According to The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), “Most TERFs came to their ideology via second-wave feminism that radicalized into the lie that trans people are a threat to women.”
Although it is framed as a feminist movement to protect women from harm, the extreme exclusion of transgender women from feminist spaces is dangerous and misogynistic. TERFs reinforce the notion that trans women aren’t women at all, and that womanhood is defined by sexual organs and phenotypic presentation. These traditional ideals ultimately hurt all women, cisgendered women included.
TERF (Trans-Exclusive Radical Feminist)
/tərf/
noun: TERF; plural noun: TERFs
a person whose views on gender identity are considered hostile to transgender people, or who opposes social and political policies designed to be inclusive of transgender people
Oxford Languages
According to NWLC, “TERFs have deployed dangerous and extreme online tactics like hate campaigns against trans youth, doxxing of trans activists, and even creating their own online forums when they are kicked out of other online spaces.”
Online harassment and inflammatory conversations have real-life consequences, as transphobia can become deadly.
Transgender Homicide Tracker found that there was a 93% increase in tracked homicides of trans and gender-nonconforming people in the United States and Puerto Rico between the years of 2017 to 2021 (Everytown For Gun Safety).
The intersectional issue of violence against the trans community is especially prominent when examining the statistic that Black trans women accounted for nearly 3/4 of the known victims, while only 13% of the transgender community is estimated to be Black (UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute).
“Bias-motivated crimes are a real, frightening problem in the United States, and LGBTQ+ people continue to be targeted because of who they are,” Everytown For Gun Safety said.
Despite representing a minority of the population, legislation promoted by TERFs continues to target the transgender community at a rapid rate. 22 anti-trans bills have already passed in the 2026 legislative session, with 740 bills under consideration across 42 states (Trans Legislation Tracker).
A culture against trans lives has a notable effect on the mental health of transgender individuals, who experience a considerably higher rate of mental health concerns compared to the cisgendered population according to the National Library of Medicine. Studies have found a significant number of trans individuals to report depression (31%), anxiety disorders (12%) and suicidal ideation (46%)(National Library of Medicine).
These conditions are linked to mass stigma, discrimination, and lack of support for trans individuals. They are not proven to be a direct consequence of their identity, as TERFs often claim.
The attacks against trans women intrinsically violate human rights, and that is reason enough to combat them. But cisgendered women also are indirectly affected by transphobia.
While TERFs have been actively working against trans women, trans women have continued to be on the frontlines of human rights movements that promote liberation for women everywhere.
Frances Thompson (1840-1876)
First Trans Witness before Congress
Born into slavery in 1840, Frances Thompson became the first transgender person to testify before the U.S. Congress. After the Civil War, Thompson worked as a seamstress and domestic worker. She spoke up about sexual assault by white men during Reconstruction, and her testimony helped document systematic violence against newly freed Black Americans. A pioneer in both civil rights and transgender history, Thompson proudly voiced her identity as a Black transgender woman. While she was placed in the middle of multiple forms of oppression, she advocated for freedom and human rights.
We’Wha (1849-1896)
An AMBASSADOR of the zuni people
We’wha was recognized as a lhamana, a traditional third-gender role combining both masculine and feminine qualities of the Zuni people. We’wha was renowned for pottery, weaving, and other traditional crafts. We’wha met President Grover Cleveland and served as a cultural ambassador, participated in anthropological studies, and helped preserve Zuni traditions during a time of intense cultural oppression from the U.S. government against Native American people. One anthropologist described We’wha as “the strongest character and the most intelligent of the Zuni tribe.” Before Western concepts of transgender identity emerged, many Indigenous cultures like We’wha’s Zuni community traditionally recognized and honored diverse gender identities.
Marsha P. Johnson (1945- 1992)
A founder of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement
Well known for her role in the 1969 Stonewall uprising that launched the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, Marsha P. Johnson moved to New York City as a teen and became a prominent figure in Greenwich Village’s gay community. She was known for her bright attitude, extravagant fashion, and the flowers she often wore in her hair. Johnson was a drag performer and sex worker who looked out for vulnerable Queer youth. She was a member of the crowd who fought against police harassment at the Stonewall Inn, and she co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) with Sylvia Rivera, another transgender woman activist. STAR provided housing and support for unhoused LGBTQ+ youth. Johnson participated in AIDS activism with ACT UP and continued advocating for marginalized community members until her death in 1992, which was largely considered a result of a hate crime among her friends—despite initially being ruled a suicide. Still, her place at the forefront of Queer liberation represents the many women of color who have led and continue to lead activist initiatives throughout history.
Caroline Cossey (Born 1954)
A hollywood trailblazer
Also known as Tula, Caroline Cossey appeared as an extra in the 1981 James Bond film “For Your Eyes Only”. Later her trans identity was exposed by the tabloid, News of the World. However, being outed did not cause Tula to retreat from the public eye, and instead she went on to become the first transgender model to appear in Playboy magazine, and used her platform to educate the public about transgender experiences. Tula later wrote an autobiography, titled “My Story,” which made her one of the first transgender women to publish her story in her own words. She fought legal battles for gender recognition and marriage rights, and she continues to fight through scrutiny and advocate for civil rights.
The Bottom line
While transgender women’s experiences may differ in ways from cisgendered women’s, the intersectional similarities connect us all in our womanhood. To deny trans women’s place in feminism and women’s liberation makes it plausible to deny Black, Queer, Latine, Disabled, Unhoused and other marginalized women from the conversation as well. When we exclude one subculture of women from our activism, we hurt all women. Oppression against any group is a threat to the complete and total liberation of women everywhere.