From TERF to gender critical: A telling genealogy?

Thurlow, Claire 2024. From TERF to gender critical: A telling genealogy? Sexualities 27 (4) , pp. 962-978. 10.1177/13634607221107827

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Over the last 5 years the UK has seen a significant rise in the prominence of trans-exclusionary feminism. What was once termed TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminism/feminist) is now more often referred to as gender critical feminism/feminist. In this article I argue that this new moniker represents more than a renaming. Instead, it can be interpreted as a rebranding for a present-day where the explicit transphobia of earlier trans-exclusionary feminism is no longer tolerated. I will map two telling changes that I argue currently separates gender critical from TERF, this involves (i) the linguistic pivot from ‘anti-trans’ to ‘pro-woman’ and, (ii) the nascent questioning of the traditional theoretical underpinning of trans-exclusionary feminism. Through this mapping I will explain the rebranding as an attempted claim to legitimacy with an aim of accruing mainstream support. However, exploration of the two changes will show that, despite efforts to obscure the point, gender critical feminism continues to rely on transphobic tropes, moral panics and essentialist understandings of men and women. These factors also continue to link trans-exclusionary feminism to anti-feminist reactionary politics and other ‘anti-gender’ movements.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Cardiff Law & Politics
Publisher:	SAGE Publications (UK and US)
ISSN:	1363-4607
Date of Acceptance:	30 September 2022
Last Modified:	17 Jun 2024 13:46
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/153516

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item