Statement about Lane Lloyd

Someone asked me whether I knew Lane Lloyd while I was involved with radfem/TERF subcultures. This person informed me that Lane was selling crafts to queer and trans people while denying past involvement with TERF communities, often using their identity and experience as a trans person to deflect accusations. Lane, under the handle Coyotesnout, promotes their work on Instagram, has an Etsy shop and sells t-shirts through Bonfire. I affirmed that I had known Lane and was willing to share what I know of their past affiliations and actions. Since they are marketing and selling their goods to queer and trans people, I believe people should know their background so they can decide if they want to give Lane their money or associate with them. I know that personally I wouldn’t give money to someone who participated in TERF groups for years with no real sign of change or taking responsibility for past harmful behavior. I’m sure many others would feel similarly.

Lane was involved in my old group, the detransitioned radical feminist community and the lesbian TERF community more broadly. I know they were part of various radical feminist Facebook groups but I wasn’t on Facebook, so don’t know much about their activity there. Lane was more of a friendly acquaintance than a close friend. I can’t say that I knew them well but I read and followed some of their old tumblr blogs (including localhorrorlesbian and femalehusband), met them in person on a few occasions and emailed with them a few times. I also heard about some of their activities through Devorah Zahav rather than through direct communication with Lane or observing their actions directly. Some of what I describe will reflect how Devorah perceived Lane and their actions. I’m guessing I first encountered their online presence by 2016, possibly sooner, and met them in person in 2016, when Lane attended the first Blood & Visions retreat.

Blood & Visions was a retreat for detransitioned and desisted women organized at a trans-exclusionary women’s land in Oregon and Lane attended it in 2016, 2017 and 2018, three out of the fours years that it ran. The lead organizer of that event was Devorah Zahav, the main leader of the detransitioned radical feminist community. I also did a fair amount of work helping Devorah plan and put on the gathering. The event was both a chance for detrans and desisted women to hang out together and a place where many of the attendees conducted political strategy and organizing sessions to discuss how best to attack the trans community as a “manifestation of patriarchy”, spread radfem/TERF propaganda and recruit female assigned trans people into the detrans/desisted radfem community. To get a sense of what that looked like, you can check out this article I wrote where I include my notes for a political strategizing workshop I held at the first Blood and Visions in 2016. I can’t recall if Lane was present at my workshop or not but I know most people who came that year did attend, so there’s a good chance that Lane was there.

Among notable attendees at Blood & Visions who Lane knew and interacted with were Max and Kitty Robinson (tumblr blogs weary4u and kittyit respectively), Cari Stella (tumblr blog guideonraginstars), and the women behind the 23xx and hot-flanks tumblr blogs. All such individuals at the very least spread anti-trans propaganda and many engaged in anti-trans activism, sometimes making connections with prominent TERFs, anti-trans parents groups, conversion therapists and others who harm the trans community. Lane certainly never got as connected to influential anti-trans activists and organizations compared to other people I knew but they hung out with such people. Max and Kitty Robinson, for example, have since gone on to make connections with Janice Raymond herself, using that connection to help Max publish an anti-trans book on detransition that claims that transmasculine transition is a “sado-ritual syndrome”, a way that patriarchy attempt to destroy and co-opt women’s power. Raymond cites both Max and Kitty in her most recent anti-trans book Doublethink and thanks them in her acknowledgments. My old group was small but managed to make many connections with powerful transphobes because of how they wanted to use our stories. By participating in the detrans/desisted radical feminist community, Lane was a few steps removed from detrans women who worked with people like 4thWaveNow, Lisa Marchiano, Lisa Littman, Ruth Barrett, Jesse Singal and Janice Raymond.

I once encouraged Lane and others in the detrans/desisted radical feminist community to do whatever they could to spread anti-trans radical feminist ideology. Lane has acted in ways straight out from what I recommended in the workshop I presented at the first Blood & Vision gathering. While their actions are their own, it’s not unreasonable to assume that I exerted some influence on them, since my intention at the time was to influence anyone who’d listen. I regret working so hard to influence Lane and others to spread what I now recognize as a harmful, bigoted, controlling and reactionary ideology. If I’m going to expose Lane’s past, than I also need to own my own influence on Lane and acknowledge my own role in the harm they went on to commit.

According to Devorah, Lane took part in what she would joking refer to as “psy-ops” to push “softer” variations of radical feminist ideology and propaganda into queer and trans online and in-person communities in an attempt to influence and recruit queer cis women and female assigned trans people. Devorah believes that all transmasculinity is a manifestation of unresolved trauma and/or internalized misogyny and so she disapproved of Lane attempting to reconcile trans and butch identity. She also disapproved of Lane eventually getting top surgery to treat their dysphoria, since she believes that the desire to transition can spread like a “social contagion” and that Lane could “infect” others because of their position of influence. At the same time, she was often enthusiastic about many of Lane’s actions which she viewed as spreading radical and lesbian feminist ideology and culture. Devorah despises trans women, so she particularly delighted when Lane targeted trans women in queer and trans communities. I’m sure on some level she must have realized that Lane’s identity as a trans butch helped spread radfem/TERF ideology where it would otherwise have a hard time penetrating but that didn’t stop her from judging Lane and looking down at them as still suffering from “false consciousness”.

Many have accused Lane of being a crypto-TERF and I can confirm as someone who was part of the same radical feminist circles they moved in that this was indeed true. I also participated in spreading propaganda aiming to extend the influence of the detrans radical feminist community and recruit more people into it. I know firsthand how harmful and unethical such behavior is. My old group rationalized acting in deceptive, manipulative and coercive ways to draw more people in and gradually indoctrinate them, acting much more like a high control group than an actual feminist community working toward liberation.

Among other things, Lane stirred up hostility towards trans women accused of abuse, not out of a desire to see all abusers held accountable regardless of gender but coming from the transmisogynistic view that trans women are more likely to engage in violence and abuse because on some level they’re “really male” and thus are a danger to “female people” in queer and trans communities. Lane and others in my old community specifically focused on instances where trans women were accused of abuse and violence because it fit their transmisogynistic beliefs and could be used to push (crypto-)TERF propaganda, much like how white supremacists and other fascists use real or imagined instances of violence by people of color to frame all people of color as inherently dangerous and violent. At the same time, abuse by cis women and female-assigned trans people was typically seen as being less serious, leading to instances where abuse within the radfem/TERF community was downplayed, denied or hidden. This further shows that the point wasn’t actually to combat abuse in queer and trans communities but to paint trans women as inherently more dangerous and use it as an excuse to drive them out of those communities, while taking no substantial step to curb abuse by female-assigned people. The end result is that queer and trans communities are less safe for both trans women and survivors of abuse.

Lane also helped spread the idea that all trans men, transmasculine people and other female-assigned trans people are all fundamentally “female” by virtue of being assigned female at birth and then being “female socialized” as a child growing up. This denies the experiences of trans men and other female-assigned trans people who do not consider themselves female in any way and/or find that categorization hurtful or offensive. It implies such people are in denial of what they really are and possibly anti-feminist or suffering from internalized misogyny. It also implies and reinforces the idea that trans women, transfeminine people and other trans people assigned male are “really male” because of their sex assigned at birth and “male socialization”. TERFs and transphobic lesbians have used the idea that trans women are “male” and/or “male socialized” to exclude them from feminist and lesbian spaces/culture and to claim that trans women are more likely to be violent and abusive.

There have been attempts to build subcultures of cis lesbians, transmasculine people and other female-assinged trans people based on a supposed common ground of shared “femaleness”, either “female biology”, “female socialization” or both, while excluding trans women and transfeminine people on the basis that they’re supposedly “male”. This specific construction of “femaleness” is thus grounded in transmisogyny and the belief that assigned sex, gender socialization or a combination of both is defining for life, determining among other things what a person is, who they have connections with and who it makes sense to build community with. It’s a way for radical feminism to attempt to assimilate transmasculine people and other female-assigned trans people, encouraging them to identify and value what traits they supposedly share with cis women, thereby reinforcing a particular construction of “femaleness” that radical feminism is grounded in, while also reinforcing transmisogyny, distrust, rejection and hostility towards trans women. This is often just a stage working towards encouraging transmasculine people to go for full ideologically-motivated detransition/desistance and “female reidentification”. It’s not uncommon for TERFs to pretend to be more accepting of transmasculine people than they actually are in order to get a hook in them and then see how far they can influence them. Transmasculine people like Lane who peddle watered down versions of TERFism are very useful for TERFs, helping them reach people that they would be unable to influence otherwise.

Lane ran an in-person butch support group in Massachusetts. I know that for a least part of the group’s existence it was held at a space where Lane had to admit trans women to the group but otherwise would’ve excluded them. There was one butch trans woman who attended and I heard Lane make comments making it clear that they would’ve excluded her if they could’ve gotten away with it. I have heard that at one point or another their in-person group did exclude trans women. I can’t confirm this but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was true.

I spoke to someone who attended the group who said that he found out about it through connecting with Lane on Facebook. At the time this person was getting involved in online radical feminist groups and was influenced by detrans radical feminist propaganda. He believed that attending Lane’s group might help him heal unresolved trauma. His impression of the group itself was that it was mostly attendees sharing their experiences and receiving support. There were parts about it that seemed genuinely helpful but he wished that he could’ve found a similar support group through non-TERF channels. It’s common for radical feminists to exploit people’s real needs and combine providing support with political indoctrination and emotional manipulation. They often sincerely believe that they’re helping people find liberation or healing but this belief does nothing to negate their harmful impact. Indeed, it only makes it easier for them to recruit vulnerable people looking for help.

As a transmasculine butch who does see myself as female among other genders, I know it’s possible to be both female and transmasculine. But I don’t need to proclaim that all transmasculine people are female or encourage them to see themselves as female in order express who I am. When trans men tell me they’ve never actually been female and have always been male, I respect that. And I have no issue recognizing that trans women are as female as I am, that their assigned sex and however they were brought up in no way makes their femaleness less real than my own. I don’t have to deny their femaleness to claim my own.

The issue here is claiming that assigned sex and/or “socialization” determines what people are and who they ought to associate with. Insisting that one’s assigned sex and/or “socialization” forever determines what a person’s sex or gender is imposes more limits on what people can be, it inhibits self-determination instead of strengthening it. Similarly, claiming that one’s “true community” is determined by assigned sex and/or “socialization” likewise takes away from people’s ability to determine for themselves who they feel connected to and want to build community with. It does little to actually dismantle patriarchy, indeed it relies on many of the same assumptions and sex/gender categories patriarchy uses to control and oppress. We don’t need a new deterministic way of sorting out sex and gender, especially one that continues to harm and exclude trans women. We need communities that support people’s self determination instead of reinforcing the idea that the sex/gender categories patriarchy assigned us determine what we can be and who we’re connected to.

I haven’t interacted with Lane in years and don’t know what their current views are but I have not seen any evidence of them disavowing their radfem/TERF or transmisogynistic views or actions. I have been shown evidence that they’re unwilling to acknowledge their involvement in radical feminist/TERF communities. They’re not being transparent about their past, likely because they want to avoid facing consequences for their actions.

I’m speaking publicly about what I know about Lane Lloyd’s involvement in TERFism because I want people to be able to make informed decisions in regards to how they want to interact with Lane or if they want to interact with them at all. By hiding their past or current involvement, Lane is concealing information from people who might not want anything to do with them or would otherwise react negatively if they did know. Certainly trans women ought to know of Lane’s history of transmisogyny in order for them to take steps to protect themselves.

I know firsthand how dangerous and damaging the anti-trans radical feminist movement is to all trans people, especially trans women. The kind of crypto-TERF ideology Lane spread among transmasculine and other female-assigned trans people is toxic, encourages distrust and hostility towards trans women and can be a stepping stone towards ideological detransition. TERFism, both overt and cypto, has caused a great deal of lasting harm to lesbian, queer and trans communities and so being a TERF should have consequences. Historically, anti-TERF action has taken the form of exposing, shunning, deplatforming, criticism, boycotts and occasionally public humiliation typically of more high-ranking TERFs (think Lierre Keith getting pied). There’s a long history of trans people and allies boycotting TERF businesses, so Lane should not be surprised if they find themselves the target of a boycott.

Lane can of course publicly renounce TERFism, change their behavior and work to repair past harm. The first step would be acknowledging and taking responsibility for their past and/or present harmful behavior. Unless or until they show signs of having made real change I can’t see why someone should support their business unless they’re comfortable giving money to an unrepentant (crypto-)TERF. Even if they do change, trans and queer people have no obligation to forgive or accept them. Again, being a TERFs should be punishable and others get to decide if and when someone has changed enough for those punishments to be lifted. For some trust can never be reestablished. In my experience, most trans and queer people are very forgiving towards former TERFs who make sincere effort to take responsibility for past harm and undo the damage they caused but forgiveness is not something to be expected or taken for granted.

I would do Lane no favors by enabling their harmful behaviors or denying their past actions or involvement in anti-trans subcultures. I myself needed to face consequences in order to break with TERFism. I had to realize that other people’s anger and outrage at my actions were justified because I’d done things that hurt them. In order to disengage from TERFism, you need to face the reality that your beliefs and actions harm trans people and that the trans people so harmed are justified in criticizing your actions and defending themselves from your harm. You have to begin to see things from their perspective, start caring about how your actions impacted them and understand that their resistance was justified and necessary for their well-being. You have to recognize and accept that some people will never forgive you for the harm you’ve caused. It can be hard but recognizing all that and taking responsibility for your actions is ultimately freeing.

Lane, from one trans butch to another, get your shit together. Stop denying what you’ve done, own it and be honest with people. The group we were both involved with was part of the larger anti-trans movement. People are right to be upset with you for getting involved with that and being trans yourself doesn’t just cancel it out. Denial and rationalization will not spare you from the consequences of your actions. How many years have you been facing repercussions because of your actions? Do you really want to keep dealing with this, over and over? Your behavior is a problem that’s caused others harm, people are right to recognize it as such. They get to call you on it and enforce consequences. You can expect for people to keep at you unless and until you make real change. It’s up to you, you can keep doing what you’ve been doing for years or you can recognize where you’ve gone wrong and change. Make your choice.