Serious question from someone who doesn't know; do these people actually exist? I mean gay, anti-trans folks? If so, wtf? Can someone closer to the issue explain what's going on there?

[–] OldChicoAle@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

They do exist, but explaining why they believe what they believe is like trying to rationalize the irrational.

[–] DrivebyHaiku@lemmy.ca 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Okay so... I am a trans person so this is coming from the other side and mostly from friends who are both not married and who do pass better but one of the things I have noticed about some gay men is that they do not want us in their spaces. If they decide you are cute and come over... Well at some point if the flirtation progresses past a point we as trans people have a consent problem on our hands because anybody who gets with us shouldn't be surprised about what downstairs situation we got going and when during an interaction to have that conversation is kind of... Never great. Some gay guys react to trans men with the same volitile disgust straight guys do towards trans women. It's a reaction like we cheated them by wasting their effort.

Also a lot of gay guys, hate to say it, are kind of misogynistic. They get treated as 'not man enough' by straights and turn that around on other targets. I am very lucky to have gay buddies who if the club doesn't want me there will just pick a different club but we've definitely been spooked out of some places.

[–] yumpsuit@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

I can’t speak to the contemporary phenomenon, and generally oughtn’t being cishet, but this was a trend historically in the US. In seeking acceptance by the mainstream, some homosexual communities tried to play into postwar American mores around class, respectability, and gender roles, and transmisogyny was a wedge.

A speech calling this shit out was a key moment in modern American trans history. You should watch it!

From A Short History of Trans Misogyny by Jules Gill-Peterson:

…[Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR)]’s radical political vision proved immensely unpopular with a newly masculine gay movement and the growing anti-trans tenor of some lesbian feminists. The unresolved tensions of Weinstein Hall came to a dramatic head in 1973 at Christopher Street Liberation Day, the annual commemoration of Stonewall today called Pride. Rivera had been scheduled to speak on the stage set up in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, where the march ended. But when she arrived, she found a contingent of gay people who were staunchly against street queens and tried to stop her from speaking. Rivera had to physically fight her way up to the stage, after which she delivered a legendary speech commemorated by its first line, “Y’all better quiet down.”

[–] fipto@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

disclainer: LGB people are not a monolith, so I cant speak for them all. However, some folks are concerned that society is "transing the gay away": encouraging transition as a way out of facing homophobia, instead of fighting homophobia itself. For example, many conservatives are okay with any relationship that looks straight, and see transitioning as a way to conform to hetero-normativity (notable example: Blaire White). There are some gay activists who want to 'change the narrative' on this form of transition in order to fight homophobia and encourage gay acceptance instead.