Transandrophobia[1] or Transmisandry are two terms used by the transmasculine community to refer to the specific transphobia experienced by trans men and transmascs that other trans identities do not primarily experience. It is a sibling term to transmisogyny and exorsexism (discrimination against non-binary people). Together these terms form subsets of transphobia that focus on each third of the trans community's struggles.
The term transmisandry has faced much controversy due to its etymology. Following the convention of language set out by transmisogyny- which combines the 'trans-' prefix with the suffix 'misogyny' in order to convey that transmisogyny is a bigotry that primarily affects trans women and transfeminine people by targeting their trans-femininity- transmisandry combines the 'trans-' prefix with the suffix 'misandry' in order to convey that transmisandry is a bigotry that primarily affects trans men and transmasculine people by targeting their trans-masculinity. The term faced a lot of backlash due to a misunderstanding of the intersectional oppression that trans men and transmasculine people face- people who were unaware that transmascs are discriminated against for their masculinity likened the idea that transmascs are targeted for this with the ludicrousness of the idea that systematic misandry exists. This equation of non-systematic prejudice with non-existence has seriously hampered transmasculine people's efforts to bring awareness to their invisibility and suffering. The term has been used in academic contexts however, with little issue. The journal of Pedagogy, Culture & Society discusses transmisandry in one of its issues [2].
Following the controversy of transmisandry as a term, the transmasculine community has coined various other terms in order to fill the gap in terminology regarding transmasculine discrimination. Transandrophobia was coined in 2017 by a trans man who goes by the username Saint-Dionysus on his blog who described the term in his post. He wrote:
"Its root word "androphobia" refers to the fear of men… transandrophobia has a lot to do with the lack of visibility, support, and voice that trans men have. We are considered a non entity in both cis and trans spaces… It's people trying to explain away our problems as misdirected misogyny or 'vanilla transphobia'. Transandrophobia is the policement [sic] of trans men's identities, presentation, and language”
The term transandrophobia combines the prefix 'trans-' with the suffix 'androphobia' in order to indicate that this term reflects a bigotry aimed primarily at trans men and transmasculine people. This term is now the more popular term in transmasculine spaces, mostly down to the aversion to transmisandry as a term and any potential confusion allies of trans people may have over misunderstanding misandry in a trans-focused context. Other terms that have been proposed include transandromisia coined by a trans twitter user and transmasc-antagonism coined on a trans person's personal blog.
Saint-Dionysus (now Dead-Dyke following a deletion of his old blog) made it clear in his post the reasons for coining transandrophobia. He wrote: "it was obvious to me that we needed a new word that would hopefully be taken more seriously".
Prejudice against trans men and transmasculine people can come in many forms and although terms like transmisandry suggest it, the oppression that transmasculine people face can often stem from misogyny as well due to wrongly being perceived as women. The same is true of transmisogyny as a term, as it encompasses the oppression transfeminine people face for being wrongly perceived as men (misandry) as well as the specific misogyny levied at them due to their femininity. Transandrophobia and transmisogyny could both feasibly be faced by any trans person, provided they are perceived to be a trans man or trans woman (such as transmisogyny faced by trans men when being forced to use the women's restroom [3] or transandrophobia faced by trans women when they are misgendered as men [4]). Julia Serano originally coined transmisogyny in her book Whipping Girl in 2007, in which she outlined what transmisogyny is and how it affects transfeminine people in particular. More recently, in 2021 she wrote on her personal blog [5] clarifying on the usage of the term and addresses the gap in language that trans men have to describe their oppression, as well as how all trans people can be affected by transmisogyny- although the pirmary target of such abuse is still trans women.
"Multiple things can be true at once. Transmisogyny can be a vital term for some of us to communicate the intersection of transphobia and misogyny that we face. But others may experience it more complicatedly or severely, as in the case of transmisogynoir. And for others (e.g., certain nonbinary people, trans male/masculine-spectrum people), misogyny may intersect with transphobia in different ways that aren’t adequately articulated by transmisogyny. This doesn’t necessarily make transmisogyny “wrong”; it may simply mean that we need additional language"
Transphobia specifically directed at trans men and transmasculine people takes many forms, such as that which is derived from misgendering them as women and thus heavily rooted in misogyny and that which is derived from a specific predjudice towards men taken out on them and thus is heavily rooted in misandry.
Misogynistic abuse levied at people assigned female at birth often involves bodily, medical and social policing that is usually associated with cis women, however in the case of trans men and transmasculine people, the effect is often that vanilla misogyny is combined with transphobia to create instances where trans men and transmasculine people face a marginalisation in these contexts that is something that cis women do not face, despite the prejudice still being misogynistic in both situations. This puts trans men and transmasculine people at a disadvantage that is unique to their gender marginalisation.
Transgender men and transmasculine people are at a high risk for sexual assault, sexual violence and rape. A non-profit study [6] undertaken in 2011 found that of the 1005 trans people who were involved in their study 50% of Female to Male (FTM) respondents said that they had experienced childhood sexual assault. A further 31% reported sexual assault as an adult, 23% listed violence in dating, 36% had experienced domestic violence, 18% had experienced stalking and 29% had experienced hate violence. Despite trans men and transmasculine people's high rates of sexual assault, many rape and sexual assault crisis centres are not open to men, cis or trans, leading to transmasculine people being put at risk of not having any resources after a sexually motivated hate crime has happened to them. A testimony from a trans man in New Zealand's Counting Ourselves [7] project mentions police who misgendered him after a traumatic sexual assault:
"When I had to do the tier 3 level interview with the adult sexual assault team at the police, at no point did they ask my gender or correctly refer to my gender. The whole thing was traumatic enough, I didn’t bring it up at the time, but I wish I did"- Trans man, adult.
Counting Ourselves also found that only 11% of trans participants had been able to receive support after sexual violence and abuse and that 33% of trans men had to explain the existence of trans men to healthcare professionals when seeking support, compared to 14% of trans women having to do the same. Like the non-profit study run in 2011, this 2019 study found that 50% of trans men had had someone attempt or succeed in having sex with them against their will.
Trans men and transmasculine people are often medically policed or otherwise marginalised. Many transmascs are subjected to the same kind of ignorance to their bodies as cis women are, but, in addition to this they also face medical gatekeeping based on their trans status. This can include not being invited for a life-saving cervical screening [8] because their gender is listed as male even though they may still have a cervix and require medicine related to that. It can also include being omitted from discussions and even forcefully removed from places to talk about reproductive rights, menstruation and bodily autonomy. Another trans man in Counting Ourselves' project said: "After my pap smear, I got a letter in the mail from the Ministry of Health. It referred to me as a woman. I am a trans man. The pap smear was unpleasant enough... It was unpleasant getting a letter calling me a woman" [7]. This shows the relative invisibility trans men and transmasculine people face in terms of healthcare that is unique to their status as transmasc. Also related is the sexual assaults and medical problems experienced by transmascs often being framed as being 'about women', which further obscures the true extent to which transmasculine people are suffering. In particular, trans men and transmasculine people who aren't straight are at a greater risk of developing HIV or AIDs [9] and thus omission from medical research and consideration of their needs as unique leaves them vulnerable to illness, STDs [10] and malpractice.
Transmasculine people are often subjected to social abuse from society, friends, family and work life. Negativity towards transmasculine people's status as men or adjacency to masculinity contribute to severe mental health problems. This 2013 study [11] on trans men's sexual health mentions that "Transgender men have concomitant psychosocial health vulnerabilities which may contribute to sexual risk behaviours. Future research is needed to understand the myriad social, behavioural, and biological factors that contribute to HIV and STD vulnerability for FTMs".
Other attitudes displayed towards transgender men and transmascs involve perceiving them as incapable of making their own decisions about their life and transition. This often stems from misogynistic attitudes that affect cis women similarly. Neurodivergent transmasculine people in a particular are singled out for this [12]. These attitudes treat trans men and transmasculine people as if they are unable to know what is best for them and consequently feeds into their further marginalisation when they express want and need to physically transition [13].
Misandry-based abuse levied at trans people often involves gender essentialism, denial of abuse and pessimism towards transmasc transitions- thus these are instances where trans men and transmasculine people face a marginalisation in these contexts that is something that cis men do not face. It may be said that misandry towards cisgender men is not systematic, however the same cannot be definitively said about trans men and transmasculine individuals, as their trans status is irremovable from their status as men or masculine. The intersection between transness and masculinity means transmascs are marginalised in ways that non-transmasc individuals and cisgender people are not. In the A-Z of Gender and Sexuality, Holleb states that "trans men who spend their lives being misgendered as women' don't have male privilege in a comparable way to cis men" [14].
Gender essentialism refers to the radical feminist view of gender that is often also rooted in bio essentialism as well. These beliefs are foundational to the hatred and prejudice that trans exclusionary radical feminists (TERFS) hold towards transgender people. As a result of this, while gender essentialist abuse from TERFS towards trans women is more visible, trans men are also routinely targeted by TERFS such as JK Rowling in her essays and Abigail Shrier in her book Irreversible Damage [15]- both of which solely focus on trans men's movement towards masculinity to be worthy of abuse. This gender essentialism demonises masculinity and maleness as a whole, rendering transmasculine transition as something which incenses TERFS. Many resort to pushing for changing language to be exclusionary of transmasculine individuals in an attempt to prevent them from accessing resources. The branding of menstruation and abortion as solely women's issues has led to widespread transmasculine struggle to receive adequate and equal care before the law. JK Rowling's comments on her personal blog single out trans men [12] and incudes her claim that there has been a "4400% increase" in the amount of young assigned female at birth people seeking transition. A gender essentialism that perceives maleness and masculinity to be an ultimate evil, or a corrupting force that threatens to make people's 'daughters' into men is also the subject of Shrier's 2020 book.
Many transgender men often face denial of their abuse as men. Whether it be from a sexual assault or from people denying they could have faced such a thing because they are a man. It is linked to that gender essentialism but is also linked to societal misandry that pervades. The same which disseminates the popular idea that men can't be raped or that men do not face any specific kind of discrimination. General male mental health issues are compounded by a trans man's trans status [16].
Trans men's transitions are often seen as risky and more unpredictable than trans women's due to a myriad of factors. Pessimism about bottom surgery results and testosterone contributes to poor mental health amongst trans men and makes misinformation easier to spread. Oftentimes, the situation regarding transition is worsened when medical organisations themselves postpone or stop surgeries [17], causing mental distress amongst those seeking gender affirmation surgery.
Transmasculine people of colour face a unique marginalisation as a result of their race [18] and transmasculinity intersecting. This is something that white transmasculine people do not experience and racialised transandrophobia is comparable to the transmisogynoir that transfeminine people of colour experience.
The racist perceptions of black masculinity are something that black transmasculine people transition into, This bigotry is acquired as a result of their newfound status as masculine presenting or male and often leads to transmasculine people of colour being exposed to additional masculine-focused racism that differs from the misogynoir they may already have experienced.
An interview for the project To Survive on this Shore [19] discusses the issue of racialised transandrophobia:
"In the beginning, when I started transitioning, when my features started changing, when it got to the point where I was totally male, I wondered why people were treating me differently. Other races were treating me differently. And I realized, I'm a black male now, and so when I step on the elevator, the woman's going to clutch her pocketbook, or she's going to move to the other side of the elevator, or I get doors slammed in my face. You know?" - Charley, 2014
The journal A trans pedagogy of refusal: interrogating cisgenderism, the limits of antinormativity and trans necropolitics explains this marginalisation succinctly: "‘‘racialized transmisandry’ helps to explain the policing around Black masculinity for Black transmasculine persons [who] have been effaced in a white-centric and classed framing of cisgenderism and cissexism" [2].
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