for anyone who is maybe not totally literate in how tumblr works (anyone like me) i would like to expand on this a little bit, just in case you just need someone to tell you how to do these things. i myself only recently learned most of this, so i totally understand. here’s what op is referring to:
a “cut” in terms of tumblr posts is when a poster will intentionally cut off the last part of a post and give the reader the option of a) clicking on the post to read the rest of it or b) scrolling past. once i learned how to do it i started putting them on pretty much any of my posts that were getting too long. i have a short attention span and have a hard time reading long posts, so i wanted to give people that option, but it can also be used for other reasons, such as to separate possibly triggering content like op says. to add one to a post, all you have to do is hit enter, type :readmore: (EXACTLY that, it’s basically just coding), and then press enter again. if you do it right it should turn into a dotted line, and then everything underneath it will only be visible if the reader wants to see it.
tw (trigger warning) tags are important because as a tumblr user, not only can you follow tags you like, but you can block tags you dislike. so when posting or reblogging something that can be triggering (such as transphobia), you can make sure you’re doing your part to protect your friends and other tumblr users by identifying these triggers in the tags. it’s not really enough to just mention it in the post, because it can and will still show up on their dash. try to tag as many variants of the tw as you can. (ex: #tw transphobia #transphobia #tw transphobe #transphobe #tw transphobic #transphobic #tw terfs #terfs). you can then add any other tags to your heart’s content.
i actually encountered a terf (trans exclusionary radical feminist) for the first time on my own blog today. they referred to one of my poems as “dumb and gross”, and i went to investigate their blog because i couldn’t imagine what could cause such a response. a very small portion of it was outright transphobia, and if i hadn’t scrolled far enough i may not have figured it out. so, when trying to identify a terf, here are some red flags to watch out for:
misandry. it can be cleverly disguised as feminism if you don’t know any better, and terfs do this in a couple of ways. they may insinuate that men are inherently bad, i.e. ‘men trying to attract women is predatory’, even though wanting to be attractive is a natural human desire.
anti-porn, anti sex work, or anti-bdsm. while i agree that the sex industry does have a lot of unresolved issues, terfs believe that all porn is anti-woman, that bdsm is “abuse” or “trauma training”, even though it is performed between two consenting adults, and that sex workers are victims of male desire. for example, i saw a post where someone complained they could no longer support a leftist local band because the lead singer had promoted his girlfriend’s onlyfans account, and this was equated to him selling her. yikes
gatekeeping feminist issues. for example, feminists believe that wearing makeup is a personal choice. terfs may take this to an extreme and say that wearing makeup of any kind is bad because it reinforces the idea that a woman’s natural face is not good enough, and will cite the patriarchy. this is just an example, but terfs can do this with almost anything so long as it’s fairly commonplace, regardless of how other women may feel about it. see also: styling hair, shaving/waxing, skirts. all of which are personal choices
islamophobia. terfs will insist that muslim women are forced to wear hijab, as well as completely misinterpret countless other aspects of muslim culture. i say this as a woman who was raised christian. it is so obvious. they will lament that women wear such “oppressive” clothes and emphasize how brave ex-hijabis are. i know exactly who needs to hear this but wearing hijab is a personal choice, muslim women’s clothing choices do not concern you, and many muslim women see the hijab as liberating: it means she is in charge of who can look at her.
a disproportionate emphasis on women’s issues. terfs may ignore any feminist issue that doesn’t specifically center around women. feminism is the idea that everyone should be equal and free of the confines of the patriarchy, regardless of your orientation, race, or gender identity. feminism doesn’t discriminate, but terfs do. they may dismiss the crisis that is men’s mental health, even though that crisis is a direct result of the patriarchy and that everyone—yes, even men—suffer under it. they may dismiss the struggles of a minority group in order to highlight women’s issues, i.e. a post i saw complaining that black people could vote before women could.
and of course, unacceptance of other gender identities. this may present in the form of “women positivity posts” that center a little too much around typical female anatomy, or stating that women have “gender trauma” while ignoring the trauma and struggles of trans and non-binary folk.
this is not everything to watch out for, just off the top of my head. of course if you have anything you can add please do! go forth and destroy terfs, and keep your friends safe while you’re at it.
blakekathryn
gracieabrams
baratheonpilled
theartofmadeline
titsay
romaincrisis
yousharknotpass
jacobvanloon
