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Do you know what the term TERF means?

Cambridge’s University Student’s Union (CUSU) has published a guide to Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERF) and their ideologies. But why, and who are people that are described as TERFs?

The guide was released the day before the Out in Cambridge report was released, an in-depth study on LGBTQ+ inclusivity in Cambridge University which reported a more inclusive Cambridge than ever before. The same report indicates work still needs to be done to make it inclusive for all LGBTQ+ identities.

Transgender issues have been a hot media topic in 2019, and with it came a rise in hate crimes. In 2019 in Cambridgeshire alone, transphobic hate crimes have risen by 271 per cent since 2015.

CUSU say their guide is to ensure movements in the University are safe and inclusive for everyone - and has full endorsement from the Cambridge University Graduate Union executive committee as a stance of trans solidarity.

CUSU’s guide was written with the collaboration of the CUSU Women’s Campaign and the CUSU LGBTQ+ group.

Quick terminology explainer: TERF- Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist/Feminism Transgender- someone whose gender does not match their biologically determined sex at birth. Cisgender- someone whose gender does match their biologically determined sex at birth. Non-binary- someone whose gender does not fit within the binary genders of male and female. These people often use gender-neutral pronouns such as the singular ‘they/them’ or ‘xe/xir’.

So what does TERF mean?

According to the CSCU guide: Trans exclusionary radical feminism (TERF) is a specific type of feminism that argues that because trans women are not biologically female they are excluded from ‘womanhood’, and should, therefore, be excluded from women-only spaces. They argue this is because they have not experienced oppression through being biologically female.

The guide labels the TERF ideology as “transphobia, and more specifically transmisogyny, as TERF’s mostly target trans women and transfeminine people”.

They argue that TERF ideology makes spaces unsafe by:

Labelling themselves as ‘gender critical’- but discrediting transgender identity as valid

Focusing on transchildren by perpetuating unsubstantiated claims that they are forced into becoming trans through surgery and hormones

Stating that transwomen are predators and a threat to children and women in women-only spaces like bathrooms

The guide states that “Trans women and transfeminine people face very serious and very real oppression; they suffer from high rates of violence, homelessness, poverty, sexual assault and healthcare discrimination. It’s crucial that women’s spaces and resources are available and accessible to all women”.