A year ago, I remember tweeting with this woman - who this week tweeted this mockery of Elliot Page coming out - and feeling sad for her that she had fallen out with her daughter. This is quite common in the anti-trans movement. Is a "like" from Rosie Duffield really worth it? 1/

I've lost count of the amount of "gender critical" people who speak of falling out with family members, friends etc. "My best friend told me my heart was full of hate," I heard one GC man say, dismissively. Later, he said being trans was mostly a form of sexual deviancy. 2/

Some cling to this idea that one day they will be "proved right" and these family members, friends etc. will come back and apologise to them. People who fell out with you because you mock and malign trans people online aren't going to come around to your way of thinking. 3/

Cults separate you from your family and friends, not by making reasonable arguments, but by saying that those outside the cult aren't just wrong, they're evil, psychopaths, a danger to children etc.

For example, here's a post from a gender critical hate blog: 4/

This content isn't created to convince people who disagree, it's created so gender critical people can have their 2 minutes hate, so they can go onto Twitter and mock Elliot Page, a man who never did anything to hurt them, and feel that they are justified in "fighting evil." 5/

And in return, they will get the dopamine hit, and "positive" reinforcement of prominent gender critical people "liking" this mockery on Twitter, and the cycle continues. 6/

I have spoken with a number of former gender critical people in my DMs, and they all speak of being locked into cult-like thinking like this, being vulnerable, and how when hundreds/thousands of people are liking your mockery of trans people/supporters, it's very hard to stop. 7/

That is called lovebombing, and it's a very effective method of keeping you in, convincing you that your loss of your family and friends is worth it.

Of course, it is false.

Former GC people also report being hatebombed once they stopped being "gender critical" online. 8/

Particular animosity is reserved for the very few trans women who support the "gender critical" movement, if they ever stop being "gender critical."

These people are just cover: "I can't be transphobic, this trans woman agrees with me."

But the second they dissent...9/

...they are immediately subjected to the most horrible transphobic abuse, from 1000s of people. I often wonder how many of the few "gender critical" trans women actually want to leave, but can't, because they can't face the hatred they've seen former GC trans women get? 10/

I wish I knew how to convince people to stop hating & mocking people who have nothing to do with them for *likes*, and focus on the precious relationships in their own lives. It just seems so obvious to me that your relationships with your kids should come before everything.11/

And, yes, trans people often report falling out with family and friends too, but that is because some people can't accept who they are, not because of what they think, or do.

And those people who won't accept a trans son/daughter/friend can go online and find the GC cult...12/

...who will tell them that they are right not to accept trans people in their lives for who they are, thereby making it even more difficult to put a broken family back together, and the circle of hate continues, and grows.

I wish I knew how to break it. 13/

My principles in this are simple:

Let people live their lives in peace.

It's hard to live in peace without bodily autonomy.

Millions of people are trans, get over it, because that will never change, but your time with your daughter is finite.

Make up with her. Today. 14/