Mason Bourgeois
Aug 31, 2018 · 2 min read

First of all, my intention wasn’t to insult you with that label, merely to describe you. “Radical Feminist” is really a pretty generous label for what you represent.

I don’t want to deny gender at all. I’d like it if everyone’s gender was affirmed. It’s mind boggling to me that you think that trans people making personal choices about their own life erases your identity. I am sorry if your identity as a woman relies solely on your genitalia, because to me being a woman is so much more than that, and it’s something every woman gets to define for herself. The fact that you want to force your definition of womanhood on other women comes off as pretty anti-feminist.

Everyone has the right to exclude anyone they want from their personal spaces. That’s simple consent. I’ve met many people who don’t understand consent, male and female, cis and trans. You don’t, however, have the right to exclude trans women from public spaces like bathrooms or shelters. When you imply that all trans women want to invade safe spaces with devious intentions, you are extrapolating the behavior of a small minority onto every trans person, the definition of bigotry. Actually, it’s worse than that because the examples terfs cite to back that argument up are usually cis men, and trans women are more likely to be victims of sexual assault than perpetrators. Also, your anger at trans women erasing lesbians’ sexuality is the same reaction that leads to widespread violence from straight men upon finding out a woman is trans.

Lastly, you’ve patronizingly suggested that my opinions are the result of ignorance. My bio is out of date, I now have a degree in Neuroscience. I closely follow new research coming out about the trans condition, and I trust a Neuroscientist’s opinion over a cis journalist’s. Sex is a spectrum. An XY woman gave birth to twins recently. I have yet to see any studies backing up your claims about the effectiveness of transition. I am highly doubtful because they contradict the consensus in the medical establishment, but I would be happy to read those studies if you would send them my way.

My ideology is that everyone should have control over their own body, and everyone deserves equal access to public services regardless of race, gender, or any other personal trait besides their character. I haven’t tried to silence you. I’ve taken the time to engage you in the (probably naive) hope that we could both come to a better understanding of each other. You have attributed many things to me which I’ve never done. Maybe think about how much you’ve learned about trans people online vs actually meeting us in real life. I’m the first to admit that the online trans community can get very hive-mindey and many lash out at those they perceive to be invalidating them. But most of us are pretty nice, normal people. I wonder if you’ve ever actually talked to one of us in person.

    Mason Bourgeois

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    UT Neuroscience graduate and full stack web developer