Things To Look Out For In Urls To Avoid TERFs:

I’ve been double checking I have all the right people blocked and it got me thinking. I have a lot of TERFs blocked and there’s a problem with people unknowingly reblogging radfem posts. So here’s a little guide by me. Feel free to add on if you have any tips and do reblog! I’m not tagging this because TERFs have a tendency to check tags about them.

Things to look out for in urls to avoid TERFs:

(All example usernames are ones I made up. Any real ones are coincidences. Keep in mind you should still look at the blog to double check. There are some people that just happen to have these elements in their usernames or are parody blogs)

The term radfem or parts of it by themselves. Ex: rad-billymayes, radfemdisney, femcandy-corn

The term terf itself. Ex: terfyladies, marvelterfs, terf-safesupport

References to hurting men and/or their private parts. Ex: smashingcocks1998, phallusdestroying, yeskillallmen

The term gender critical or gender crit. Ex: gender-critical-cat, gendercrittonystark, all-dogs-are-gender-crit

Women spelled as womyn or wombyn. Sometimes womxn, but that one is sometimes more trans inclusive so maybe not. (and some ppl don’t know about why trans people don’t like the history behind the spelling of womyn) Ex: womynspace, lez-wombyn, loveblanketsandwomyn, womxnofmarvel

Sometimes references to being an evil lesbian but you know, that one is less so and there are a lot of evil lesbians that aren’t mean to trans ppl so *shrugs* I’m not gonna give examples for this one.

Things to look out for in icons:

Diagrams of the female reproductive system

An artsy depiction of a uterus, sometimes with flowers as the ovaries

Lesbian looking classical paintings with lady breasts poking out (this one is less prevalent than the uterus thing but it’s a pattern I noticed. Keep in mind that most ppl with sexy renaissance paintings as an icon aren’t TERFs but it is a trend for some reason)

Things to look out for in posts themselves:

(Many TERFs don’t have obvious usernames or icons. Some of their blogs might even look like fandom blogs on the surface but once you look at them it’s clear that they’re transphobic. Their posts tend to have patterns. As usual, remember to check the blog to be sure. A banner saying TERFs don’t interact might not keep you safe)

Use of the term “gender critical”

Criticism of gender as a concept. Asserting that all gender is learned, expressing how gender as a concept hurts females and not males, etc.

Assertion that men are inherently awful

Talking about men getting into women’s only spaces/why women should have safe spaces

Discussing in detail why they think gender should be abolished

Talk of female genital mutilation to refute a point in an argument

Failure to realize that there is more than one female experience, over generalization, assumption that all females have had awful lives, no nuanced understanding of intersectional feminism, etc.

Asserting that feminism is only for women rather than a movement for everyone that should put most of its focus on women because they’re historically the more oppressed of the mainstream genders. Along this same vein they may assert that men need to get out of feminism and start their own separate movement.

Talk of violence against amab people. As a joke or otherwise.

Anti-religious sentiments. Not posts about being atheist, posts about wanting to eliminate all religion and focusing heavily on how some aspects of some religions are sexist. May or may not say nasty things about Islam or Christianity specifically.

Asserting that the OP they’re replying to is a homophobe with no real evidence provided or sketchy evidence at best (especially if OP is trans, a trans ally, and/or dating a trans person)

All of the sources they provide might come from the same website. If it’s not a mainstream news source look at some of the other articles on it. It could be a transphobic and/or misandrous website or blog.

Discussion of bi women that date men and criticism of them

Criticism of asexuality or pansexuality

Criticism of the split attraction model

Taking cheap jabs at their opponent’s hobbies or urls in replies

Criticism of neopronouns

Using “she” or any other pronoun in quotes when talking about a transgender and/or non-binary person

Discussion of people that have chosen to detransition

Discussion of children that want to transition and criticism of the adults that help them do so

Add on any you think I missed! Stay safe out there and don’t go reading through those blogs any more than you have to. They can be really scary or discouraging especially if you’re a trans person and/or have a loved one that’s trans. Again, reblog if you found this useful because I’m not putting it in any tags.