Recognizing transphobia in yourself and others

While the previous years have felt like we, trans people, were globally gaining acceptance, 2025 feels like an “Empire Strikes Back” moment. We now live in a pandemic of disinformation aimed at spreading fear against trans people and taking away our rights, in the UK, in the US (federal and many states), and even in some Canadian provinces (despite Canada being one of the most trans-friendly places in the world).

The TERF Trick

You might be familiar with the logic used by anti-abortion activists who call themselves “pro-life”.

For example, if someone talks about the “sanctity of life”, you might think that they mean things like “I oppose wars, capital punishment, factory farming, and support programs that protect human life like vaccination and welfare”.

What they might really mean is “I’m against abortion and assisted suicide”.

The anti-trans activists use the same trick. If someone talks about women’s rights, they might mean things like “I want to empower young girls to have ambition, I want to fight misogyny and the patriarchy, I want more women in positions of leadership, I want to help against menstrual precariousness, we need to do more to fight domestic violence”.

But what they might really mean is “We need to ensure trans women are not legally recognized as women because they are the major threat against real [non-trans] women”.

If you want an example, take “For Women Scotland”. You might expect them to be a generalist feminist organization, but if you look at their website, you will notice their content is exclusively focused on fighting against trans rights (and more specifically trans women’s rights) and spreading disinformation about trans people. They don’t have a single article about something other than trans people.

This is what in the community we call a TERF organization (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist). They are people who have been poisoned with the unfounded idea that the biggest threat to women’s rights and safety in the current era is trans women (not tradwife ideology, not domestic violence, discrimination, etc.). One of the most (in)famous TERFs is of course J.K. Rowling, who is actively using her wealth to fight against trans rights.

Note that a lot of them might be acting in good faith, just like some people genuinely believe that global warming is a hoax or that vaccines are dangerous, even though we know that facts contradict their worldview.

Of course, some might openly call themselves TERFs or more likely “gender-critical feminists”, but sometimes they’ll just present themselves as feminists, and it’s only when you dig into what they actually do for women that you’ll understand that their focus is fighting against trans people.

Do you think you won’t be tricked that easily? I’ve been baffled how even educated people can completely fall for the TERF trick, and not realize their interlocutor means “women’s rights” in the TERF sense.

Have You Been Poisoned by Transphobia?

I recently read “I Shall Wear Midnight” by Terry Pratchett. In this fantasy story, the main character, a witch, is facing growing prejudice based on unfounded fears against witches, even though she is always helping people. In the story, the prejudice that spreads in people’s minds is described as a poison.

Similarly, you might have integrated as true some anti-trans lies, just because they appeal to what we consider common sense, but which is really internal prejudice. As one of the characters in a fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein said “You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic”.

I myself used to hold many of these transphobic beliefs true, just because I heard them and they felt intuitive, but I never fact-checked any of them. Having these beliefs very likely prevented me from realizing earlier that I was trans and transitioning (this is called “internalized transphobia”). For instance, I hadn't realized at the time that The Economist was spreading some of these false beliefs and I believed them, because I considered them to be a reputable source.

So, let’s check some common prejudices you might have about trans people. Here is a list of misconceptions that might intuitively seem true but are not.

Misconception: Most trans people are trans women. Reality: There are roughly as many trans men as trans women, and 1/5 of non-binary people [1].

Misconception: Trans women are attracted to men.

Reality: Trans people can have any sexual orientation. Trans women can be lesbians, bi or straight [2].

Misconception: All trans men/women want surgery to change their genitals.

Reality: What each trans person needs as part of their transition is very personal. Some trans people feel a great discomfort about their genitals and want bottom surgery, while some are comfortable with an androgynous body and don’t want it (like me! See my previous article).

Misconception: Non-binary people are not trans; they just have a non-conforming appearance.

Reality: “Non-binary" means all people whose internal sense of gender is neither feeling entirely like a man or a woman. Some non-binary people will adopt an androgynous appearance, but some will present traditionally masculine/feminine, just like men and women can present in a gender conforming or non-conforming way.

Misconception: Trans women are still like males from a biological point of view.

Reality: Internal biology of trans women who takes hormones (most of us do if we can [2]) is closer to that of biological females than biological males, because most organs are influenced indirectly by hormones rather than directly by sex chromones, for example: fat distribution (= “feminine” vs “masculine” body shape), body/face hair growth, hairline shape, baldness, sex drive, muscular strength [3], breast growth, voice breaking. This is of course symmetrical for trans men. On the other hand, what is really controlled directly by sex chromosomes is which genitals you have.

Misconception: Trans women in women-only spaces are a threat to cis* women.

Reality: Allowing trans women in women-only spaces is safe [4]. On the other hand, forcing trans women in men-only spaces puts them at risk [5, 6].

Misconception: It’s a choice to be trans.

Reality: You can discover that you are trans, but you already are. Also, it’s not possible to make trans people not trans anymore (just like you can’t make gay people straight), and trying to do so is dangerous for them [7].

Misconception: Trans women have a physical advantage over cis* women.

Reality: Trans women who take hormones lose their advantage compared to cis women and become similar in terms of strength after a few years [3]. This phenomenon is well-known by trans people and part of their transition experience, as I noticed myself. There might be some slight advantages or disadvantages on very specific physical abilities. [3, 8, 9, 10]

*cis = the opposite of trans (e.g. “cis women” means non-trans women)

To learn more about the debunking of anti-trans arguments, you can read my more specific article which digs deep into the arguments and their refutation.

Before You Go: Recognizing Transphobic Vocabulary

A last point to be careful about is that anti-trans activists have developed a special vocabulary to refer to trans people in a derogatory way. Any use of the terms below is a very strong indicator that the person talking to you is transphobic, or that they have been poisoned by transphobic ideas:

Transphobic term: Trans-identified males/females (or TIMs/TIFs)

Correct term: Trans women/men

Why it’s wrong: Those terms imply trans people are lying or delusional about their gender. Also, those terms are deliberately misgendering the people they refer to (to hurt them).

Transphobic term: Gender ideology / Transgenderism

Correct term: Gender identity

Why it’s wrong: The word “ideology” implies our gender is not real, once again implying deceit or delusion. The “ism” in “transgenderism” is the same, it implies it’s an ideology.

Transphobic term: Autogynephilia (or AGP)

Correct term: None

Why it’s wrong: Autogynephilia is an old theory that tried to portray gender identity as a sexual perversion.

So don’t fall for it, and don’t use those derogatory terms!

Conclusion

For some reason, we trans people have become a focus of hate and disinformation, probably because gay people are now “too accepted” to be a good target for fearmongering in Western democracies, so we now became the next target. But we are still at the edge of acceptance (of the Zeitgeist as I would have explained in this article I wrote 2 years ago), which is messy and variable, and we have to fight our way there.

References

[1] Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 6 January 2023, ONS website, statistical bulletin, Gender identity, England and Wales: Census 2021 

[2] James SE et al. The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. National Center for Transgender Equality 2016. http://www.ustranssurvey.org/reports. 

[3] Ada S Cheung, Sav Zwickl, Kirsti Miller, Brendan J Nolan, Alex Fang Qi Wong, Patrice Jones, Nir Eynon, The Impact of Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy on Physical Performance, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 109, Issue 2, February 2024, Pages e455–e465, https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgad414

[4] Hasenbush, A., Flores, A.R. & Herman, J.L. Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Laws in Public Accommodations: a Review of Evidence Regarding Safety and Privacy in Public Restrooms, Locker Rooms, and Changing Rooms. Sex Res Soc Policy 16, 70–83 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-018-0335-z 

[5] Gabriel R. Murchison, Madina Agénor, Sari L. Reisner, Ryan J. Watson; School Restroom and Locker Room Restrictions and Sexual Assault Risk Among Transgender Youth. Pediatrics June 2019; 143 (6): e20182902. 10.1542/peds.2018-2902 

[6] Impact of Bathroom Discrimination on Mental Health Among Transgender and Nonbinary Youth. Price-Feeney, Myeshia et al. Journal of Adolescent Health, Volume 68, Issue 6, 1142 - 1147

[7] Conversion practice recall and mental health symptoms in sexual and gender minority adults in the USA: a cross-sectional study. Tran, Nguyen K et al. The Lancet Psychiatry, Volume 11, Issue 11, 879 - 889

[8] Hamilton B, Brown A, Montagner-Moraes S, Comeras-Chueca C, Bush PG, Guppy FM, Pitsiladis YP. Strength, power and aerobic capacity of transgender athletes: a cross-sectional study. Br J Sports Med. 2024 May 28;58(11):586-597. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2023-108029. Erratum in: Br J Sports Med. 2024 Oct 17;58(19):e10. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2023-108029corr1. PMID: 38599680; PMCID: PMC11137468.

[9] Harper, Joanna. (2015). Race Times for Transgender Athletes. Journal of Sporting Cultures and Identities. 6. 1-9. 10.18848/2381-6678/CGP/v06i01/54079.

[10] Transgender Women Athletes and Elite Sport: A Scientific Review, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport