I apologize for returning so quickly to the cesspool that is The Spearhood, but I felt the need to note how head Spearheader WF Price celebrated Mothers’ Day this year: with an attack on trans* women that probably deserves a TRIGGER WARNING for its nastiness and ignorance.
Responding to an Op-Ed in the New York Times by author Jennifer Finley Boylan reflecting on her experience as a mother who also happens to be a trans* woman, Price lashes out at what he describes as
men who reject everything about masculinity. Men who reject it so much that they chop off their genitalia and take female hormones in order to eradicate everything male about them.
You may recall A Voice for Men’s Paul Elam making a similarly transphobic “argument” about the alleged motivations of trans* women a couple of years back.
After this general attack on trans* women, Price narrows his aim a bit, attacking those trans* women who have the chutzpah to declare themselves mothers, focusing his wrath on Boylan in particular:
One of these stalwart, self-mutilating individuals – a “former” male who goes by the name Jennifer Finley Boylan – has declared that he’s every bit the mother as any woman. … If we don’t accept that he’s a mother, we’re bigots.
Well, yes, Mr. Price, not accepting that she’s a mother does make you a bigot.
After setting forth this rather garden-variety transphobia, WF Price spells out the broad outlines of what you might call an MRA Theory of Trans* Womanhood:
I understand why some of the most selfish, depraved men among us would want to relinquish their masculinity. In our society, women are free to pursue their heart’s desire without fear of sanction. Judging women for putting their own needs first is condemned in every mainstream outlet, from Dr. Phil to The Atlantic.
Some men are bound to be envious of this. Some of them go so far as to try to try to become a woman. And what kind of woman do they emulate? The worst parody of one. Gaudy, self-righteous, exhibitionist, attention-seeking, demanding, selfish and all too willing to place their burdens on others.
Ironically, with the possible exception of the word “gaudy,” all those adjectives in that last sentence apply perfectly to Price himself, and more than a few of the other Men’s Rights Activists I’ve had the displeasure of encountering while writing this blog.
Holy fucking shit, what did I just read? Price needs to fuck off.
They are just so horrible. Everything about this post leaves me nearly incoherent with rage.
Preemptive brain bleach!
Well shit.
Yes, because the only reason anyone would ever get a sex change…oh, sorry…”self-mutilate”…is to be selfish in public. (You know, since that’s all we women are capable of doing.)
It has absolutely nothing to do with feeling like you’re the wrong sex, or that you’re body is the incorrect type. For the love of the Gods…has this man never met a trans person?
On the other hand, what does he think of trans men? On Fathers Day, will he treat us to a tirade about how all these former women are stupid for giving up their massive amounts of privilege? Will he pretend they don’t exist? Or will he chastise them for making a mockery of Real Men ™? Whatever he chooses to do, I’m sure it’ll meet the same “high standards” as this piece of *%$# he’s written.
Btw, hope everyone found a way to celebrate the first International Clitoris Week last week. I wrote a fun post on it…but hopefully other people did more! 😉
men who reject everything about masculinity. Men who reject it so much that they chop off their genitalia and take female hormones in order to eradicate everything male about them.
FUCK THIS GUY.
Ugh. I’ve received similar remarks from other MRAs when I told them I’m a trans* woman. And honestly, there are few insults that hurt more than the accusation of being misandric just because I want to transition. I don’t hate men. I don’t hate masculinity. I just want to be myself.
What a fucking asshole. It’s because of shitheads like him that I’m afraid of what could happen to me and my kid(s) when I become an adoptive mother. Thank you for reminding me of another bigoted narrative that makes me feel like shit, Spearhead. Fuck you and your false espousal of equality.
Fuck him, fuck this shit, fuck this world. And fucking thanks David for this blog, you’re fucking amazing!
As I learned by reading “Whipping Girl” by Julia Serano, transphobia and misogyny go hand and hand. Except trans women get it even worse. Happy (belated) Mother’s Day, Jenny! (BTW, “She’s Not There” is a pretty good book although it made me sad.)
Wait, I thought he was of the opinion that mothers were rather crap in general. Now that he needs them to make a rhetorical point they’re worth something all of a sudden?
Re/ brain bleach, cute animals are great, but sometimes not enough. I have to visualize a ragged band of dinosaurs, howling piteously at the change in their environment and unable to adapt as their numbers dwindle and they are more and more obsolete.
I’ve just about had it with both The Spearhead and AVFM. Can we make like The Wizard of Oz and drop a (very large, preferably made of metal) house on both of them?
@Aaliyah
I’m so sorry for your experiences, nobody deserves to be put down for trying to be themselves. These types of people are the true selfish ones…completely unable to emphasize with any non-traditional ideas or lifestyles. I hope that when you become an adoptive mom that you have many happy Mothers Days.
It’s all about the hate with these people, isn’t it? Hate is the only emotion they know, so it’s the only emotion they can imagine in other people.
Women can do whatever, but those poor menz *nuuubuhuu*
It’s just so much easier being a lady, amirite?
What about FtM people? Why would anyone want to be a male since they are restricted from doing almost anything?
It’s like dysphoria and gender and identities aren’t even a thing. There is only (bad) biology.
I just came up with a theory on how to explain MRA hatred of transpeople.
MtF : They loved females and female priviledge so, oh so much, that they betrayed their entire sex/gender. Therefore, MRAs treat them as traitors no better than- if not worse – than manginas.
FtM : Females are deceitful little bastards to begin with and don’t care about cheaters, unless they are (at least born) male. Also, since women can do what ever they like, they can’t betray their sex/gender. Unless they become MRAs, because they are afraid that their power gets overthrown.
Makes sense? I’m just riffing here, really.
Catfish FtM are women who realise how evil women are, and are pretending they can become men. Which makes them fakers (and when they find out how “tough it is” to be a man, they will revert to type, and lobby for more male oppression).
Or something. I probably tried to hard to make it a coherent thought.
This little outburst is particularly funny in light of the constant MRA wanking about TERFs and how they prove that feminism is evil. Everyone is bookmarking it so we can rub their noses in it later, right?
In this, at least, Spearheaders and some feminists are in agreement. I have seen the exact same things said about trans men by feminists (with the slight difference that male privilege is actually a thing).
Er, in case it wasn’t obvious, I don’t agree with either side. It’s so obnoxious when gender politics are used as an excuse for transphobia. “Hey, my oppression ( real or imagined) means it’s ok to oppress you!” Talk about punching down :-/
Emily-goddess: Actually, from my reading on the subject, it’s far more common for radfems to reject trans* women but accept trans* men, because some schools of radfem are all about maintaining gender essentialism–so, if you were born with ovaries, you’re always an honorary woman, even if you reject that label for yourself, but anyone who was born with a penis who describes themselves as a woman is clearly a pretender.
Fortunately, most radfems of this ilk are of the second wave, and they’re a dying breed; time and social evolution will pretty much weed them out. There will probably still be transphobic feminists (there’s scummy people in every movement, no matter how noble the cause is), but they’ll find it harder to justify their bigotry in the context of their better beliefs.
They really do see the entire world as a bloodthirsty war between Men and Women, don’t they? Since the only thing that motivates them is the prospect of being horrible to women, they assume everyone else is the same way and the only reason anyone does anything is as an action in the war. People don’t transition because they wish to correct their own individual personal bodies…they do it to defect from the side they were born on!
@ Catfish
To be fair, I think active hatred of trans*people is more a matter of gender essentialism, found in a small subset of feminism too. However, the feminist kind particularly disgusts/pisses me off, since we share a label. WTF Price’s argument is exactly the same as anti-trans* radfems. They both hate trans*women, trans*men, gender queer people, with this weird assumption that they are simultaneously traitors and privileged. It just doesn’t fit their neat little model of identity they try so hard to apply to reality.
[Sorry, rant!]
@freemage
I have read a few texts from the 80s from anti-trans*men radfems (though the extreme hatred is directed at trans*women, they seem instead to have contempt for trans*men). In any case, I agree with you that it is a rare, dying kind of feminist. Bleah.
Do we know how prevalent it is in MRA circles? I seem to recall a few people trying to include trans*men (and failed).
How would anyone know if someone is trans and what difference does it make anyway.
I’ve seen a few trans* men post on r/mensrights and most people were welcoming (although NWOSlave often makes an appearance on those threads to be super hateful). r/mr is probably the best of the MRM, which is sad.