Tldr: TERFs aren’t just mad about being misgendered as men, (wrong but at least higher status) they’re mostly mad about being misgendered as trans (wrong and lower status).
Eh, TERFs in particular really lean on three things: “men bad/dangerous/evil/predators”, “women good, but need protected from predation” and “you can’t change which one you are, if you think you can it’s either mental illness or a ploy.”
It’s why they focus so heavily on trans women (and generally ignore trans men), especially trans women in spaces that are traditionally women-only. It’s why their language around the topic is so heavily drenched in the notion that trans women are “men in dresses” who are dressing up like that to get access to women’s spaces - the whole presumption is that trans women are sexual predators in costume to get access to prey in more vulnerable situations.
Eh, TERFs in particular really lean on three things: “men bad/dangerous/evil/predators”, “women good, but need protected from predation” and “you can’t change which one you are, if you think you can it’s either mental illness or a ploy.”
It’s why they focus so heavily on trans women (and generally ignore trans men), especially trans women in spaces that are traditionally women-only. It’s why their language around the topic is so heavily drenched in the notion that trans women are “men in dresses” who are dressing up like that to get access to women’s spaces - the whole presumption is that trans women are sexual predators in costume to get access to prey in more vulnerable situations.