People who ‘transfish’ are trying to capitalise off the controversy these kinds of posts generate (Picture: Sharon Kilgannon)
While scrolling through X a few days ago, I stumbled upon a conversation about ‘transfishing’.
It’s a relatively recent online phenomenon where cisgender women who are (mostly adult or NSFW) content creators pretend to be trans for engagement and money.
It was borne out of a viral clip of two seemingly cisgender women dancing in their underwear, with sex toys apparently stuffed down their pants to suggest a bulge, while their profiles featured trans flags alongside links to OnlyFans.
I’ll be honest, my first reaction was one of befuddlement, as I know first-hand the amount of abuse trans women get online – and while I’m aware trans adult content creators exist, I know they also get a lot of hate. I couldn’t imagine a video of them dancing around in their underwear with a visible bulge would generate many kind comments.
What is transfishing?
Transfishing is when cisgender people (those whose gender identity aligns with their sex at birth) pretend to be trans for personal gain.
I couldn’t understand – if it was the case – why these two women were pretending to be trans for clout? Surely, it would just open them up to hate?
But it became apparent that people who ‘transfish’ are trying to capitalise off the controversy these kinds of posts generate.
It’s why seeing videos like this is (these two are not the only ones accused of transfishing) incredibly infuriating for trans people – because you have people making money off being trans who never have to experience all we go through.
To them it’s just another way to get engagement and rake in cash, while for us it’s our lived experience. I don’t take off being trans when I turn off the camera, but they do and go about their everyday lives without ever realising all the hatred and abuse we get on a daily basis.
I’m actually not surprised transfishing has become a thing (Picture: Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir Jónsdóttir)
It’s therefore incredibly disrespectful and frustrating to see them profit off our bodies and lives, without lifting a finger to actually help us and advocate for our rights.
That said, I’m actually not surprised transfishing has become a thing. I know from bitter experience that trans women have always been fetishised by (mostly) cisgender men for our bodies.
And you don’t need to take my word for it – just ask any trans woman who has been on a dating app.
The reality is that many men fantasise about having sex with a woman with ‘breasts and a dick’ and therefore see us as sex objects.
Often, these men would never be seen with us in public – and might even express transphobic views in their everyday lives and online.
As it turns out, engagement from those interested in trans porn or erotic content is a lot more popular than people may realise – a 2022 report from PornHub showed that searches for …read more
Source:: Metro
