So let’s talk about transphobia, cissexism, and transmisogyny.
These terms are used a lot in the trans community on tumblr, and I feel like they always get used improperly.
Transphobia is the general dislike/fear of transpeople; using derogatory slang like the T-word and asking for real names, etc.
Cissexism is the exclusion of transpeople and believe that being cis is the norm and being trans is abnormal. This one I’d say gets abused the most. Saying “women have vaginas and men have penises” is not an inherently cissexist statement; however, insisting this IS.
Transmisogny is the dislike of trans women in particular. Generally, this can be used in tandem with transphobia because traditionally, when transpeople are shown in the media, it’s a really negative portrayal of trans women. However, I’ve come to notice that this is sometimes practiced by people who are friends with a lot of trans men, and, in some cases, trans men themselves.
I’ve actually encountered this before. I’ve seen cis people with loads of trans male friends congratulating one of them starting hormones, while laughing at me upon hearing my voice. That’s really hurtful, just saying.
All that said, a cis lesbian not wanting to date a trans woman because “ew penis” is actually NONE OF THESE THINGS. That’s closer to body essentialism, which is a different category altogether. Right now, I’m just trying to get the definitions (at least, how I see them) of these three terms across.
