We Level Up a Trojan horse?

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

They recently appeared with a reasonable splash on Twitter, campaigning for changes in the language used to report domestic violence and murdered women (Dignity for Dead Women) Seemed like a very worthy cause and therefore a worthy organisation.

However, they have now emailed their mailing list with the whole support changes to the GRA thing and an easy way to fill it in.

twitter.com/PankhurstEM/status/1052959313269014528?s=19

I'm feeling pretty stupid TBH. I'm probably being overly cynical but it seems almost as if they set up the campaign to harvest data they could spam about completely the consultation with a pro self-ID slant.

In fact all of their campaigns have been pretty much inarguably worth while, and there about us says [my comments in square brackets]:

Our mission is to build a community of feminists who can work together to end sexism in the UK. Our vision is a world where everyone is free to achieve their potential regardless of their gender.

[Misuse of gender, but I can forgive them that - it's pretty common]

We want a membership from all walks of life. Our race, class, sexuality, gender identity and ability affect our experiences of sexism, we run campaigns that take that into account.

[Gender identity? Hmm, I might let it slide, maybe they mean sex]

We want feminism to be easy to understand: Plenty of people care about gender equality who haven’t read lots of feminist theory or been involved in activism. Level Up is the place for them.

[Sounds good]

We want to have fun: Living with sexism can be tiring. We want to make campaigning as fun and enjoyable as possible and try not to take ourselves too seriously all the time.

[Also sounds good]

In 2017 we raised £75,000 to launch Level Up. Over £25,000 came from 369 generous people who donated to our crowdfunding campaign. Our community is over 2000 strong and growing every day.

[Now I'm raising an eyebrow - how the fuck did they (and why did they need to) raise £75,000 in a year to start a feminist group]

I got that too. Was very unimpressed.
I signed up to them on the basis of their Dignity for Dead Women, and then they send out something that completely dismisses and denigrates women who are fighting to keep female-only refuges.
Bloody disgraceful.

What about dignity for live women?

Would it be too tinfoil hat to consider that maybe they were set up as a TRA organisation in the first place, and previous campaigns were just camouflage?

Part of their fundraising statement in 2017

"100 years after British women won the right to vote we represent less than a third of Members of Parliament.

British women are still paid less than their male counterparts at work, and that pay the gap gets wider for non-white women.

Some estimates say hate crime against trans women has trebled in the last few years.

In the next three days a woman in the UK will be killed by a partner or former partner."

They raised £26,000 through crowdfunding - pretty impressive going - can't help wondering if that was influenced by the third item in the list?

And where did the other £50,000 come from?

Yep just unsigned from anything to do with them. They spammed me when I had said on the survey that I did not want further contact . Never had any other organisation do that before

Then I took a clearer look at their Twitter. They retweet anti Fair Play for women tweets and retweet pro stonewall tweets including transwomen should be in womens refuges .

AVOID AVOID AVOID!

I don't think they're a TRA front organisation, they've just taken the TWAW line wholesale. They look like a club of career campaigners/political hangers on who are trying to start their own organisation. Most of their other non-GRA goals seem laudable. I will not however be contributing to them. I have given more money this year to organisations I have come across through MN FWR than the rest of my charitable giving combined and I will continue to do so.

www.welevelup.org/who-we-are/

I got the same email - I unsubbed and told them why. I don't think they are a TRA front either, just privileged Serena Joy types who've downed about a gallon of Koolaid.

I wouldn't go near any organisation that sends out an email about feminism and the first thing they do is feature a "journey" about a man who identifies as a woman.

Erm no.

But well done to them for being up front about centering men.

One of the most egregious sections was the bit about male violence - bolding in the original:

'I'm scared of male violence too, I don't know a trans person who isn't. I don't want another trans person to have to go through the ordeal of having a man close the door to his clinical, cold office on them while he asks detailed questions about their mental health, sex lives, sexual preferences, sexual attractions, sexual experiences and sexual fears. The ordeal that I had to enter into in order to access life affirming and life changing documentation and medical support. The retraumatisation I had to open myself up to in order to exist in the world with a little less fear within the constant threat of violence.'

I don't even know where to start explaining how fucking awful and self-absorbed this is, coming from an organisation that gather emails addresses on the back of a campaign for dignity for murdered women. But to equate male violence with intrusive medical questions - something women know only too well - is beyond offensive.

Sorry the bolding didn't work - the first sentence is bolded in the email.

Fuck me that paragraph equating women's actual experience of violence and rape with the medical questioning process to get a GRC.... that's one of the most offensive things I've read here. Do they have any idea what processes rape victims have to go through if they wish to prosecute their rapist or if they become pregnant? This on top of the experience of actually being raped and the likely resulting ptsd and feelings of shame in a society which still blames the victim.

God that sounds like a bloody Cambridge Analytica outfit like 'Veterans for Britain' or whatever it was.

Just unsubscribed and told them why.

I unsubscribed and told them why as well.

ah pleased someone picked this up as well -I was going to but the new thread option was glitchy yesterday.


What a disingenuous and divisive obfuscation communication from Level Up that scapegoats women and their concerns.

As Matthew Watkins remarked in his interview with Jane Clare Jones:

The transgender movement is predicated upon the utterly naive idea that self identification wouldn’t lead to predatory men infiltrating women’s spaces and trying to gain access to women and children. To believe that is extremely dangerous. We’re supposed to be having a safeguarding debate and one half of the debate is being screamed at for being Nazis.

JCJ made the points:

Women wanting their own spaces - this is seen as domination and the same as white people excluding black people in segregation - except women aren't the dominant sex and don't have the best spaces to exclude anyone from.

plus

Somehow institutions have been conned into thinking that sex is assigned

These young women do themselves and women and children no favours by selling safeguarding down the river - I unsubscribed and told them why

I have another email from them despite unsubscribing. Not impressed.

Fuck me that paragraph equating women's actual experience of violence and rape with the medical questioning process to get a GRC.... that's one of the most offensive things I've read here.

Completely agree, I'm sat here open mouthed at that paragraph too.

I pretty much think I've heard it all when it comes to the centering of they-who-must-be-obeyed but depressingly there is always something more.

I have had numerous emails from them despite unsubscribing twice and I am pretty sure I never agreed to emails in the first place. I have told them twice what I thought of them and am getting fed up with the rubbish they are spouting

Definitely. I don't believe it's an accident or trying too hard. They got access to IPSO instantly. It's top down transactivism.

I have had numerous emails from them despite unsubscribing twice and I am pretty sure I never agreed to emails in the first place. I have told them twice what I thought of them and am getting fed up with the rubbish they are spouting

You want to contact them again saying you will contact the ICO.

Its a breech of data protection.