The term TERF is an acronym for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist, also colloquially referred to as terfism. It was popularized in 2008 by trans-inclusive feminist blogger Viv Smythe, with the aim of describing a minority current within radical feminism that, unlike other more inclusive or neutral sectors, held positions considered transphobic. Specifically, this current denies the recognition of trans women as women and rejects the inclusion of trans people in feminist struggles.
Terfism is based on an essentialist and binary view of gender, which associates being a woman exclusively with the sex assigned at birth. This perspective advocates for the strict separation of spaces according to biological sex and opposes the participation of trans women in gender-segregated spaces such as bathrooms, changing rooms, or women’s shelters. This stance has been criticized for reinforcing sexist stereotypes and biologically deterministic discourses, and in certain contexts it has coincided or collaborated with anti-feminist and far-right sectors that instrumentalize feminism to attack the rights of trans people.
Today, the term TERF has become a controversial expression within contemporary feminist debates. In some circles, it is used as a critical label to point out anti-transgender positions, while the individuals or groups targeted by it often reject it as a pejorative or insulting term, arguing that it invisibilizes or misrepresents their claims regarding sex and the structural inequality between women and men.