Transphobia: How the ecosystem of UK and US anti-trans hate works
Detailing the various types of transphobes in the US and UK, and how they have grown under differing political, social, and media environments.
This is the fourth in a series of five articles examining not just what transphobia is, but also how more and more people are becoming sucked into visible and aggressive transphobic lobbying to the point of extremism.
Transphobia has developed differently in the UK to the US, originating from TERFs within the political left and supported by a trans-hostile national media, and transphobic online forums, UK discourse around trans topics has become entirely toxic. In contrast, US transphobia has traditionally sat within the right-wing and Evangelical Christian pockets of society. With a more diverse national media and a more established trans-inclusive feminist movement, the growth of transphobia in the US has been primarily driven by white, Christian-right men. In more recent years these groups have joined up, sharing rhetoric, resources and funding to attack trans people from all sides.
Transphobic groups in the UK & US and their position in relation to feminist, LGBT & BLM movements
People sometimes jokingly say that “If you had a Venn diagram of transphobes and the political right, it would be a perfect circle”, yet this isn’t entirely correct. While there is a definite overlap, there are a number of distinct groups involved in UK and US transphobia, the origins of, and intersections I detail below. These diagrams utilise the concept of the radicalisation funnel, as detailed in “Transphobia: the radicalisation process” and indicate where trans-hostile narratives and transphobic informationdeveloped elsewhere feed into this.
1.The growth of UK TERF’s into a wider ‘gender critical’ transphobia movement, aided by the right-wing UK media.
Fig 1: In the UK left-wing TERFS overlapped with a larger group of Gender Critical transphobes. In turn, gender critical members of the mainstream media pumped out transphobic articles which radicalised more people into becoming ‘gender critical’ transphobes. Trolls added to the general transphobia.
TERFS: In the initial stages of the recent uptick of transphobia in the UK (as detailed in the article ‘Transphobia: The development of anti-trans hate groups in the UK’) anyone who was considered transphobic was called a TERF (trans exclusionary radical feminist), this was in main because of the large number of — predominantly left-wing — women driving the transphobic narratives. Anti-trans groups sprouted up, mobilised on Mumsnet and secret Facebook groups, often centring specific campaigns, such as protesting trans-inclusivity at Hampstead ponds, political parties, or high-street retailers. However, it soon became apparent that while there were a small number of feminists who were also transphobic, that this wasn’t an applicable term as much of their discourse was pointedly not feminist. Simultaneously, the trans-hostile women began complaining that ‘TERF’ was a ‘slur’ as a rejection of being called transphobic.
GENDER CRITICAL: Circa 2017 transphobic women, attempted to rebrand themselves being called ‘TERFs’ and through a number of conversations, crowdsourced the term ‘gender critical’. This was in order to position their trans-exclusionary ideological stand as something more palatable to the general public and themselves. This conversation on Mumsnet is representative of a number that were had at the time. A ‘Gender Critical’ wasn’t explicitly labelled as ‘feminist’ it also allowed for more people to be a part of the movement. Under this banner a huge number of transphobic platforms have been created, such as Fairplay for Women, Women’s Place UK, Sex Matters, Standing For Women, and the numerous #IStandWithJKRowling (and similar) rallying hashtags.
TROLLS: Adding to the online transphobia were trolls. These were predominantly men, from 4Chan, 8Chan, incel and ‘men’s rights activist (MRA) groups and platforms. They had no interest in women’s rights, with their main objective being to inflame and provoke hate towards minorities. A number of trolls were likely from bot farms in places like Russia, seeking to destabilise ‘western’ ideas.
2. The absence of strong trans-inclusive UK feminist movement provides easy recruits into transphobia, while elements of the LGBT community also splinter off.
Fig 2: In the UK, transphobic misinformation promoted by the trans-hostile mainstream media has drawn many women towards ‘gender critical’ transphobia, in the absence of a solid feminist movement to push back on such narratives. Similarly, some LGB people have been sucked in by anti-trans narratives from orgs like LGB Alliance, while the BLM / BAME community has remained small, but relatively untouched by transphobia.
UK FEMINIST GROUPS: Unlike the US, the UK doesn’t have any visible active feminist ‘movement’. While there was a general consensus that feminism had moved on from the biological essentialist, male exclusionary 2nd Wave feminism of the 1970’s and 80’s — as shown in this BBC documentary ‘Angry Wimmin’ (of which a number of those featured became leading figureheads in the UK TERF / Gender Critical movement) — there was not a clearly defined position on feminism in the UK. Established organisations like The Fawcett Society organised campaigns on gender stereotypes and equal pay, but these were ongoing activities and didn’t provide a visible rallying cry to women in the wake of the #MeToo movement that started in the US, but went around the world. As a result, ‘gender critical’ groups like ‘Woman’s Place UK’ and ‘Fairplay For Women’ were able to establish themselves as the ‘face of British feminism’ without any pushback. With only ‘gender critical’ ‘feminist’ groups getting representation in the mainstream media, it has left UK feminists and women generally an easy target for recruitment into the ‘gender critical’ movement.
BLM & BAME GROUPS: Unlike the US there isn’t a large BLM movement in the UK, primarily as a result of the racial histories of both countries being very different. It has been noted that the majority of those associated with ‘gender critical’ movement are predominantly privileged and white. The growth of ‘anti-woke’ and ‘culture war’ narratives pushed by the UK mainstream media have also positioned inclusion of BAME people on the ‘same side’ as inclusion of trans people. As a result, there is a significant crossover between transphobia and racism as those involved with such narratives reject ‘inclusion’ of minorities.
LGBT ORGANISATIONS: As the anti-trans movement grew in the UK it started to attack trans organisations, most notably, Mermaids as the sole charity supporting trans youth and their families. This soon expanded to targeting any organisation that supported trans-inclusion or guided other organisations to do the same. Diversity and Inclusion training organisations were monstered in the mainstream media for their training material and inclusive organisations such as Girl Guides and Scouts were targeted by transphobic lobbying campaigns. Similarly, the police, public bodies, schools and local councils have been threatened with legal action for their trans-inclusivity by anti-trans organisations like ‘Transgender Trend’, ‘Safe Schools Alliance’, and ‘Fair Cop’. Most recently Stonewall has been specifically targeted in a relentless campaign involving hundreds of freedom of information requests, legal cases and highly negative articles published, all with the intention of destroying the charity because of its trans-inclusive stance. The ‘gender critical’ charity LGB Alliance has been formed by a group of transphobic individuals exclusively with the intention of spinning ‘trans people as threat to LGB people’ narratives to lure lesbian and gay people into their ideology.
3. As transphobia increases, traditional conservatives, skeptics, homophobes and libertarian trolls find many intersections with ‘gender critical’ transphobes.
Fig 3: The growing anti-trans movement drew in Homophobes, Libertarians, Skeptics and conservatives (traditionalists) as part of a wider ‘anti-woke’ movement,as transphobia became driven deeper into the educational and political sphere.
HOMOPHOBES, SKEPTICS, LIBERTARIANS & CONSERVATIVES (TRADITIONALISTS): As transphobic narratives grew within UK mainstream media, and ‘gender critical’ voices became more prominent, the transphobic movement started to draw other reactionary groups towards its circle. Homophobes were natural bedfellows with transphobes, but saw an opportunity to direct their bigotry to a more ‘acceptable’ target since homophobia was widely regarded as unacceptable. Skeptics gravitated towards the positioning by transphobes of trans-inclusive healthcare as ‘anti-science’. Some who called themselves ‘Libertarian’ or ‘classic liberal’ were attracted to transphobic narratives as they believed their individualistic ‘common sense’ thinking and rejection of ‘the general consensus’ of trans-inclusivity placed them in an intellectually superior position. ‘Cancel culture’ and ‘being silenced’ narratives also appealed to those believing themselves to be the sole warriors against ‘the leftist establishment’ — Ironically, predominantly Conservative in the governing hierarchy. Conservatives (small c) with traditionalist values of home and family bought the line that trans-inclusion and support of trans people was a ‘threat’ to traditional family values, gender norms and established patriarchal divisions, and that trans people were ‘indoctrinating’ girls/ lesbians. Groups such as ‘Common Sense’ and ‘Free Speech Union’ founded by Toby Young and key Conservative advisors cropped up to help drive anti-trans narratives into the political and educational sphere.
Note: All of the above groups can be seen to have their trans-hostile roots in the prejudice and bigotry of white supremacy and colonialism. Transphobia is just one branch of a wider ‘anti-woke’ narrative being spun in the UK, positioning inclusivity as a threat to ‘established’ — ie: patriarchal, cis-normative, heterosexual, white-centred — beliefs.
4. The UK transphobic movement joins up with the conservative religious right and far-right of the US. Their stronger feminist, LGBT and BLM communities stay resolutely trans-inclusive.
Fig 4: As UK transphobia reached out to the US and beyond, it intersected with the US conservative and Religious Right and more extremist right-wing fascists. While the bringing together of the different forms of transphobia has strengthened anti-trans campaigning in the UK, US feminist, BLM and LGBT organisations remain resolute and unwavering in the face of transphobia.
RELIGIOUS RIGHT: As UK transphobes reached out, both online and in person, they connected with the US evangelical Christian right. This group has a large overlap with America’s own version of conservatives (Republicans). This is a large and wealthy group within the US, and predominantly driven by privileged white men, who place personal interpretations of the Christian religion over that of facts or law. The religious right are also prevalent in Europe — predominantly from the Catholic religion — although with language differences, have had less of an impact on the UK discourse, although has not impacted on potential financial influences. While US conservative and religious right groups such as ADF and Heritage Foundation input money to the UK in support of trans-hostile initiatives, the UK has exported its ‘gender critical’ narratives to the US and other English speaking countries. As a result, there are now US, Canadian and Australian versions of UK grown ‘gender critical’ groups.
RIGHT WING FASCISTS: As with any reactionary movement, the extreme right wing / fascists will inevitably become involved. There are ‘gender critical’ individuals who have actively courted extremists. Notorious UK transphobe, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull — aka ‘Posie Parker’ — has actively courted US extremists, suggesting that men with guns should patrol women’s bathrooms to ‘protect them’ from trans women. US Right wing extremists and QAnon conspiracy theorists in conjuction with ‘gender critical’ women were involved in provoking violence in California outside a trans-inclusive spa after claims of ‘paedophilia’ were made
US FEMINIST/ BLM/ LGBT GROUPS: Unlike the UK, US feminist, BLM and LGBT groups are much more established on a national level. This has meant that they have been able to organised more consolidated pushback to transphobic narratives, and are not as susceptible to some of the ‘gender critical’ rhetoric as their UK counterparts are.
This is the third of a series of five articles examining not just what transphobia is, but also how more and more people are becoming sucked into visible and aggressive transphobic lobbying to the point of extremism. You can read the full series of articles here:
- Transphobia is increasing — we need to understand it better to fight it.
- Transphobia: How people are becoming radicalised online.
- Transphobia: How the ecosystem of UK and US anti-trans hate works.
- Transphobia: The development of anti-trans hate groups in the UK.
- Transphobia: How the trans-hostile media coverage began in the UK.
Some background
My name is Helen, some of you will know me from Twitter as @mimmymum — a cis feminist, the mum of a trans son, and a fierce trans ally. I’ve been monitoring trans discourse on social media, mainstream media, and elsewhere for the last six years, and have had many conversations with trans people, experts and allies over the years on multiple topics impacting trans people — all with the overarching intention of making the world a better place for trans and gender-diverse people. During my conversations, study and musings I have often wondered how transphobes actually become radicalised into transphobia, as a prelude to what can be done to stop this seeming tsunami of transphobic hate growing in multiple western English-speaking countries. This, and subsequent articles, are my attempt at answering that question. This is not an academic paper, but one borne out of informed observation, critical questioning and an interest in what makes people tick.
