1. MIND THE GAP!!
Do you remember when the space first appeared? When the word ‘transwoman’ became ‘trans woman’? I do. It was several years ago now. That gap, that space is very powerful…
2. Having successfully trained us all to use the word ‘transwoman’ & to accept that there is such a person as a transwoman, who must not be referred to as a man, the gap was introduced.
3. No longer did we talk of ‘transwomen’. Now we had to talk of ‘trans women’.

What is the difference?
4. ‘Transwoman’ is a noun. Nouns refer to objects, in this case a person.
What does the noun ‘transwoman’ say? Well, a transwoman is not a man, because we have a different word for this person.
5. But a transwoman is not a woman either. Again, because we have a different word. A transwoman is not a man or a woman. A transwoman is a transwoman.
6. What does that space do? The space that turns ‘transwoman’ into ‘trans woman’ is very powerful. Where once we had a noun now we have a noun and an adjective. Now the adjective ‘trans’ describes the noun ‘woman’.
7. Now a ‘trans woman’ is not a transwoman, a being that is neither man nor woman. That space makes a ‘trans woman’ into just another sort of woman and removes him entirely away from being any kind of man.
8. Now a trans woman is just another sort of woman. Like a black woman. Or a disabled woman. Or an old woman. Or a gay woman… Just as it is discriminatory to exclude any of these women, so it is discriminatory to exclude a ‘trans woman’. That space is were the power lies.
WHERE the power lies... ugh...
Note: the take home message here is not to insist on using the word & #39;transwoman& #39;. We already have perfectly good words to use when we need to refer to human males.
Language MATTERS. Words are powerful.
You can follow @NoXYinXXprisons.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: