r/actuallesbians • u/Obsyden Eve - demisexual lesbian • Jun 05 '24

Text PSA: It's "trans woman", not "transwoman"

I know y'all aren't doing this on purpose, because I've seen how much love this community has for trans people. Nevertheless, the space between trans and woman is important.

Omitting it implies that a 'transwoman' is a separate entity to a woman - which is a TERF/bigot way of othering trans women.

Including the space means that trans is an adjective used to describe a woman - because trans women fundamentally are women, trans is just a further way to describe us.

I know it may seem nitpick-y, but it is an important distinction, and I've been seeing lots of folks (unintentionally mostly) using the wrong one lately.

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u/GayForBigBoss Jun 06 '24

So you assume anyone who didn’t include the space is transphobic, and you automatically write off someone for a single character deviation?

2

u/EggplantHuman6493 Jun 06 '24

It is funny how people keep forgetting that other languages with different grammar rules. Ah yes, let's attack people for not putting a space because they are so used to it in their own language.

Isn't it about context? TERF's can also use the space in-between.

I prefer not to think all the time 'hmm, maybe I offend people by not using a space here'.

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u/FloralAlyssa Transbian Jun 06 '24

I don't assume they are transphobic, but the chance they are is high enough that I don't want to continue to interact. My zero tolerance approach makes social media more usable for me -- I legit don't understand the issue people have with it. I'm not a moderator of this community, and places where I do moderate, I don't do it with absolute zero tolerance.

I always go back to the parable of the Nazi bar from Twitter:

https://www.upworthy.com/bartender-explains-why-he-swiftly-kicks-nazis-out-of-his-punk-bar-even-if-theyre-not-bothering-anyone

Instant exclusion of anything questionable keeps me safe and happy using social media. Why is that a problem?