Meaning
What does Truscum mean?
Someone who is a truscum is a trans person that delegitimizes other trans people on the claim that you cannot be true trans unless you have experienced the negative emotions and gender dysphoria that comes from heteronormative psychiatry and hormonal medicines.
They believe that gender dysphoria is essential to be a transgender.
Gender dysphoria is the feeling of depression and dissatisfaction with the sex you were assigned at birth.
The “truscum” claims that only this feeling can drive you to become true trans.
“Truscum” people are frowned upon by the rest of the trans community and the LGBTQ community in general, for their gatekeeping and marginalizing ideology.
Origin
What's the origin of Truscum?
The term is a combination of “true” and the insult “scum”.
It was coined in 2013 by a trans Tumblr user. She used it as a derogatory insult towards people who believe in transmedicalism.
Spread & Usage
How did Truscum spread?
The term iswidespread on Tumblr, a social media platform known for its large LGBTQ community.
On Reddit, the sub r/truscum has over 6.6K members, and claims to be the go-to place for trans people who was excluded from other trans subs because of their ideology. Their motto is “because being trans means something”.
A deleted Reddit user commented in 2015 that while “truscum” used to just be an insult towards people who believe in transmedicalism, today it is just an insult towards anyone who tries to find an exact definition for transgender.
External resources
- Medium – “Truscum”: Why Do They Hate The Way They Do?
- SJWiki – Truscum