What @KeithInc and @fishtank said, but also…
( jvsmine )
let me explain this.
trans people read Harry Potter and feel that they are special, like Tom Riddle.
NORMAL people read it and feel like Harry, like they found their community, like they're not special or a freak at all, in fact they're painfully average.
And this, this right here, excellently encapsulates the typical TERF worldview.
From what I’ve seen, GCs tend to lionize and aspire towards normalcy. Being unremarkable, fitting in… and yes, conformity.
Being ‘normal’, in this view, is good and desirable. That’s what they want, and what they think everyone else should aspire to as well.
Being abnormal, ‘special’ or standing out is undesirable, and equivalent to being a ‘freak’.
That, I’d say, is the essence of actual conservatism. Not in the sense of being reactionary, but quite simply conservative.
Don’t rock the boat. Be normal, don’t stand out. Conform, be professional, don’t break social harmony.
Being “NORMAL” and “painfully average” is good; being “special or a freak” is bad. Belonging to a community of average people is good; standing out is bad.
But here’s the thing.
An oft-stated TERF goal is “abolishing gender”.
What does that mean, and why would we even want to do that?
For me, abolishing gender — as in, ending gender norms and stereotypes as well as sexism — is all about breaking the bondage of social enforcement. It’s about freedom from being boxed into a set of oppressive norms and assumptions, and — crucially! — about the freedom to be you.
TERFs often speak of this “freedom to be yourself”. To them, it means renouncing our transness and accepting the bounds of our biological sex and all that entails — including social aspects (e.g. you must use pronouns in line with your natal sex, and stay out of female spaces if you’re ‘male’).
They say it’s okay to be gender non-conforming; but is it, really? When you consider it in the context of normalcy and averageness being good and desirable, and ‘freakishness’ being a bad thing?
The problem is that gender non-conformity is by definition non-conforming. In the current societies, such people are inevitably seen as “special” and “freaks”. They are not average. They do not fit into ‘polite society’ and the prevailing norms of the mainstream community of people.
TERFs might say: Gender isn’t real.
But… if it’s not real, then why is there a need for it to be abolished?
Just because something is a social construct doesn’t make it “not real”; it exists as a social force, it influences the actions of people, it is treated as real which has real consequences… hence, gender is real. Because gender norms and stereotypes exist as a social reality, and most people follow them to some extent.
To be non-conforming… is to be a freak.
But I maintain that being ‘special’ or a ‘freak’ is NOT a bad thing!
For me, a gender abolition that is worth pursuing would be an aim to stop the enforcement of norms — that includes stopping the enforcement of normality.
It is the goal to enable us all to be the special people we are. To make it okay for ALL of us to be freaks, if that’s who we are or want to be.
Every human being is unique.
We are not ants or bees. We are people.
You want to abolish gender norms and stereotypes as a social enforcement mechanism oppressing women? Guess what, so do I — as an ‘AGP TIM’ according to your GC criteria.
I want every woman — and man, and enby — to be able to be themselves. To express who they are, including their inner weirdness. To be judged by who they are, not what they are by accident of birth.
Not to make them conform, be normal or average. Not to push them into a different herd.
Yes, they can be normal — if that’s what they truly want and are comfortable with. But they don’t have to be.
TERFs want normalcy. In their hearts, most of them seem to be conformists, going by what they say — with the sole exception that they don’t want to have to suffer for it.
But they only truly want to ‘abolish gender’ and end enforcement mechanisms that specifically target themselves and only themselves — they don’t really want to end them for everyone.
Instead, they’re glad to keep the enforcement mechanisms they like; they just perform a sleight of hand by which they re-christen certain gender norms and stereotypes into ‘sex realities’ — thus making them actually good and desirable, protective of women instead of oppressive towards them.
Many GCs/TERFs just want to be equal members of the herd.
But I… I want us to be able to choose not to be part of the herd, and not get punished or shunned for it. Perhaps there shouldn’t even be a herd at all, hmm?
In conclusion: You’re a human being. You ARE special. Don’t drown yourself into the crowd, don’t be a drone — instead, be you, unapologetically. Be a freak, be abnormal, break the norms, let your inner self shine!
If enabling that is not a goal of your so-called liberation, then what even is the point?