Celebrities STOP Being TRANSPHOBIC!!!

Currently in the news are several celebrities who have been tweeting transphobic comments. This is not new, celebrities keep doing this again and again. (Sadly I think this post is going to be evergreen content because it will be a while before everyone stops being transphobia)

I think one issue is the fact that individuals who have uteruses are being criminalized in many places such as in the recent supreme court ruling so others do not want to deal with nuance or precision. 

Another issue is there are some individuals who don't comprehend that language has changed over time because the idea that language can change confuses them. 

Now it is fine to say I am not sure what the current language I should be using is in this case. We can both not know what language we should be using and not dismiss the fact that language has been changing.

Case Study: Menstruators/People Who Menstruate. 

While many individuals who are transphobic really struggle with this language Menstruators/People Who Menstruate is a clear example of why such language is important. 

There are a wide range of people who were assigned female at birth who do not menstruate:

• Those who have not reached puberty
• Those with amenorrhea caused by medications such as antipsychotics, cancer chemotherapy, antidepressants, some blood pressure drugs, some allergy medications
• Those on various forms of birth control such as the pill
• Those who are currently pregnant
• Those who have had hysterectomies
• Those who have reached menopause

So if an group was providing menstruation products to individuals who otherwise would not be able to access or afford them these services would not apply to all the above groups. In this case it is clear that saying people who menstruate is the most useful language. 

This is true of a lot of the other language that is now used that seems to upset many individuals to the point they make transphobic comments. Terms such as assigned female at birth, birthing people, people with vaginas, people with uteruses etc. 

Each is referencing a different community of people and while yes there tends to be some overlap between the groups there are individuals in each category who do not fit within each of the other categories.

Now with how quickly language and understandings around gender, sex, sexuality, and other identities changes it is ok if we make a mistake and use the wrong term, (everyone will use the wrong term or an outdated term at some point) the problem is when we double down on using the wrong word and refuse to learn when someone points out our mistake. 

Using language that makes those assigned female at birth, cis-women, trans-women, those who are nonbinary or genderfluid all feel safe is not attack on the term "women" anymore than saying you are from a particular state is an attack on the term "American." 

We can understand if someone uses the term "New Yorker" and would not say "No don't say you are a New Yorker you are only an American." We can also understand there might be cases where a "New Yorker" is not an "American" or an "American Citizen" 

(Such as someone who is from Britain but has worked in NY for decades might consider themselves both British and a New Yorker but not an American) 

So why is saying those who mensurate, assigned female at birth, birthing people, people with vaginas, people with uteruses etc. so much harder to understand as a concept?