Transphobia is a range of negative attitudes and irrational feelings towards transsexuality and transsexual or transgender people, based on their gender expression. Transphobic people generally express or feel emotional disgust, fear, anger or discomfort towards people who don't conform to society's gender expectations. Transphobia is a form of gender discrimination or sexism, and is a problem in geek communities.
Why is transphobia a feminist issue?
Trans women are women. Therefore, trans misogyny is a feminist issue. Aside from the fact that prejudice in general is a problem, there are reasons for feminists to be involved in opposing transphobia in a general way.
Some of the reasons why transphobia is a feminist issue are
- Feminism should aim to support and protect the most vulnerable groups of women, which trans women are among.
- Trans women experience gendered harassment, violence, and discrimination far more often than cis women - in fact, cis women often contribute to this.
- Transphobes objectify people and objectification is the foundation of rape culture.
- Transphobes are very likely to oppose non hetero-normative behavior and thus generate armies of repressed people for their war against humanity.
- Trans misogyny draws on and contributes to femmephobia: fear, disgust, and hate directed at any trait or activity coded as "feminine".
Terminology
"Transmisogyny" and "trans misogyny" are incorrect terms since "misogyny" is a compound word that consists of parts standing for [hate] [of women] and "transmisogyny" would actually mean "beyond, across hatred of women". The "trans" belongs in the middle.
It should be considered what is meant when thinking of compounding transphobia and misogyny. Clearer (if less concise) wordings to use include:
- transphobia against transwomen/MTF people/FTM people
- discrimination/hatred/violence/prejudice... against/of transwomen/MTF/FTM.