Definitions
Welcome to the Peakening, we have a list that's being expanded here, this main thread will go over the main definitions of the gender debate (which is sadly being censored right now, thanks Reddit!)
If you have more suggestions of what should be added, let me know in the comments. I'm happy to be a part of the dialogue.
Gender Critical Feminists:
Pejoratively called TERFs or Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists by TRAs, usually just referred as GC feminists or radfems
Feminists who critique gender and/or the concept of gender identity. A majority of Gender Critical are women of all ages, sexualities, nationalities, races and classes. Gender Critical Feminism believes that trans ideology upholds sexist ideas and is actually enforcing the patriarchy through gender roles.
The group is not cohesive - there are subsets of GC Feminism. However, it generally refers to anyone who is 1. A feminist, 2. Critical of gender/trans ideology.
Trans Rights Activists:
Called Trans Inclusive Feminists or TRAs by GC Feminists
Transgender or non-transgender people who support transgender ideology and practices.
Trans Medicalists:
Called Truscum by Tucutes
Trans people or activists who believe that only people with dysphoria can be trans. Some also believe that you require surgery in order to be addressed how you wish to be addressed, some do not.
Self-ID Trans Activists:
Called Tucutes or Transtrenders
Trans people or activists who believe anyone can identify as transgender. Some believe being transgender is an innate (wrong body or "lady brain" hypothesis), some believe that no innateness exists and anyone can label whatever they like (self-expression). There's many subsets of this group, like genderfuck expressionists/gender anarchy.
Crossdressers/Drag Queens:
Non-Transgender men who dress up as stereotypical women for entertainment or erotic purposes. GC are often critical towards this group because while touted as progressive they often use dehumanizing and negative stereotypes of women (Womanface).
Right Wing Anti-LGBT Conservatives:
As the name implies, people who are right wing who do not like transgender people because they are gender non-conforming (or often even LGB people in general) and oppose them for varying (often highly questionable) reasons.
TRAs often lump GC Feminists in with right wing conservatives by also calling conservatives. TERFs, or finding that one rare right wing "feminist" (even when they're not even feminists) as an attempt to shut down conversation or avoid people from looking up "TERF" viewpoints on the internet and possibly seeing contradictions.
Word Concepts
Woman:
Gender Critical (Original Definition): An adult human who possesses an XX chromosome and have a vagina/uterus. This does not exclude women who have birth anomalies (intersex) or people who have had their wombs removed. Consider, human beings have two hands and two legs - however people might lose their limbs, or not be born with them, etc, but DNA reflects their reality. GC Feminists believe there reasons why it is important to have a sex based definition of "Woman" as sexism stem from sex discrimination specifically.
Trans Medicalists: Two versions, the trans-medicalist often believes that sex and gender are two different things but still believes sex exists - they will often say "You're not a woman yet, though you are one on the inside, you just need surgery.". Second version would be "You're a woman with a birth defect of having a penis instead of a vagina."
Self-ID Trans Activists: The self-ID trans activists can sometimes follow belief in the "ladybrain" myth "You are a woman on the inside" and just believes no surgery is needed (unless wanted). The second type believes gender is a social construct (they are right) or even that it does not really exist (also right), and that anyone can identify as a woman at will.
Gender:
Gender Critical: Gender Critical feminists do not believe the concept of gender, "innateness", or gender identity actually exists, however accept that "expression", "masculine", or "feminine" are actual real parts of our society (socially and culturally constructed, of course). No person is fully "masculine" or "feminine" and everyone has different parts of themselves that make them unique - this is what some genderists might call "gender", we call it "personality" and should be embraced.
GC Feminists note that the original inventor of the concept of "gender identity" was a man called John Money and this concept has been shoehorned into academia in recent years.
TRA Definition: Trans Medicalists and many Self-ID transgender activists usually believe in gender. Some believe it is innate and that not being recognized by ones' "innate gender" can cause dysphoria, IE: liking to socialize with other girls, not relating to other boys in childhood or seeing oneself is proof of a female gender.
Some acknowledge gender =/= gender expression, but still insist on innateness. Some believe gender does not exist, but believe being transgender is picking any gender you feel "fits you" and do not elaborate what it means to be any gender "because it's different for everyone" - not elaborating on what gender actually is.
Dysphoria:
Gender Critical Definition: Dysphoria is a debilitating mental illness where the victim begins to hate their own body or body characteristics and wishes to have different ones (IE: male to female, female to male).
Gender Critical feminists do not deny the existence of dysphoria, but they do not believe it is due to being "born into the wrong body". Gender Criticals believe that many societal factors have contributed to a rise in gender dysphoria cases and that it can actually be prevented by providing a healthly environment and reform in how we view men and women.
Similar to how conditions like Anorexia Nervosa or Bullimia manifest more in societies where women's bodies are scrunitized often for not being "thin enough", gender dysphoria can manifest in societies with rigid gender roles and patriarchy (and of course, exposure to TRA idealogy telling them their feelings ARE due to being in the wrong body, which is a form of abuse).
GC Feminists have many theories on what causes it, ranging from Blanchard's theory of autogynphilia (sexual), to insecurities that young men have regarding masculinity and dating - to the effects of a severe increase of porn/hentai exposure to young teenagers both male and female. We ultimately believe that dysphoria is real but not proof that a metaphysical misalignment is happening but rather an under-researched mental disorder.
We can see a similar trend happening in otherkin circles with an overlap, for example. Or transabled groups - TRAs often participant in erasure of these groups, saying it is not real or made up, please do look into the similarities and experiences of these groups.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_integrity_dysphoria
https://otherkin.fandom.com/wiki/Species_Dysphoria
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otherkin
TRA Definition: To most transgender activists, dysphoria to TRAs is a condition where someone is born into the wrong body, many have come up with many conflicting theories over the years:
"Lady Brain" or "Man Brain": The theory that you are born into the wrong body due to hormones or DNA that affects your brain - and that there are female/male brains. Many TRAs don't support it however, like Riley Dennis for example (Possibly because not all transgender identified people fit under the brain changes that some scientists are claiming, and feel they may be "invalidated" or "outed" by it). Essentially, they believe the dysphoria is caused by a disconnect in biology.
"Validation": Some genderists/TRAs because that "lady brains" do exist but the dysphoria is not caused by being in the wrong body but instead because society isn't calling them by their right pronouns or acknowledging them as their desired gender, and if people are validated this dysphoria will go away - somewhat acknowledges dysphoria is societally caused.
"Womanness": Other TRAs don't believe in "gender" but believe womanness is a personality type (like picking your favorite ice cream flavour) that someone decides to be, and that denying someone their womanness is just telling someone they can't be their true selves.
Gender Euphoria:
Gender Critical Definition: Gender Criticals assign the psychological effects of gender euphoria to childhood experiences and ones own relationship to how they perceive their birth sex (role fulfillment). For example - the human mind is flexible, if a man is fixated on being validated as female and assigned this as his identity/core being, praise or acknowledgement of this will reinforce this and make him happy.
GCs believe the sexual side of gender euphoria is a symptom of autogynephilia.
Most natal women and men do feel happy and more confident when they look good or are appraised to their cultural standards of beauty/femininity/masculinity but do not get aroused from getting dressed or seeing themselves naked, even when they are feeling confident and/or sexy. (unless they are specifically auto-sexual - which is also a rare fetish.)
TRA Definition: A sense of happiness one feels when identified or acknowledged to be the gender they wish to be. This can range from happiness, comfort, a temporary boost in self esteem, to actual sexual sexual arousal. TRAs actually believe this sexual arousal/ejaculation is part of a sexual awakening/self-acceptance and not symptoms of autogynphellia or a sissy fetish.
One noted point of interest is that many TIMs report getting erections or ejaculating when having their "gender acknowledged", the transgender community/TRAs because this is because one is feeling confident, and it is not any form of fetish or paraphilia. Don't take our word for it, here is a blog that links to an example instances: https://wombyna-ovaryhaver.tumblr.com/post/615406479224291328/trans-reddit-gender-euphoria-edition-disturbing
Also note that trans identified females (trans men) do not display as much self-arousal type gender euphoria as males (trans identified men) do, but both report gender euphoria.
Sex:
Gender Critical (Original Definition): Either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions. Women don't need a womb or a vagina to be a woman (there can be reasons why she does not have one - IE: surgery, FGM), but all women have a womb or a vagina. Similarly with secondary characteristics, some women are masculine, have small breasts, a deep voice, even facial hair - but they are still biologically women by their genes.
TRAs: Two versions are touted in trans ideology:
Sex is a spectrum: TRAs believe that sex is a spectrum between male and female. The idea behind this is that different penis sizes and clit sizes exist, and so do varying other secondary sex characteristics - this is true (everyone is either more andro or gyno in physique). However, the science becomes a bit off when they describe genitals being penis to vagina with intersex conditions being in-between, we'll explain why this is wrong in a bit.
Sex does not exist: Some TRAs have a different take and go on to state that our concept of sex needs to be erased. They say that the only way to achieve gender equality is to erase sex (in an albeit sexblind manner) so a penis can be a woman's penis and is not a "male" genital.
A penis is no longer a genital primarily belonging to men, it is a unisex genital. The idea is that if everyone stopped seeing patterns and just described body parts to people, things like "ladydick" will be more accepted and less trans people will feel less dysphoric about it.
