See Tumblr TERFs justify threatening to murder a trans kid

Tumblr TERF, radfem-momma apparently thinks it’s okay to threaten to trans kids with murder as long as you lie about the reason.

Apparently some TERFs on Tumblr are trying to figure out how to justify their long history of actual violence against trans people. Tumblr user radfem-momma wrote and fuckyeah-radicalfeminism reblogged:

“[A]bout the horrible ‘harassment’ of the 16-year-old at Michfest. The kid was participating in a march of trans women onto the land stark naked, but, yeah, it’s radfems who were harming that kid, not the adult trans women who endorsed sexual exploitation of a minor.”

According to these TERFs, this 16 year old trans kid – for some inexplicable reason – was nude in the middle of the group of fully clothed Lesbian Avengers she arrived with. Note that in the above TERF historical account, the trans kid was supposedly with a “march of [adult] trans women.” I guess it better fits the TERF narrative about trans women if adult trans women are portrayed as marching a nude trans kid around MichFest. Consider for a moment the animus that animates both the above quoted lie and the gleeful consumption of this lie by TERFs.  How much hate is needed to predispose TERFs to accept – on faith alone – that the above quoted claim about the morality of trans women is plausible?

I want you to think about the ethical collapse it takes for an adult to A.) lie about a traumatized trans kid; B.) gloatingly sexualize this traumatized trans kid; and, C.) promote this falsehood in an effort to justify the actions of an adult TERF who stood up in front of a mob of other TERFs and threatened this trans kid’s life. Consider too that TERFs want – need – you to believe that this macabre ethic represents “radical feminism.” Moreover, I find how eager TERFs are to openly embrace and spread this ethic by liking and reblogging this libelous falsehood chilling.

To set the record straight, I contacted the trans kid (now an adult) and asked her why she had supposedly stripped nude before entering MichFest with the rest of her Lesbian Avenger group. For the record, she replied:

No, I was at no point nude and everyone you spoke to can verify that. I did not shower or remove my clothes at any point outside of a tent (where I changed for bed and in the morning).

I also checked with Nomy Lamm, asking her if she observed the trans kid in question in a state of undress. For the record, she replied:

Absolutely not. That is not what happened. Thanks for checking in about that. [The trans kid] was absolutely wearing clothes.

At this point it should be clear that one of two things is true. Either:

A.) Everyone who witnessed what happened – including a MichFest performer – are all part of a conspiracy to silence the truth that adult trans women – and not the Lesbian Avengers – brought a nude trans kid to MichFest and for some nefarious reason, paraded the kid’s naked body around the festival; or,

B.) TERFs lie.

Here’s the fact claim TERFs are passing back and forth to each other on Tumblr:

For the record, I am not now, nor have I ever been a “MRA.” Since I transitioned before the internet was a thing, I’d be curious to know how radfem-momma came up with this fact claim. Personally, I think that if one’s ethics will allow one to sexualize and monster a trans kid in order to justify a TERF threatening to murder that kid with a knife, I don’t think it would be a stretch for this TERF to lie about why I find the behavior of people like radfem-momma repugnant.

Here’s a list of the other fact assertions radfem-momma et al make:

• Tweeting that vacant property a well-known TERF activist was selling online is really fancy and expensive is the same thing as a man stalking a woman in real life.
• For years I’ve been a “Men’s Rights Activists” because I blog on this site.
• TheTERFs.com doesn’t provide any evidance to prove that TERFs act to harm trans people.
• I supposedly wrote an article by Zoe Brain.
• TERFS didn’t disrupt the 1973 West Coast Lesbian Conference when:
  • They issued a death threat to the trans woman who helped organize the Conference [1]
  • They instructed TERFs to “deal with” the trans woman who helped organize the Conference while at the same time monstering her [2] [3] [4]
  • They attempted to bash this very trans woman on a Conference stage or that they physically assaulted radical feminists for protecting the trans woman from the beating
• Making the claim that a TERF organized a physical assault against Sylvia Rivera isn’t supported by evidence. [5][6][7]
• The evidence proves that Janice Raymond didn’t have anything to do with the study that lead to the revocation of public and 3rd party funding for trans medical care and it doesn’t matter anyway because people on the internets say stupid shit.

NOTES:

[1] “Then, when she trashed me in her speech, she referred to my having been ‘begged’ not to attend the conference. That had taken place in a phone call much earlier in the week that began with a request to speak to ‘Mr. Elliott’ and ended with a death threat.” – Nettick, Geri, and Beth Elliot. Mirrors: Portrait of a Lesbian Transsexual. Rhinoceros ed. NY: Masquerade Books, 1996. 256.

[2] “I charge [Elliott] as an opportunist, an infiltrator, and a destroyer—with the mentality of a rapist. And you women at this Conference know who he [sic] is. Now. You can let him [sic] into your workshops—or you can deal with him [sic].” – Blasius, Mark. We Are Everywhere: A Historical Sourcebook of Gay and Lesbian Politics. New York: Routledge, 1997. 429.

[3] “Did I hear [Robin Morgan] right. I did. She said that rather than call for unity, she chooses to call for polarity. I’m confused. I’m still confused. Especially since the announced purpose for the conference is UNITY… I’m angry. I somehow feel betrayed… Now she’s trashing Kate Millet. Now she’s trashing us over the transsexual thing. Now she’s trashing EVERYONE. I can’t believe she ever wrote anything about “sister-hood.” – McLean, Barbara. “Diary of a Mad Organizer.” The Lesbian Tide, May 1, 1973.

[4] “It was like an earthquake – at first, a little earthquake. Then an 8.5…” – Faderman, Lillian, and Stuart Timmons. Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics, and Lipstick Lesbians. New York: Basic Books, 2006. 191.

[5] “Women in the GLF were uncomfortable referring to Rivera – who insisted in using women’s bathrooms, even in City hall – as ‘she.’ Pressure mounted. The year 1973 witnessed a clash that would take Rivera out of the movement for the next two decades… As they passed out flyers outlining their opposition to the ‘female impersonators,’ Rivera wrestled for the microphone held by emcee Vitto Russo, before getting hit with it herself. Rivera explained, ‘I had to battle my way up on stage, and literally get beaten up and punched around by people I thought were my comrades, to get to that microphone.” – Benjamin Shepard, That’s Revolting!, pp 126 – 127

[6] Sylvia Rivera recounted the event: “Jean O’Leary, a founder of Radicalesbians, decided that drag queens were insulting to women… I had been told I was going to speak at the rally. And that’s when things just got out of hand. I’m very militant when it comes to certain things, and I didn’t appreciate what was going down with Jean O’Leary stating that we were insulting women… She told Vito Russo to kick my ass onstage… but I still got up and spoke my piece.” – Susan Glisson (Ed), The Human Tradition in the Civil Rights Movement, p 325

[7] “[T]his incident precipitated yet another suicide attempt on her part… the events of that day in 1973 ultimately took something out of Sylvia Rivera. In the succeeding years, Sylvia Rivera’s participation in ‘the movement’ waned. Although she attended every Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade (with the exception of two) until her death, Sylvia’s formal participation in organizations like the GLF and the GAA came to a halt.” – ibid.