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Original poster

Peak Guardian - Guardian employs transperson to say 'white feminism is just too racist and misogynistic'

35 replies

TerfinUSA · 19/04/2018 05:59

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/19/as-a-trans-woman-of-colour-my-words-are-met-with-silence

'Comments are pre-moderated', naturally, to ensure those nasty white feminists don't say anything misogynist.

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Original poster
TerfinUSA · 20/04/2018 19:18

as far as I can see.

  1. Bloke is a fairly successful Australian musician behaves like a dickhead on various occasions, including getting his dick out at some music event.
  2. Said bloke is named in line-up for music festival, along with a certain transperson.
  3. Said bloke removed from line-up for music festival, without explanation as to why, and then said trans-person says 'it's because he's a pervert, just look at all these things he did in the past'. It's not clear if said transperson made the initial complaint that got the bloke removed, or if it was just after the fact.
  4. Several months later said transperson writes an article saying how this somehow proves feminism is misogynistic and racist, presumably on the very thin pretext that said transperson (who is non-white) was criticised for speaking out against the dodgy bloke, and this is proof of racism (because this bloke is white and the transperson isn't), and um, that feminism is misogynistic because, um, er, some people, presumably not feminists, got annoyed when the bloke was kicked off the festival. Or perhaps that's just a randomly linked-in aside because the transperson is a misogynist and wants to have a go at women.
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Ratherbehome · 20/04/2018 19:17

Oh I see. The author got abused for a statement about the man's removal and wanted some kind of support for it? Honestly not being deliberately obtuse. Finding it really hard to follow.

Ratherbehome · 20/04/2018 19:03

I have read the links but I don't think I understand it. Sorry can anyone help to explain it, in basic language.

I think a male musician who was due to perform at a music festival publicly exposed himself (showed his penis?), so the author of this piece asked for him to be removed from a festival line up. And he was removed? I don't really understand the rest. What is the problem exactly? Sorry feel free not to explain it me, but I can't follow it.

Original poster
TerfinUSA · 20/04/2018 15:38

to be fair, I believe the Guardian has an Australian site, so i think this article was intended for the Australian contingent.

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2rebecca · 20/04/2018 15:22

I'm also not sure why the author getting grief from presumably Ozzie blokes for getting this guy banned (and a comments writer says he was charged and convicted) is a problem for British feminists.
If I complained about a British bloke exposing himself to someone else I wouldn't be complaining to an Australian, Japanese or Nigerian newspaper and saying this was the fault of feminists in their country.

2rebecca · 20/04/2018 14:41

A guy I've never heard of deliberately exposed his cock on a red carpet at some event. The author wasn't there but found his behaviour understandably offensive and got him banned at a music festival. Good for her.
It's the next bit that doesn't make sense. Somehow she wants to see this as a meetoo# thing despite not being personally abused and somehow the abuse she got for kicking the guy out is white feminists fault although I doubt they were the ones complaining about his exclusion.

TerfsUp · 20/04/2018 13:15

Typical Guardian nonsense. Please, Guardian, burn through the rest of the Scott Trust so that you can die a financial death as quickly as possible.

Butterymuffin · 19/04/2018 21:41

Miss Blanks could do with some writing style advice. I still don't know what actually happened. The link back to another piece is a lazy way to address that.

Freespeecher · 19/04/2018 21:33

I can out-peak this!

I see to remember that Graun writer Bim Adewunmi caused a stir when she said that Harvey Weinstein hadn't harassed enough women of colour (or something along those lines).

smithsinarazz · 19/04/2018 18:37

Oh save us from the Four Yorkshiremen of the Apocalypse - Entitlement, Wickerman, Nonsequitur and Adhominem! For they will invalidate the opinions of everyone who disagrees with them by crying "Having periods? That would've been Luxury! I haven't even got a womb."

Original poster
TerfinUSA · 19/04/2018 11:44

I think part of the 'white feminism' thing is indeed to silence women, given that although most women in the world aren't white, most women reading, say, a British newspaper certainly are. But by dressing up in faux concern about racism you can pretend this is about nasty white women oppressing downtrodden transwomen of colour.

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Yarnswift · 19/04/2018 10:24

Because if they can whittle the pool down enough the critical volume of voices drops.

So women as a class? Nope too white! Shut up!
Black women? nope, too straight! Shut up!
Lesbians? Nope, won’t take ladydick, shut up!

Non white transwoman who are not feminists? Ok we will listen to you! Both of you ....

Feminism is for women. All women. White women can often be more privileged, I don’t think any of us argue that women of colour face an overlapping but not identical set of issues. At the same time the idea that white women are massively privileged over men is absurd - yes look at the Ulster rape case. Look at the Rotherham grooming scandal. And al the other ones across the country.

This is an attempt to split feminism - we all stand together in my view. We acknowledge that women of colour face unique issues, we acknowledge that lesbians face unique issues, we acknowledge that disabled women face unique issues. but we also know that what unites us is our biology and he root cause of our oppression stems from that that ALL women have in common, Black, white, straight, gay, rich and poor, Muslim, atheist, anything.

And that single unifying aspect of our biology is exactly what TRAs are trying g to co opt and deny

We see you. We see what you’re trying to do. Off with ye.

ALittleBitOfButter · 19/04/2018 10:18

Can't be bothered reading it but it sounds like the black/gay/trans tryptich. One showing solidarity to the other because they're all marginalised and excluded by white women. Or some shit.

Ellenripleysalienbaby · 19/04/2018 09:30

Try telling that to the young woman in the Ulster rugby case.

I thought that exact thing. The whole 'white feminism' thing is just another appropriation in an ever increasingly desperate attempt to shut women up. Yes, I do think there are some issues with intersectionality and that black women's issues sometimes get forgotten.

But that is fuck all to do with these bellends are crowing on about. It's just a weapon to silence us 'oh youre a woman but you are white? Shut up then'.

hackmum · 19/04/2018 08:54

"It does seem like race is being co-opted as a weapon by TRAs, including (or especially?) white ones."

Yes. They like to pretend that the evil TERFS are all white and middle-class, despite the evidence to the contrary (e.g. Linda Bellos, Lucy Masoud).

NotTerfNorCis · 19/04/2018 08:50

It does seem like race is being co-opted as a weapon by TRAs, including (or especially?) white ones.

BrashCandicoot · 19/04/2018 08:16

I think that had it been an article about the oppression of black women and other woc, it would have been a much needed perspective. An explanation of the relevance of the timing of the release of Janelle’s Pynk video, for example.

But no, the race to see who’s the most oppressed, where TRAs “win”.

merrymouse · 19/04/2018 08:11

I also think it’s fair to say that stories have been ‘amplified’ where women and men who are victims of abuse have spoken about specific instances of abuse and named their abusers.

Somebody talking in general terms about abuse isn’t gong to be the subject of a news story.

mirialis · 19/04/2018 08:10

Maybe the comments wouldn't go through because of the timing (i.e. not working hours for the mods)? There seem to be critical comments on there now.

Original poster
TerfinUSA · 19/04/2018 08:08

I suspect she may be right that white women may be more likely to be believed. I think her 5 ending statements are quite fine. I Think it would be more helpful and constructive to focus on the positives

positive? like criticising rose mcgowan for being not the right kind of victim?

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QuentinSummers · 19/04/2018 08:01

What i found most annoying was Miss Blanks complaining that white women had "coopted" #metoo

I thought #metoo was about sexual harassment. Surely the point was all women should use it?

Other than That, typical intersectional word salad. I have no idea what point she was making. Other than Me, Me, let's talk about meeeeee

MIdgebabe · 19/04/2018 07:59

I suspect she may be right that white women may be more likely to be believed. I think her 5 ending statements are quite fine. I Think it would be more helpful and constructive to focus on the positives

hackmum · 19/04/2018 07:56

I'm fully on board with the idea that black women, particularly poor black women, have a tougher time of it than white women. But if you're a white woman who's been gang-raped, the fact that you are slightly more likely to be taken seriously than a black woman who's been gang-raped, doesn't make you "privileged". Sorry.

busyboysmum · 19/04/2018 07:55

Tried to post a really innocuous comment but of course wasn't let through. Censorship by the Guardian. They will not allow people to see any views which disagree with this nonsense.

merrymouse · 19/04/2018 07:53

I’m happy for men and trans people to comment on any issue, whether that is James Kirkup or Miranda Yardley or anyone else and whether or not I agree with them.

The premise of this article may be fair - some groups are more high profile than others in the Metoo movement. That is probably because the media has focused on high profile actresses and high profile actresses tend to be white.

I don’t think poor white waitresses are getting much attention.

Beyond that I really, really don’t think white supremacists are involved in Metoo...