TERF (acronym)

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TERF (/tɜːrf/) is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist. First recorded in 2008, the term TERF was originally used to distinguish transgender-inclusive feminists from a group of radical feminists who reject the position that trans women are women, reject the inclusion of trans women in women's spaces, and oppose transgender rights legislation. Trans-inclusive feminists assert that these ideas and positions are transphobic and discriminatory towards transgender people. The use of the term TERF has since broadened to include reference to people with trans-exclusionary views who are not necessarily involved with radical feminism.^[1][2][3] In the 2020s, the term "trans-exclusionary radical feminism" is used synonymously with or overlaps with "gender-critical feminism".

Though TERF was created to be a "deliberately technically neutral description", the term is now often considered a pejorative,^[4] derogatory or disparaging, but may also be used as a self-description.^[5][6] The term has been widely adopted in academia.^[7] People labeled TERFs often reject the label, instead describing their beliefs as gender critical.^[8][9] The opposition to the term has been described as leaning itself on a politics of injury that distances itself from the impact of the ideology itself.^[10]