Woman attacked by transactivists at speakers corner - part deux

When I was younger my Mam ran a lesbian group, this must have been 15 years ago.

About a year into the group existing a mtf joined the group with her partner and there was complete uproar, the group ended splitting and it became very nasty. The mtf herself from what I remember was actually really lovely and sweet and just wanted somewhere to fit in, I'm still friends with her now. She is exactly what you think of when you think of a harmless transexual who has had a hard life and needs support. My Mam fought really hard to keep her in the group and she was allowed to stay (I think my Mam basically did a 'it's my group so you have to play by my rules').

At the time I was totally on my mams side but Looking back on it now I feel so sorry for the women that were pushed out. Especially as some were extremely vulnerable.

ChattyLion

There was a whole thread on feminism a week or two back about good books for girls. You might want to take a look.

Books that portray girls achieving and succeeding, etc.

Wolverhampton isn't it? I can't do that but I have got my ticket for Julie Bindel's book launch at Conway Hall in London on 11 Oct.

I'm too far away or I'd go Gingernaut. I've had a look but there doesn't seem to be anything around me, but where I am pops up rather often as having a fairly strong pro trans agenda so I'm guessing any rad fems are pretty quiet.

In terms of Facebook, it would be risky for me to post anything overtly critical of the trans ideology but I did share the information on last week's attack and said something along the lines of it being wrong to suppress political debate through violence and that it was important to win people over through discussion/persuasion, not fists.

I didn't say anything about which side's views I agreed with (and most Facebook friends probably think I agree with the transactivists as I am a lesbian and generally considered lefty/liberal) but it still spreads the message of how violent these groups are and how they are trying to silence debate.

I hope someone's going to that talk, because I'm not. I'm too chicken. Sorry, sisters.

All the "LGBT" organisations, like Stonewall, are just interested in trans rights now. So if you focus on what women need you'll be doing a fine job as a lesbian ally!

I can't stress this enough! The current trans agenda is very harmful to LGB people (particularly lesbians) but it has completely taken over LGBT organisations - and most of the LGBT media. I'm not even sure if separating out the T from the LGB would help that much as so many male-to-trans people identify as lesbians so would still be part of lesbian groups. The example of Magdalen being thrown out of an LGBT Group for saying she wouldn't sleep with a transwoman (ie a man - who in about 75% of cases will still have a penis) isn't unusual - You either stop accessing your LGBT 'community' or you keep your mouth shut and comply.

I do hate the way it's now impossible to support LBG, because it has become so intertwined with T. I think that's a huge mistake as they're really very different issues.

I also hate the fact that there are some of the more, for want of a better word "genuine" trans people who are upset by how I feel. They're so caught up in what they're told that they can't see that I don't hate them, I don't wish them ill, I have no desire to oppress them. They believe that by stopping them accessing female spaces I'm stopping them accessing work ffs - no, I'm not. Your options are not "go to work and use the ladies, or don't go to work". But they think using the gents is dangerous - yet they can't see why self identification which would allow any guy access to the ladies is not dangerous for us. It's such doublethink that it's hard to address.

I suppose I'm being a bit of a socialised female there, not wanting people to think I'm mean!

I'd love to be an LGBT ally but not at the expense of what women need.

Backing, I'm a lesbian and LGBT nowadays is simply shorthand for transactivist .

All the "LGBT" organisations, like Stonewall, are just interested in trans rights now. So if you focus on what women need you'll be doing a fine job as a lesbian ally!

My experience has been that men were never interested in friendship either .

When I was young my friends were boys and girls. I wanted the boys to think I was cool so I spent many boring evenings watching them play video games and smoke weed while I just sat there. I thought they were my friends. Actually I think now that most of them just wanted to cop off with me. I remember having a heated debate once with a soldier to this effect. He was convinced there was no way they just wanted to be my friend. I thought he was wrong.

So these young women probably feel the same way. As I've got older although I'm still friendly with my male friends they haven't been there for me like my female friends have been. And I don't give a shot anymore about appearing cool to men. Take me or leave me. So I'm free to explore my feminist leanings much more now.

By sex I really mean the hooking up and dating side, not in a LTR.

Granted I have only read a few articles by transwomen, but I'm hearing a lot about sex. Perhaps it's because I have a low sex drive, but if I was depressed and hated my body I would not really be interested in/thinking about sex, it would be the last thing on my mind (and has been, when I've had depression). Then holding down a job and worrying what friends/family/society thinks and exploring therapy/hormones/surgery and just generally being confused about whether you're a man or a woman. Where does sex fit into all that? But I think I'm projecting my own thoughts/experiences (and being a massive prude! ) there. I'd be interested in others views.

Owen Jones has gone down in my estimation, not that he cares, I am a woman after all.

Datun

Indeed... reminds me of that infamous twitter exchange with Owen Jones, where he was berating lesbians for not wanting to sleep with transwomen. When the tables were turned and he was asked if he would perform cunnilingus on a transman, he was all like, urgh that's disgusting and highly homophobic to suggest that

Sorry should have specified 'Goodnight stories for rebel girls' marketed books. Not saying that books on womens' achievements are only to be read by girls

Didn't Owen Jones throw a tantrum after being asked if he would perform cunnilingus on a transman? This was after he called lesbians 'bigots' for saying they wouldn't suck dick?

Thanks Datun. I will check it out. I was pretty bit shocked at how reductive 'what a girl is' was presented tbh.
This was in a library that prides itself on its selection of science books for kids for one, and secondly on holding books aimed at girls, detailing women's achievements which is presumably to broaden girls' ambitions and horizons etc.

Incitatis

I can't see a transman having anywhere near the same effect. Complaining that gay men won't sleep with them, despite their vagina. They would just ignore it or laugh.

Because, realistically, what could that transman do? Dominate him, bully him, threaten him?

Most transmen are lesbians, anyway. So I don't suppose it comes up much. Although, using the same logic, they won't want to sleep with another lesbian, right? Because that invalidates their male identity.

It's all such a mindfuck.