🌐 radical feminism and the glitch in the discourse

sometimes i think the wires of our movements get crossed on purpose. sparks where there should be current. silence where there should be sound. and lately, the circuit-breaker word seems to be radical feminism. 

every time it's spoken, the feed fills with static:

"radfem = terf".

"radfem = enemy".

like it's that simple, like the whole architecture of thought can be flattened into one insult  

but it's not that simple. it never is. yes, there are women who wear the badge of radical feminism and use it as a shield for exclusion. yes, that violence matters. it scars. it harms trans lives, and i will never defend that. but not every radical feminist is transphobic and not every transphobic woman is a radical feminist. conflating the two collapses the complexity, turns a living debate into an error message.

radical feminism was meant to pry at the core. to say: the system is broken not at the edges, but at the foundation. but when the word is treated like a synonym for hate, the whole conversation fries. the nuance is lost, and all we're left with is flames on the timeline.

what happens then? 

the real work of feminism (tearing down power, building safety, amplifying care, …) gets drowned out by infighting, by the need to prove that we are not "that kind of" feminists. solidarity becomes fragmented code. and patriarchy wins, again, just by sitting back and watching us self-destruct. 

i'm not asking for softness toward cruelty. i'm asking for accuracy. call transphobia what it is: transphobia. don't flatten it into labels that erase the complexity of feminism's history, or make it easier for people to dismiss us wholesale.

we owe each other more than sloppy miswiring. we owe the fight clarity, precision, care. and above all, we owe trans people safety. 

don't let the system convince you it's either/or. don't let the shortcuts destroy the conversation. don't let our movements be patched into obedience by patriarchy, while we sit here arguing over the wrong variable. 

i don't know if this makes sense to everyone reading. but i trust some of you will feel it. and i want you to know, you are still my friend. you are still in the circle i protect.

if you're here, stay.

refresh often.

the connection only grows stronger the longer you linger.

🫀💻

babsi.