette, or carefully angled shots that doesn’t show any actual nudity. Like this shot

I’m at a crossroads. On one hand, I think they’re able to capture the anatomical beauty outside of just “women are sex objects” and can be seen as tasteful art. On the other hand, these are professional shots, money was exchanged and the fact they are available to the public means they are likely profiting (either monetarily or as free advertising) from these women. If the latter, I don’t feel it’s moral to contribute to that circulation by sharing the images as it would be a form of exploitation/commodifying.

Am I overthinking, or on the right track here?

I know the radfem perspective is usually against pregnancy, but I became so attached to my daughter as soon as I found out I was pregnant. It's been over five weeks since the main bleeding, and my pregnancy hormone levels are about back to where they were pre-pregnancy. I am full of this incredible grief and nothing makes it go away. I'm writing this on my way to the emergency clinic to see if they can give me medication or something. It is like this darkness that never goes away. I can't even go to the store usually now because the sight of toddlers and baby carriages makes me cry in public.

Is the likes of Tinder hurting women. What is the modern feminist position on the social movement from dating and LTR to FWB, hook-ups, tinder dates, fuck buddies, booty calls. It appears to me that these modern sexual relationships facilitate the men's goal of quantity not quality when it comes to relationships but that the women are just being used. What do the radical feminists think about this in 2020?

(full disclosure, I'm a dysphoric guy who intended to transition at one point, but came across radical feminist/gender critical theory that helped me change my mind and feel more comfortable in my own body rather than transitioning. Make of that what you will)

It seems like online radical feminist discourse and communities (on Reddit, Tumblr, and so on) have ended up with a very large amount of focus on trans issues in particular. And I just wonder if that's a good thing for the movement or not

It's not that I even disagree with gc/trans critical ideas. But it just kinda seems like there's so many issues that remain in the world with sexism and patriarchy and gender roles that don't have much to do with trans, at least directly, that don't necessarily get talked about as much even though they may have more actual impact than trans matters...

And sometimes it seems like the criticism of trans stuff veers from a criticism of queer theory/broad trans ideas, and more into either just shitting on random online mtfs in a way that sometimes looks more like bullying than anything else, or instead criticism of bread trans ideas but without any inherent radfem/gc ideology and instead sometimes just veering into the conservative "lol, trans folks are tryin to adhere to a different set of gender roles than the sex they were born as, if they weren't mentally ill, they'd adhere to their proper gender roles"-style essentialism that radical feminism is opposed to. Sometimes I'd see folks in gc/rf communities openly saying they didn't give a shit about radical feminism or that they outright thought it was stupid, and they just liked how such communities were places where trans could be criticized. And then others would talk about 'coalition building' and how it's important to accept support from wherever it comes from and not make a big deal about the conservative leaners... but idk, I just wonder how much use 'coalition building' with people who only care about trans stuff and don't care much for feminism can really do, and whether or not it could bring more backlash than it's worth

And then there's another thing, how radical feminism just isn't even inherently anti trans at all, like there's been radfems like Dworkin who openly supported transgender and wanted trans people to be given free surgery so they could transition. When I think about coalition building, I wonder if that sort of radical feminism could be better at seeing some success. For all their faults, liberals at least give some lip service to feminism, and there seems to have been something of a rise in a genuinely leftist approach that is willing to criticize moderate liberals for failing to stand up for their proclaimed ideals. Personally I feel like radical feminism could dovetail quite nicely with leftism, and could the ability to pull liberals to it as well, rather better than pulling conservatives to it, on the basis of more common ground. Some still have the idea that radfem is conservative and essentialist, but it could be looked at as pretty much the opposite, strongly socially constructivist and if anything more progressive than self described progressives themselves. The porn stuff and past alliances with conservatives gets some shit, but outside of the awkward attempts at coalition, the general porn criticism again seems like something that goes well with left-of-liberal criticism of capitalism and cultural libertarianism, for the damage that the industry does to people. It kind of seems like trans stuff is the biggest sticking point, and it's just, like, trans stuff isn't even necessarily inherent to radical feminism

It's to the point where, personally, if I'm talking to people IRL or on another account, even though I personally am critical of trans stuff, I'll just outright present as a "trans inclusive radical feminist supporter" anyway out of the idea that there's way more potential for pushing people towards radical feminism that way, and I at least feel like I've managed to get a fairly positive response in liberal and leftist discussions with that sort of approach. Indeed that was something that helped pull me into radical feminism-coming across radfems who pretty much never talked about trans stuff. Me coming to learn about gc and trans critical ideas just came later

And these are ideas I've been thinking about for some time. But now r/gendercrirical, a really big and active radical feminist community on here, has been banned. And I mean idk precisely why, like I don't think the admins explicitly said it, but I'm pretty certain it was because of the trans issue. And it got me thinking more, and wanting to discuss this stuff

And, like, I'm just curious for the thoughts of other radfems. Personally I feel like I have more success in advocating for radical feminism by just avoiding the trans matter altogether and pointing out sorts like Dworkin. But I also do see issues with trans stuff. And it doesn't feel right as a guy to say that women shouldn't speak to issues that affect them. Like, I kinda feel like radical feminism as a broader movement could see more success if it did avoid trans stuff, but its not like I should have any authority. And I could alternatively see the case that it's actually very important to not shy away from talking about this stuff. I still don't know if it deserves that much attention compared to other stuff, but again, I am a dude, so if radfem women think that giving lots of attention to trans issues is better than minimizing it or strategically avoiding it altogether, then that's their choice

So. Any thoughts about any of this?

(Also sorry for writing so much, I'm not a good writer, someone better could have probably said what I said far more precisely)

Did that subreddit get removed? I received so much support there, and now it’s just gone? :(

Edit: Now that I know that it’s banned, is there any other subreddit where I can go to speak about gender critical issues? Can we make a new one?

The oppression women face is trivialized and mocked for reasons I cannot understand. We make up the majority of today's slave trade, primarily underaged girls. We get plucked off the streets, kidnapped, sold, traded, raped, beaten, the last two often in the privacies of our own homes (but I don't need to tell you this.)

I have a friend who grew up being raped by her brother. I have a friend who grew up being raped by her uncle. I have a friend who was sold into the sex slavery industry when she was 4, and spent her entire developing years being brutally raped by strangers for porn. Every girl I know has a story. Every single one. They keep it inside, people don't think there's a problem, they laugh if you try to scream out that there is. The violence that these children faced is not laughable.

Disclaimer: If it's ever possible to compare this to the (freaking amazing) global response to the BLM movement without trivializing the BLM movement, I'd really like it to be now. Often people see a comparison and think you're directly equating and get upset, but it would really help me highlight a point here:

We can easily recognize how, in America, the black person's oppressor is the white power structure. There is no debate about this amongst the reasonable and aware person. There should likewise be no debate about the woman's oppressor, globally, being the male power structure that surrounds her (yes, even if men have been victims too, yes, even if women have been the aggressor too, because this is overwhelmingly the most common relationship of gendered abuse and oppression throughout history and despite geographic location.) But imagine if in America today...

Black people were born into the homes of white people.

Black people were raised by white people, trapped with them in the household for a minimum of 18 years.

Black people were expected to marry white people, if it made up >90% of marriages.

Black people were expected to bear the children of white people, if that was quite literally how the human race continues to exist.

Doesn't that idea make you a bit nervous? Does it point out the overwhelming opportunity that there is for abuse?

My comparison will end here.

What I'm saying with this is that women cannot escape men, anywhere in the world. We are born into their homes. We marry them and are then lawfully binded to them. Much of the horrendous, let's admit it, primarily sexual abuse we face is in our childhoods, fathers, grandfather's, brothers, uncles. If we escape that, many of us will find out too late that our husbands are abusive and then suffer in silence. While many of the boys in high school were plotting on how to lose their virginity, many of the girls were hiding that they already have, didn't have a choice in the matter, perhaps even still live with whoever had done it. (Again, I know men have been victims too, and i know women have been the aggressor too, but I'd like the focus to stay here because this is the most common, and dare I say easiest form of gendered abuse.)

The silent destruction of girls and women permeates our environment. This issue is much more common than you think and we don't talk about it.

What gets me is... we can't even have a march for ourselves without it being trivialized, attacked, divided, ruined by infighting.

Why do you think it isn't in the cards to organize in protest against this, to try to find our missing women, liberate the girls being sold into slavery, demand that men stop trivializing what it means to abuse us, organize in solidarity of women?

Why do you think there is no organizing in defense of the woman?

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Do you consider an FTM trans man who has sex with a straight woman, without disclosing he is trans, her assuming he is biological man, “rape by deception”?

My view is that gender is separate from sex, and that same sex attraction implies attraction to genitals rather than an individual. I also believe that most trans people transition for themselves, not for a sexual or romantic gain. Trans women are women, trans men are men, and non-binary individuals exist and should be treated with respect. Please respond in a civil manner, and I will extend that same courtesy to you. Have a lovely day!

When I first saw Women for Trump, my first thought was "what's next - Jews for Hitler?".

I'd like to know why so many women support a misogynistic asshole. I am no expert on women's anything, but I'd like to know what they are thinking.

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Hi. I want to learn everything about the history of the movement, but I feel like liberal feminism is so mainstream now that I can't just google 'history of feminism' because I might get a skewed reading list. Are there any resources or readings that you can recommend? Thanks.

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My experience in radical feminism is horrible to say the least. It's primarily white feminism. This is 2020. I write about domestic violence, abuse, sexual assault, L issues, yet all over the place, it doesn't legitimise me at all. All with my face, my job and my reputation, not an anon profile.

Now a supposed lesbian rad fem is spreading lies I'm a TRA. I get pile ones ALL the time 20-30 white women to 1 and I'm accused of all kinds of things, esp common is me bullying them. ???? they post cat pics on Spinster and get a faster following than me who post about sexism. A white woman who post common sense stuff, was living in a shelter is more legitimate than me. How can I bully when it's so swayed to their side? I got perm banned from Spinster for posting anti racism stuff later. Exactly how does someone bully so many people at once is beyond me.

This lesbian rad fem is one I amplified on many platforms. She jumped to conclusion when I warned lesbians about a religious lesphobe in the sex versus gender ID debate on Twitter, didn't include the link. Her friend, a white woman thought it was her (it wasn't), rad fem is Jewish and I'm Asian, she somehow have no clue about racism. She threatened to block me on FB, I thought she was lame and blocked her.

So her childish revenge is tell people I'm a TRA.

All my one year of experience has taught me it doesn't matter, whether issue wise or alliance within LGBT, it's white first and everyone else latter.

I thought it was feminism 101 that white supremacy is really strong, Trump remember? Competent white woman don't get a shot as well.

I don't know whether because rad fems are of a current age and out of touch with current events or 2nd wave consist of mostly white feminists. Either way, it's disappointing. Just got kicked out of rad fem group recently because someone said they can't read what I posted, I thought she was playing punk, because I'm used to white women being ridiculous when I talk about racism. Then 20 white women pile one as usual, all criticising me and thought it was so offensive that I should be kicked out of the group, they went on and on discussing how they should punish me, basically on my post, my thread. With 2 feeble attempts from 2 people to defend me.

Then in another group, I was accused of intentionally use colour to confuse her. Several said they can't read it as well. BTW are they expecting me to change it to suit them? Redo it for their comfort, they can just scroll past isn't it, like regular people.

The text was in colour and she was so angry she called me a trans man or a lady boy. Another stalked me from group to group, demonising me, when I said I'm not interested in educating her, she came unhinged and keep demanding. So she harass me and stalk me, she's a superstar. Then they all went mad, all accusing me of bullying. 20-30 of them altogether.

Honestly, what the hell is wrong with white rad fems? I'm asking a genuine question. It's so childish. Is it rad fem draws conservatives and they're inherently racist? I noticed a lot of purity politics, moral superiority is a popular theme. It makes sense, anti porn and anti prostitution props up virginal martyr ideas and white innocence, popular in white supremacy.

Do all of you lack education in anti racism?

Hello! I'm kinda radfem leaning and this is more of a Utopian question than anything else, but I think it's one that "proves" a lot of radfem arguments to me - what do you think a world without gender would be like?

(For clarity, by gender I guess I mean gender as an oppressive system of socialised and reinforced ideas about what it means to be a man or a woman based on our sexed bodies, rather than "gender identity" - I feel like sex dysphoria would still exist in a post-gender world but it'd be treated like any other plastic surgery/body modification instead of as an oppressed minority, but "gender dysphoria" would cease to be a thing?)

I am aware of your general stance on trans men and your attitude against trans women “appropriating” womanhood, just curious to see if there is a nuanced range of opinions in your community

So I got redirected to this sub to ask this question and I hope that it's okay to ask here. So I recently got into a debate with a TIM and we eventually go the topic of bathrooms. Naturally I said that men had no business being in the women's restroom including "transwomen" and obviously he disagreed with me but then he flung at me transmen. He was going off the angle that "some transwomen look "cis" and you'd never know they were trans". He then used Transmen. He said that if someone like Buck Angel walked into the women's restroom, women would be freaked out and tell him to leave.

And I have to admit that yeah, Buck Angel does look like a man and even though we know she's a woman, I think too what if I didn't know that? If I saw her in a women's restroom, I would think she is just a creepy man.

So my question is how do you feel about transmen like Buck Angel or someone like this or this being in the women's restroom? Would you be wary if you saw these kinds of women in a women's restroom?

From my understanding, the only gender roles in natural human life is that the woman gets pregnant and the man acts as a protector, which are both biologically justified. Men are stronger, women have a uterus. We see both of those roles in tribes and "primitive" society. If any of you disagree with this I'd hear it out too lol.

But the point is, name some gender roles that aren't these and are instead imposed on us by society artificially. Name as many as you can think of! I'll start

-Pink is female, blue is male

-Girls play with dolls, boys play with cars

-Boys don't wear dresses

As a guy that has consumed porn I want to fully understand the impact of the porn industry on society and women to make better choices in the future.

Any informational resources are apreciated.

Also, I was browsing gender critical and the opinions there about porn seem to be so set in stone and I dont really understand why.

Filming two people having sex is not necessarily demeaning, but by the comments Ive read its assumed that its pretty much impossible for ethical, feminist porn to be real.

Why would all porn be bad even If everyone involved has consented, is having a good time, etc.

Im a gay guy btw, also English is not my first lenguage so apologies for my bad english!

My experience with porn has never really included women, but I do see that even in gay porn the guy that takes the "female role" in the videos is usually treated terribly.

Why is porn like that the norm and not the other way around?

Shouldnt most guys that consume porn want to see all the people involved having a good time, having fun, happy?

Do you guy realy have a problem with the term and if so why. If you do have a problem with it do you also find a problem with 'not all woman are like that'?

And my last part to this post: are we able to show you that we are not all the same?

hello everyone!

first of all, to clear things up; i don't want to discriminate against you or your believes. but it has come to my attention that many radical feminists are against the trans movement and see such as 'dewomanizing'.

now, most of that is against trans women - and i see where your concerns come from. that you believe trans women are preditory men. in fact, i used to think so myself (before i realized i was trans myself).

i just wanted to ask these questions: when and how did you obtain this opinion? and a bit more personal to myself: what do you think about trans guys?

as well, if you'd like to, you can ask me questions. i don't mind answering them, if in the comments or in pm. just be respectful and nice!

hope you all have a great day!✨

I find that liberal feminism and power feminism do tend to go a little hand-in-hand on women getting to the top in companies and then "change will happen".

Meanwhile the problem with the workplace is that there's a different set of rules for women as there are for men, more obstacles for women (visible or invisible), and as a result more chance for stress, burnout. And no workplace advice book ever writes about this; the office politics are always written about as though sexual harassment, gang bullying, or exclusion is simply never going to happen, or that, if it does, a simple chat with a manager or an assertive word or two with the offenders will sort it all out.

It feels like women go into the workplace with no guidebooks and no one to help if things go awry (unless they're rich enough to go through a court case).

Would you say working 60+ hours every week of one's life navigating an obstacle course that's made much harder for you because of your sex is a waste of life, or is it a ballsy power move that moves the women's cause forward?

I consider myself a radical feminist and this is a topic that has troubled me for a while. I am white and it's not my place to make any calls on what is or isn't racist, so I would appreciate any input from black radical feminists.

Some radical feminist points that I have seen draw on comparisons between racism and misogyny. Examples are likening drag to blackface and the idea that saying that, because intersex women exist, sex is a spectrum and transwomen are valid is similar to saying, because black people with alibinism exist, transracial people are valid (and other comparisons to transracialism).

These comparisons make sense to me and the critiques of transracialism sparked the beginning of my questions about transgender identity. But some people have said that one cannot draw comparisons between forms of oppression because they are all very different.

So, I am unsure of how to proceed in thinking about this. In your opinion, are comparisons between misogyny and racism okay? Why?

hi

so im actually learning about radfem, and i want to know what do you think about being rad and heterosexual. i kinda know that there is a power relationship?? (i dont know how to explain this in english) i “like” men, but yeah, i guess that sounds really bad. i know lesbian radfem, bi radfem, ace radfem, trans radfem (transmasculine? again, i dont know the word in english), but i dont know heterosexual radfems...

(tbh i don't care being part of a colective, call myself “feminist” “bisexual” “nihilist” and things like that, rn i am not interest in flags or colours, but i have the doubt)

sorry for my english and thanks for reading

Does anyone know of any RFWOC YouTubers? Also open to blogs, news sites, twitter accounts, tumblr accounts, etc. Thanks!

Some time ago I came across a video (can't find it now, ufortuately) made by a radical feminist on Youtube that discussed this topic. She argued that the mother should get full custody in all cases, unless she's doesn't want it or is mentally ill/physically abusive/a drug addict etc. She also said it was laughable that the law stated that men and women be treated equal in this matter since men's part in conceiving a baby essentially boils down to not pulling out in time and women carry the burden of pregnancy/most of the child rearing compared to the father. Do you agree?

In a post on r/gc regarding the differences between black feminism and (white/non-black/general) RF, a poster commented:

Single motherhood isn't considered a good thing in the black american community even though it is widespread. It sounds kind of tone death for women from middle class and conventional backgrounds to preach that being raised under a two parent household is bad to a working class/poor single black mom
I would say radical feminist are on the extremes against families and think children should be raised by the community and/or think men are useless and should be raised solely by the mother and by society(good daycare, etc).

Wrt the second paragraph, I haven't really been paying THAT close of an attention to the radfem perspective on parenting, but the little I am aware of, the above read is a bit confusingly out of sync with it, or perhaps a bit hyperbolic, but I may be wrong. What do you think of the comment above?

Eddie izzard is a British comedian, watch a couple of izzard's stand up and do some research on him and give me your opinions.

I've read and heard many radical feminists stating that makeup and traditionally "femenine" clothing such as heels, etc. are tools that the patriarchy uses to oppress women, and I do get the point.

However, what is your oppinion on femme lesbians who wear makeup, traditionally femenine clothes not to please men but rather for other women and/or themselves? I'm sorry if this is an offensive or ignorant question, I myself am a femme lesbian and I'm truly interested in what you have to say

Why is feminism seen as such a joke it's seen as a dirty word that is ridiculed by both men and women. What needs to change. Representation??

It's not as invasive as other sex work, so I'm just curious of the radical feminist position of phone sex operator work. Is it the same as other sex work? What are your thoughts on it?

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Someone from r/itsafetish linked me here.

I mentioned there that I at times would go out with friends or just shopping in girl mode, which is apparently a sexist term.

Am I supposedly in the wrong for presenting myself as a woman in public yet identify as a male? I never seen myself as offending anyone just for existing especially since my friends that I “came out” to as a CD either are ecstatic that a guy is into their hobbies or just didn’t care.

My initial reaction to the trans movement was, good for them, they felt as though they were in the wrong body but now get to live their lives expressing themselves as the gender they identify with.

But then delving deeper into the matter (I'm going to use transwomen in my examples) I thought, what makes a woman a woman? Makeup? Dresses? A feeling? I don't wear dresses or heels, I'm not very feminine but my body parts are female. So am I actually a male? I've toyed with being non binary, because I don't really identify with femininity.

It's a mind f*ck when you actually think about gender identity. Gender identities have been molded by society. For those who are dysphoric and feel like a woman, well, do you actually feel like a woman or just feel too feminine to be a man because society doesn't tolerate feminine men very well?

Does your penis disgust you because it's deemed a masculine body part, and not a feminine one? What actually is the feeling and knowing of being female? Maybe there's a preferred ideal of presenting and being treated as a female, because to be female means to express oneself as feminine (or what society deems "feminine")

When it comes down to biological sex, trans women don't have menstrual cycles, they don't deal with endometriosis or ovarian cysts. They have a lower risk of breast cancer, they don't go through labor and experience complications thereof.

It's like, presenting as the part but not experiencing the core of what a biological female experiences.

I don't want to be intolerant or hateful or tell people what to do with their lives. But I do wonder what actually compels someone to wish to live the life of the opposite gender and how valid those feelings are, if it's induced by society or if it's an inner spiritual thing that someone just KNOWS.

Hello everyone,

Please, if you feel this is a question better suited to another sub, may I be directed there rather than having disparaging comments left? I know this is a woman's space and I don't want to burden women with answering my questions, but I don't know where else to ask these questions yet. Daring to deviate from the prescribed trans ideology in a trans space is social suicide, so it seemed safer to leave this here.

I'm a trans woman and have been socially myself for over ten years, with no parental pressure to transition when I was young (if anything my parents were against it for the first couple of years but it all worked out) and everything in my own life in that respect is fine and dandy. But when I look at other trans people I know, especially newcomers, I have this enormous sense of dread and confusion.

The demography of my trans sphere is small (I deliberately avoid others, I find them often vaccuus and irritating), and overwhelmingly male to female or male non binary individuals. In recent months, I've discussed gender critical ideas with the few MTFs I do know, and we all agree, we know and understand we're biologically male, we were (in theory) socialised male even if some of us didn't adhere to it or were more successful at "being" socially male than others, and we recognise that there are many, many ways in which we have life and socialising far more easy than cis women. We'd do anything to help advance biological women's rights (reproductive, social, legal, and so on), and yet when I broach the same subject with non binary folks, they clam up and begin to froth about having their imposter syndrome reignited.

Why can't I have a discussion with trans people about trans identity critically, I wonder...

It frustrates me that this isn't a possibility so often. And that the trans sphere is OVERWHELMING. It's everywhere. I look at other trans women and their behaviour and cringe. The number of trans women at the head of women's rights panels, of diversity teams and so on is mind boggling. What do I know about a woman's reproductive rights and what access she deserves? Note, I am very open with the women in my family and with some friends with these discussions, so I feel I know a lot, but I wouldn't dare to speak on behalf of women whose issues they are. They don't impact me but I absolutely think they are essential to women's advancement and liberation. And yet, I have friends who seem more preoccupied with being hurt over their pronouns being misused or being seen as a male in public (notably the non binary folk more than the binary trans people - we know we don't always pass, and we're by and large okay with it. We just want a quiet life.)

My sister and I have both been sexually assaulted. She's 16 and was assaulted by a boy at her school (she's younger than I am and we attended the same secondary). The school barely did anything for her, and it utterly failed me with my gender crisis and eating disorders. And yet, after I left for sixth form, they invited me back to give a talk on trans identities. Why would I do anything to give a spotlight to a minority you wouldn't acknowledge, when that time could be better spent having your staff trained on LGB issues and on giving my sister the help she needed post sexual assault? It was a bizarre turn around in attitudes within a couple of years, and again, highlights the utterly ridiculous permeation of trans ideology everywhere, even in schools.

"we'll talk about trans identities today, you can be anything you want to be!" - calm down, Bugsy Malone.

You can talk about trans stuff but you'll brush sexual assault and mental health under the carpet? You'll excuse girls from PE but you won't let them take time off school due to menstrual issues? I am so confused by that attitude. Shocked and confused.

Am I hitting peak trans?

A non binary friend has been messaging me more with transition updates since I told them I'm becoming more gender critical.

"my voice is so feminine now". No, sorry, you sound like you need a drink.

"I was getting ready for bed and I was like, 'huh, I have tits now' ". Yes, but... No one made you seek a medical transition?

The more they strive to be seen as anything other than male, the more that facade falls away and the more awkwardly masculine they appear.

Even my binary trans friends aren't like this. When I started transitioning over ten years ago, you were one way, or the other, or you MIGHT be non binary. Might. Now it seems you can pick a leaf from an identity tree and run around claiming oppression.

I've also noticed that many of the trans women I see in my peripheral social circles (friend of a friend sort of situation) were gay men, often feminine, who are transitioning and hyper feminine. Again, I'm confused. Is this finally feeling comfortable in the climate to transition or are you so badly treated by other gay men you think being a woman ("woman") will be easier?

Sigh.

The trans world is confusing me more than ever. Gender criticism makes a lot of sense, though there are elements I don't entirely agree with.

Can I be gender critical as a trans person, or am I in the middle of something else entirely?

Sincerely,

• confused

To be blunt about it, radical feminism is a big waste of time. It's bordering between stupidity and mental instability. Knowing the majority of the world would agree with this and that your activism is taken no more seriously than a kid claiming to have a magical unicorn: How does it feel?

I agree with almost everything about the radical movement but this makes me wonder a lot

I know we live in a society where women are seen as sexual objects and because of that sex work is so prevalent and is everywhere (cam girls, pornography, prostitution, onlyfans, etc) and it's disgusting, but, everytime I read about all of this, people always says "prostitution is abuse, you are paying someone to rape them" and... I don't know if I agree with that.

Like, let's reverse roles, if we talk about male prostitutes, I can't see their work as being paid to be raped. There are plenty of works in which what you offer is nothing but your body, and this is one of them. If they are bad or not, I'm not gonna discuss that.

The thing is, I think prostitution is seen this bad because of the objetification of women in general in our society and I would like all the sex work to disappear as well, but, not because of the work itself but the actual situation of women. Idk, please give me your opinion.

Pd: sorry, english is not my first language

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TL/DR: Conflicted about voting for Biden because he I believe he is a rapist. But considering voting him anyway because of SC justice seats because of Roe v Wade. Also considering voting 3rd party nominee. Looking for radfem thoughts and opinions.

I backed Hillary in 2008 but did support and vote Obama when he was the nom. I voted Obama again in 2012. In 2016 I was for Bernie because he seemed to genuinely be for the people and seen how we are struggling and his track record backed up what he was saying but I voted for Hillary when she became the nom.

Now we have Biden who looks like he will be the nominee. I do not like how he said he would veto Medicare for all but he did say he thinks minimum wage should be raised for essential workers which is extremely needed... but I don't really know if I believe if he will do what he is saying but he would most likely be better than Trump.

The main problem I have is I believe Tara Reade. Based on what she is saying and what we have all seen over the years, with his obvious lack of respect for womens boundaries. I greatly suspect he has more victims than Tara but they are most likely too terrified to come forward.

We also know that Trump also has treated women extremely poorly and has most likely raped women and is fkin a horrible human being so no way in hell I would vote for him.

I hate that we are going to be forced to choose between these two. But I am afraid for more supreme court justice seats to be lost to republicans. We already see Roe v Wade hanging on by a thread. In Ohio they deemed abortion non-essential during the pandemic lockdown and I am sure this hurt a lot of women. Ohio also passed a "heartbeat" law and it was only stopped by a federal judge who blocked it in July. The law remains unenforceable unless the U.S. Supreme Court rules otherwise.

I really don't want to vote for Biden but losing Roe v Wade would return women to back alley abortions. And I know that the people need to rise up and eventually force the issue of healthcare and living wages in the US but is it worth putting Roe v Wade under more threat? Our vote is the only power we the people have. If they know we will always vote for democrats because they are the lesser evil we have no real power. And how do I force myself to vote for a, in my opinion, likely rapist.

Then there is the time when Joe Biden voted to let states overturn Roe v Wade.... I am considering voting 3rd party.

I read the subs description of radical feminism and i am still confused about few things.

If patriarchy wasnt a random hystorical event why did it start? Because of the genetic difference between the genders? And if so, because of physical or psychological difference? What do you believe in?

Do you believe in change? Is radical feminism trying to change the world? I ask because i visited r/gendercritical and most of women there just ranted and expected the situation to change magically. What about changing society through raising proper individuals? If you want to have kids, find a man who supports your worldview and make sure your boy is raised in a decent way, peotect him from sexist media and teach him immunity towards patriarchical propaganda. It certainly is possible but every time i say this, women feel offended cuz "how dare i put responsibility on them aswell". I am male. I see the problem. But what i dont see, thats women who follow the path of changing society through raising decent individuals. What i see are men treating women shit because they didnt see different from their parents. Newest sociological studies proove that women choose men and not the other way around. There are more men wothout a women than women without a man. You ladies have evolution in your hands. Choose a decent male and here we go. Patriarchy even "gave" you the upper hand in raising kids.

I’ve searched your sub and haven’t really found this directly answered (I apologize profusely if it has been.) I’ve gotten two kinds of answers elsewhere: yes, feminism is for everyone and a properly educated male can be a part; or no, men are part of the patriarchy and cannot be separated from it, and are thus enemies of feminisms.

I’m hoping the “yes” answer is the correct one, because I want to be an ally, and teach my son to be one. So my questions are simply “Can a man be an effective ally of radical feminism, and if so, how?

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Hi all,

Anyone know the origins of the term 'gender critical' as it is used since a few years back?

I'm interested in knowing who first started using it and why, that is, why it was considered necessary to have a new term... as opposed to the existing strands of feminism and just talking about 'critique of gender' like before...

A related question would be how is GC different from rad fem... I'm wondering whether it can be understood as closer to liberal feminism (e.g. as in people like Stock (?))... or was it coined to bring together feminists from different strands with common concerns re trans?

Also, how do you feel about the term?

Thanks a lot!

I'm aware that radical feminists have been concerned about transgenderism since at least the seventies (when The Transsexual Empire was published), but when and how did people start organizing more recently, over the last ten years or so? Was there much of a movement with regards to this stuff back in the 2000s?

I first became aware of it in 2016 when I discovered Meghan Murphy, Rebecca Reilly-Cooper, and the woman who went by Glosswitch, among others. I am a male and experienced severe dysphoria from a very young age, but I have enough self-awareness to understand that this did not make me a female, and that I had no comprehension as to what the actual female experience. I always avoided transgender communities online because even as a kid in the 2000s i could tell that they fostered toxicity, hate, distorted thinking, and severe mental illnesses. I never opened up about my feelings to anyone until I had already mostly moved past them internally. When I got to college I became hyper-aware of what was going on in the tumbrsphere of things, I saw so many instances of ROGD and, again, the extreme, extreme toxicity of queer communities and very quickly removed myself. I became very gender-critical by 2011, but I wasn't aware at all that there were other people talking or thinking about these things at the time. There were no spaces for people like me, but I've been wandering if there was much consciousness about how quickly the trans movement was expanding and becoming progressively more unhinged at the time.

Hi, I was wondering if any of you had any TV shows, movies or novels which at the very least pass the Bechdel test? I've been looking for something to watch/read without any misogynistic undertones and aligns with some radfem ideals but struggled to find any.

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Radical feminism analyses sex. I don’t know how any heterosexual or bisexual woman could be a radical feminist without challenging the act of sexual intercourse and not think they are under male influence.

When I came across radical feminism, it was entirely made of asexual and lesbian women. It was the only space where women could say what they want, and when heterosexual and bisexual women show up they’ll be the ones to shut it down, or slowly bring in males tied to them like a Trojan horse.”