Guardian: Stonewall risks all it has fought for

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/06/stonewall-risks-all-it-has-fought-for-in-accusing-those-who-disagree-with-it-of-hate-speech

Good opinion piece by Sonia Sodha

There is a clash here with Stonewall’s campaign to abolish legal provisions for single-sex spaces, so that males who identify as women have the same rights to access them as those born female. Disagreement on what it means to be a woman – whether it is solely based on a feeling or whether it is related to sex – is one thing, although gender-critical feminists regard the reduction of womanhood to gender expression as reinforcing regressive gender norms. But it is extraordinary that Kelley believes that she is justified in likening these views to antisemitism and arguing that women’s freedom to express them should be legally curtailed.
...
It is distressing that Stonewall’s board cannot see what its actions are jeopardising. While some campaigners may balk at trying to win over those who don’t align to their world view – because they’re supposedly evil – this is a guaranteed way to halt progress and generate backlash.

[OnWednesdaysWeWearMink]

Excellent, things really seem to be changing. I wish the comments were open - I’d be fascinated to see what they say.

[Theeyeballsinthesky]

That’s an excellent piece, completely nails it.

[SpindleWhorl]

In the context of 'winds of change', there's an excoriating piece by Sarah Vine - whose husband is Michael Gove - in the Mail on Sunday online today.

Along with MoJ news, I'd take this as a heavy hint that Ministers have finally taken the shiny toys away from the junior civil servants who have colluded with Stonewall on this crap since 2015.

[colouringindoors]

That is a cracking article, covers the issues well and clearly. 🤞🤞🤞

[Whatwouldscullydo]

Not a bad article considering its the guardian. Very clearly written with an underlying apology for SW for having to say what she said. But I understand that these days the only way to get the point across is to show how it negatively impacts lgbt people because obviously hurting women isn't enough to get anyone to care.

But it's out there and we cabt complain really. Took guts to write it for the guardian and fir that I applaud her

[334bu]

Wow and in the Guardian as well!!

[BrownTableMat]

It’s the Observer rather than the Guardian - different editorial team. But yes, a great article and a pleasant surprise to see it there.

[NeedNewKnees]

It’s the Observer, isn’t it? The Sunday paper. The Observer has been better on gen crit than the Guardian.

[heathspeedwell]

Sadly it's too little too late for me to ever trust the Guardian again.

I remember their truly abysmal coverage of the Tara Hudson story a few years ago, and how terrible they felt it was that this transwoman was in a male prison.

They completely omitted to mention Tara's troubling history of violent crime, or the fact that Tara was very keen to boast about Tara's "seven inch surprise."

They were absolutely relying on the public misperception that a transwoman would have had surgery to remove their male genitalia. This was not out of modesty for Tara because they were happy to mention Tara's silicon breast implants.

Once you see the agenda, you can't unsee it.

[embarrassingcrushtoo]

@SpindleWhorl

In the context of 'winds of change', there's an excoriating piece by Sarah Vine - whose husband is Michael Gove - in the Mail on Sunday online today.

Along with MoJ news, I'd take this as a heavy hint that Ministers have finally taken the shiny toys away from the junior civil servants who have colluded with Stonewall on this crap since 2015.

The comments on this Sarah Vine article are - attacks on the term 'mother' have now broken through to the mainstream and Daily Mail readers are ANGRY!!

www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-9656245/SARAH-VINE-war-mothers-feminisms-biggest-fight-decades.html

[PearPickingPorky]

I knew this would be Sonia Sodha in the Observer. She's been excellent on this for a year or more. Takes a lot of flack for it from the USA Guardian puppet masters, Owen Jones and the like.

She's a good egg.

[heathspeedwell]

Just found the article - it literally claims that Tara has been, 'living as a woman' for her adult life - despite the fact Tara advertises Tara's 'seven inch surprise' in order to get work, which is obviously something women couldn't do if they tried.

www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/20/tara-hudson-transgender-prisoner-sues-government?CMP=twt_gu

[WarriorN]

Thanks about to read; while the cat's away the mice play at the observer

[JustcameoutGC]

Well, I hope she offered support to Suzanne Moore as she was hounded out of the building.

This a too little too late in my book. This article could and should have been written years ago. That would have been true journalism, speaking up now the tide is turning, not so much.

[FOJN]

Sadly it's too little too late for me to ever trust the Guardian again.

Quite, it's was my preferred news source until a couple of years ago but I don't even look at it anymore.

[SpindleWhorl]

I only scan the Guardian now to see how unhinged it's looking on any particular day. I have no confidence in either the veracity of its journalism or the integrity of the majority of its columnists.

Honourable exceptions include John Crace.

I will never pay it a penny towards a subscription or buy the print version. Yet I used to buy it daily.

[nauticant]

As far as I'm concerned, I can't see how the Guardian and the Observer can come back from shenanigans like this:

archive.fo/UFTa9 (an archive of the New Statesman reporting on an Observer article)

I'm not going to say never, but they'll have to take firm steps, consistently for a long time, to remove black marks like that.

[RedDogsBeg]

I remember their truly abysmal coverage of the Tara Hudson story a few years ago

The rot had already set in then as the Guardian fawned over Tara whilst completely ignoring the gay male victim of the violence, no mention of Tara's actions possibly being homophobic, no mention of the level of violence inflicted upon him by Tara.

[aliasundercover]

Nice comment under the Daily Mail article:
Father's Day is imminent in the UK. I suggest it be renamed Sperminators' Day in deference to Stonewall's principles

[WinterTrees]

I'll never trust or respect the Guardian as a news source again, however I have a lot of friends who aren't so tits-deep in the gender mire as I am and are still firmly wedded to it and believe it to be the voice of liberal, left-wing reason. For that reason I'm extremely glad to see them waking the fuck up to more responsible reporting.

[HPFA]

And a Labour MP retweets it with a favourable comment.

twitter.com/DianaJohnsonMP/status/1401467298913914881

Along with Rosie Duffield being re-elected Chair of the WPLP and Dawn Butler getting her handed to her I think there's hope for change here.

[Scarify]

It's true though that this has the potential to massively backfire on the people who genuinely need the support of organizations of the kind that stonewall used to be.

My boundaries ain't never coming down.

[Mollyollydolly]

Sonia is brilliant and I think she's part of The Observer team, a different editorial team to the rest of the woek.

[TheNumberfaker]

Sonia Sodha has been writing like this for quite a while now. Definitely not right wing and does loads of paper reviews and commentary on politics shows. I first heard of her when she suggested a Citizens assembly to try to sort out the mess that still is Brexit a few years ago. A very sensible commentator.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002z9g

[Melroses]

I think in the current climate with stonewall, the guardian group had to publish something. It is good as far as it goes, but I hope it is not as good as it gets.

It seems to suffer a bit from the editorial style guide, especially in reference to the offender that was put into a women's prison.