In terms of my politics, I could still be classified as a kind of radical feminist but my views diverge so much from what gets called "radical feminism" these days that I hesitate to call myself one.
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The idea that trans people can't be radical feminists is bullshit. We have unique insights to add to radical feminist theory and practice. We can take ideas developed in radical feminism and use them to analyze our own oppression under heteropatriarchy.
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When I say I became disillusioned with radical feminism, it's more accurate to say I'm disillusioned with what it's become, how it's been increasingly co-opted by the right and become more conservative, bioessentialist, and centered on opposing trans people.
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Reactionary tendencies have long been part of radical feminism, particularly with cultural feminism, "women's spirituality" and some forms of lesbian feminism/separatism. But they've ramped up a lot and part of that is from working with the Christian Right.
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I've seen detrans rad fems I know become increasing bioessentialist over time in ways that disturb me. I've seen hardcore lesbian separatists collaborate with right-wing Christians who promote conversion therapy.
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That so many "radical feminists" see trans people as a bigger threat to them than the Christian Right breaks my brain. The collaboration between rad fems and the Right was a huge part of why I left. It shocked and disgusted me.
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I couldn't understand how these rad fems didn't see the Christian Right as being a part of the patriarchy they claimed to oppose. To be fair, I did know a lot of rad fems who were as horrified as I was but that ultimately wasn't enough to keep me from leaving.
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Rad fem/Christian Right collaboration lead me to question a lot of my beliefs and what I was doing. I got involved in radical feminism to fight patriarchy, not trans people. I thought trans people suffered from false consciousness but didn't see them as my enemies.
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I had bought into the lesbian feminist idea of lesbians being a threat to patriarchy and an expression of female liberation. And yet now I was watching lesbian feminists working with the likes of the Heritage Foundation. How was that radical or a challenge to male power?
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It seemed like some lesbian feminists believed so much in their inherent radicalism that it prevented them from seeimg how they could be co-opted by right-wing patriarchy. It made me question what mattered more, how someone identitfied or their actions and political analysis?
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I figured out I could keep all the parts I liked about radical feminism and see myself as whatever gender felt most true. I didn't have to be a woman or lesbian to practice radical feminist politics. I could be a transmasculine genderweirdo and a radical feminist.
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I also realized that certain tendencies in radical feminism could become very reactionary and dangerous. I'm opposed to how gender crits and rad fems are attacking trans people but I'm also horrified by what they've done to feminism, how they're allowing the Right to co-opt it.
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Transphobic radical and gender crit feminism needs to be seen not just as a threat to trans people but as part of a anti-feminist backlash, as a threat to all women. When radical feminism gets co-opted by reactionaries it's a disaster for women, gay people and trans people.
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End of conversation
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