I want to join a gender critical feminist group

[WinchesterWoman]

Hi I've decided I want to talk to people in real life about feminism and meet more gender critical feminists like those I've met here at mumsnet, and get notifications about talks and lectures.

I don't know what to join though, after a bit of googling. The Fawcett Society statement on gender identity starts off OK then moves on to 'lived experience and 'inclusivity'.

I've drawn a bit of a blank now. Does any one have any advice please. London / south east area. Many thanks indeed.

[XinnaJane]

Watching with interest. I have looked into this and drawn a blank

[FruitCider]

ALW feminism group is full of "gender critical feminists" from all over the country.

[WinchesterWoman]

ALW feminism I will look that up. Anyone know about London Feminist Network?

[WinchesterWoman]

Thanks by the way

[IrenetheQuaint]

London Feminist Network would usually have been just the place for you, but it seems to have got a bit quiet recently (or maybe the website just hasn't been updated?).

The Feminism in London conference is usually great but they're having a break this year and reorganising themselves as a group called Filia. Worth joining their FB group though.

Interested to hear other people's ideas. There are tons of radical/gender critical feminists in London and around so you're bound to find something that suits you.

[WankingMonkey]

I would have thought most feminist groups would be gender critical..given gender is a ridiculous social construct designed to keep women 'in their place' so to speak.

[WinchesterWoman]

Thank you Irene, looking up Filia

[WinchesterWoman]

You'd think Wanking but look at the Women's Equality Party.

[FruitCider]

Not all branches of feminism are "gender critical". Black, intersectional, sex positive, liberal, anarchist, cultural, multiracial etc are all types of feminism that are not "gender critical".

[IrenetheQuaint]

You might want to check out RadFem collective, OP?

www.radfemcollective.org/

[WinchesterWoman]

Yes I will. Thanks very much, this is great, thank you.

[EmpressKnowsWhereHerTowelIs]

Thanks Irene.

Looking at the kind of people who like / follow them on their FB & Twitter - Julia Long, Miranda Yardley, Sarah Ditum, Meghan Murphy of Feminist Current - they sound worth getting involved with.

[CharlieSierra]

I am the same. I really need to do this. I have found a local feminist group but I can't tell what flavour they are. Chelt Fems. Has anyone heard of them.

[Fairyflaps]

This article is by the chair of Chelt Fems so will give you an idea. www.cheltfems.org.uk/uncategorized/the-terf-under-the-bed-and-the-trans-sexism-coming-out-of-the-closet/
The group as a whole is not gender critical but some of its members certainly are.

[WinchesterWoman]

Irene RadFem collective is just what I need. I'll go to their talks. Thanks a million.

[WinchesterWoman]

I adore their tagline - 'positively revolting women.'

go us

[MephistoMarley]

ALW aren't gendercrit at all. They are 'inclusive' and 'intersectional' and you will be terf-shamed if you post anything that deviates from blind acceptance of children transitioning at primary school.
Radfemcollective on Facebook is great. Cuddly radfems is a closed but not secret Facebook group you could request to join.

[TwatbadgingCuntfuckery]

Anyone on twitter who shares great radfem links? I have to be cautious on FB with the groups I follow (Oh how I wish you could follow pages anon/hidden)

[FruitCider]

ALW inclusive feminism is by definition inclusive and is the group I frequent the most. I'm actually referring to "ALW Feminist Discussion Group" who describe themselves as

"This group does not endorse the sex trade or support the decriminalisation of the whole industry. We do not believe that in a progressive equal society that women are commodities.
Patriarchy sucks. End demand. None of this neo liberal 'I'm alright John'!

Trans women or women born women are all welcome in the group. Regarding trans women it's a fact they were not born with female bodies or labelled female at birth or socialised as girls and women through their most formative years. But all women have individual relationships to girlhood, womanhood, femininity. What we share is experiences of sexism and threat/reality of sexual violence. As they live as trans women trans women experience sexism and violence too. So all women have this in common, of all backgrounds.

I do agree with self organisation as a political right. So if trans women or other women want to organise separately they should. Likewise if women who were born female want to organise together that's their right too.

However, this group welcomes ALL women. Wether you feel welcome in a group where the debate may cause upset is something I do not feel able to police.

The group will NOT tolerate personal attacks.

It will also not tolerate repeated statements intended to cause upset or be antagonistic. If within the context of a thread you share a opinion that is not a personal attack & others express feeling upset with this, it is not appropriate to keep repeating the statement. Once is enough.

Feel free to disagree. Feel free to debate. Agree to disagree. Be a decent human being. Born with a vagina or not.

Transphobic means hateful toward transpeople. Nothing more. To discuss theories about whether gender is fluid is not transphobic.."

So in a nutshell, yes it is gender critical.

[FruitCider]

Whereas ALW Inclusionary feminists describe ourselves as

"This is spin off from the main ALW action group. It exists to discuss any topic that falls under the umbrella of feminism, women's issues, austerity and its impact and all things lefty. There are some posting guidelines:

*This group is inclusionary, both explicitly and implicitly. That means we do not tolerate trans exclusionary threads, statements, arguments or opinions. No online space can be truly safe, but it is our best endeavours to make this as safe as we can can for ALL women.
*No personal attacks or insults, remember the golden rule 'attack the argument not the person'.
*Admins are human beings with jobs, families, off Facebook life's, moderation will be light touch unless someone is breaking the guidelines, then we reserve the rights to delete comments, threads or worst case and as a last resort people."

[YouAreMyRain]

ALW discussion group is most definitely NOT gender critical. Anyone posting anything gender critical on there gets repeatedly called "TERF" and shot down by the transwomen on there that heavily police anything gender critical.

[CharlieSierra]

Thank you Fairy

[ArcheryAnnie]

It might be worth keeping an eye on theredtent.co.uk - they've had a number of gender-crit feminist events in Conway Hall. I have never been to one as they tend to sell out very quickly!

[FruitCider]

I'm not on about the discussion group, see my posts below...

[WinchesterWoman]

Trans women or women born women are all welcome in the group.

Yes I did start to wonder if I was rick-rolled on ALW. Thanks for this extract - I've definitely gone with the right group!

Positively Revolting Spartacus