The Best Way to Deal With TERFs Online? Don’t!
Social media is meant to be social — with those you care about. Here’s why I don’t engage with people who don’t even think I exist.
Ever since I made the mistake of writing a somewhat controversial article, my notifications have been filled with transphobic pseudo-facts by people who apparently stopped going to school after 7th-grade biology. While this is sort of a response to them in itself, I’ve decided to write this more as a warning and advice to my fellow trans people who are putting themselves out there in any capacity on the internet.
I commend anyone who meticulously combs through their comments, responding with facts and personal anecdotes to combat thinly veiled insults, blatant threats and derision, and genuine curiosity, but I’ve decided that it’s not worth it. Why? Because, like many other types of conservatives, TERFs are generally not open to actual discourse and learning. They’re black holes, trying to insult us or provoke us into a long, pedantic discussion just to waste our time. Of course, there are exceptions, but the majority I’ve seen are not open to change.
Why are TERFs so adamant about maintaining gender roles and definitions of gender? Well, there are a couple of reasons I’ve seen, based on the…
