Jennifer Saul, Waterloo Chair in Social and Political Philosophy of Language, University of Waterloo

Suzanne Moore, a columnist at the Guardian, says she identifies as “a woman who won’t go down quietly.” But to many, she’s a trans-exclusionary radical feminist — a TERF. Some say TERF is a slur. It isn’t. But it is a misleading term for anti-trans activists like Moore.

Over the past year, disputes between two groups of people, both calling themselves feminists, have erupted on the internet and off — and drawn considerable interest even outside feminism. These disputes concern the status of some of the most discriminated against and marginalized women: trans women.

In this debate, one group advocates for these women by insisting on their recognition as women and maintaining that feminism requires fighting for their rights as women. The other group questions — and often denies — the recognition of trans women as women. They fight against the key demands of trans women, partially by insisting that this opposition is somehow feminist.

They object strenuously to this, saying that TERF is a slur.

Their argument turns on the fact that some of the people using the term TERF combine it with angry, and even at times violent and abusive, rhetoric. But many terms are regularly combined with angry, or even violent or abusive rhetoric: Murderer, fascist, racist, Democrat, Republican, Brexiter, Remainer, Tory. That doesn’t make them slurs.

TERF is not a slur. Nonetheless, I don’t use the word because it’s inaccurate and misleading. Read more via Conversa