Today, let's unpack a transphobic canard that is particularly popular on Mastodon, particularly favored by Americans in tech and FOSS, annoyed they have to share the network with queer weirdos:
The """Nazi Phase""".
No fewer than three quote marks required to discuss the absurd idea there exists an "alt-right guy to transgender woman" pipeline.
Be sure to share with whoever must hear this, and as always, the replies are open for your reactions 🧵👇
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If someone says one of those classic bigoted sentences, if they said "But even Jewish people admit a lot among them are bankers", or if they said "Even progressive Muslims themselves admit they have a problem with gay people"; you'd notice it's manipulative language, a rhetorical foot in the door to make you accept their hate.
Now try, "Even trans women admit it's possible to be trans and a Nazi". Pattern recognition kicking in?
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The "Nazi Phase" playbook consist in pretending many trans women are reformed white supremacists (or alt-righters, or incels, etc), and often still stuck in that "phase".
Given how frequently trans people's politics are on the radical left, this doesn't pass the smell test. You'd have to subscribe in the "horseshoe theory" to take this seriously (a theory academics call "centrist nonsense": https://theconversation.com/horseshoe-theory-is-nonsense-the-far-right-and-far-left-have-little-in-common-77588 )
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The argument follows the same contours as the canard where you call trans women "Toxic Channers", which I previously discussed: https://mastodon.social/@TransGuideDog/114347564784706271
When your audience is left-of-center, you cannot easily attack trans people using conservative language (predators, groomers, mentally ill, degenerate, etc). So one of the best angles of attack is to depict them as enemies of liberal values.
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Trans Guide Dog