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Original poster

Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.

338 replies

leyat · 02/05/2018 23:41

So apparently MNHQ is asking women they are suspending for saying things like men are men, to consider whether Mumsnet is for them.

I feel it's important to be clear that we want feminist women to have a home here, we - all the women who engage here - have made this board what it is (I'm relatively new so I am in awe of the women who have been shaping this wonderful space all this time) and we don't want women excluded from this space because they won't lie about biology and acquiesce to misogyny and genderism.

This is meant to be a kind of refuge for us, where we do not have to submit to male authority, where we can let off steam and share without needing to worry about dealing with misogyny, and where we can feel a degree of safety and find sisterhood. I can't think of anything more awful than a woman who comes here to share in this, in this one space we have that's meant to be ours, to then be told she should consider excluding herself because she won't bow to male authority on what a woman is.

So it needs saying, Mumsnet, this is a board for all feminist women, we don't want anyone excluded or made to feel that this space isn't for them too. And please understand many women come here from backgrounds of abuse, we do live in a climate of male violence and misogyny that is currently getting worse, so I hope MNHQ take time to ask themselves how they want to treat women who come here. Mumsnet own the site, but it's the women who use this space who made it the vibrant refuge of sisterhood and resistance that it is, so please don't shit on that or indeed on the women who actually engage on your forum.

OP posts:
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Ereshkigal · 05/05/2018 12:03

They are all over every female centric site or forum or page. They manoeuvre themselves into positions of power like site admin/moderator, and they bring their female allies with them so they can centre their own needs and feelings as "inclusive" and shout down any opposition.

Pratchet · 05/05/2018 12:00

Mods not miss. My autocorrect is a TRA.

Pratchet · 05/05/2018 12:00

Shots: more fool me. The men seem to be miss though. That is serious top grade predatory infiltration.

ShotsFired · 05/05/2018 11:52

@Pratchet Is that three men bullying a woman on a lesbian website?

You sound surprised.

SardineReturns · 05/05/2018 11:48

Who would want periods?

I mean lots of women want to be fertile etc or not be going through menopause, but the actual period itself? It sits on a range of inconvenient all the way through to life-fucking-up. I can't think of any positives around blood coming out of my body every month, there's the expense of sanitary protection, the mess, the furtively hiding things up your sleeve at work, for girls it is a key moment when many of them drop off at sports (martial arts outfits all white! not invented by a woman clearly :D), the extra efforts if you want to have sex (and are with a man who doesn't object :D), and so on and so on before you even get to pain, mood issues, and worse.

Ereshkigal · 05/05/2018 11:42

Sorry a third person pronoun. Of course when conversing with this abusive narcissistic male she used "you" as any normal person would.

Ereshkigal · 05/05/2018 11:41

So did he expect her actually to say "cleared up that fae was referring to the symptom aspect of a period"? That's the only place where she used a pronoun.

Pratchet · 05/05/2018 11:32

'U r a terf'

Pratchet · 05/05/2018 11:31

Is that three men bullying a woman on a lesbian website?

Ereshkigal · 05/05/2018 11:29

"I explicitly called out my pronouns" which were "fae/faer" - wake me up when all this shit has vanished into a narcissism black hole.

LaSqrrl · 05/05/2018 11:28

"It's basically everything but blood"

LOLOLOLOL, hilarious.
Luvvin those non-existent-uterine cramps!

ShotsFired · 05/05/2018 11:24

4 of 4

Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.
Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.
Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.
ShotsFired · 05/05/2018 11:23

3 of 4

Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.
Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.
Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.
ShotsFired · 05/05/2018 11:23

2 of 4

Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.
Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.
Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.
ShotsFired · 05/05/2018 11:22

@LaSqrrl AAK: That'll be the next thing, TRAs will realize that endo is a thing that exists and claim that they get it too. If you can experience cramps in your nonexistent uterus then why not?

Hopefully these will post in order....

(1 of 4 sequential posts)

Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.
Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.
LaSqrrl · 05/05/2018 10:59

AAK: That'll be the next thing, TRAs will realize that endo is a thing that exists and claim that they get it too. If you can experience cramps in your nonexistent uterus then why not?

I have already seen a few demanding pap smears, you know, on their non-existent cervix. They insisted the gynae 'couldn't tell' it was a surgically constructed mangina. oh sure they couldn't tell, sure

So medical professionals have to humour them now?

Ereshkigal · 05/05/2018 10:46

Oh yes, I assumed that point had been made. They directly quote from it I think.

R0wantrees · 05/05/2018 10:35

I think it's always worth knowing some of the sources of this stuff
I agree.

Apologies, I realise that I didn't make clear that in the recommended slideshow above used at NUS Women's18 theterfs.com was listed as a 'good source'

Hi Mumsnet, if you are asking feminist women to consider whether Mumsnet is for them, please be clear that the space *we* made here is for *all* of us.
Ereshkigal · 04/05/2018 23:02

Cristan is the source of a large amount of the bullshit fright stories around 'terfs', basically making radical feminists out to be some sort of bogeyman who 'literally murdered tens of thousands of trans women' (paraphrasing). Williams' goal was to make the Transadvocate seem legit, a goal that seems to have been achieved, which is a complete travesty seeing as it is full of utter bollocks.

YY that's my understanding too.

RosenbergW · 04/05/2018 22:36

I think it's always worth knowing some of the sources of this stuff, the people who go along with it have no idea of where the bs they follow originated from and it is some pretty scary places.

RosenbergW · 04/05/2018 22:35

I think theterfs.com was started by Dana Lane Taylor, a male who ids as trans and has tweeted under countless names, but for a long time went by misssudo, and before that went by sixof_caprica. Taylor was totally obsessed with Cathy Brennan. If you google any of Taylor's names you'll probably find a whole bunch of insane stuff, including regular suicide threats, a lactation fetish, and frightening threats of violence.

DLT handed over theterfs.com to Cristan Williams, who runs the transadvocate site and was massively responsible for popularising the term terf (before theterfs.com was made). Cristan is the source of a large amount of the bullshit fright stories around 'terfs', basically making radical feminists out to be some sort of bogeyman who 'literally murdered tens of thousands of trans women' (paraphrasing). Williams' goal was to make the Transadvocate seem legit, a goal that seems to have been achieved, which is a complete travesty seeing as it is full of utter bollocks.

My memory might be a bit off but I don't think so. I don't go to either site ever at all as Williams and Taylor have both boasted of having hacker friends (Taylor fancies themselves a hacker too) and they are both obsessed with hunting and doxxing 'terfs'. They're both pretty fucking scary imo.

I don't know ever how useful this info is, just trying to shed a bit of light on background in case anyone wants to follow it up.

ManifestingPowerhouse · 04/05/2018 22:33

Hmm. That's disconcertingly vague!

R0wantrees · 04/05/2018 18:20

Does anyone know when governmental decisions around proposed self ID legislation are likely to be made?

from the letter shared:

"... details will be released in due course"

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3240272-Response-received-from-Minister-via-MP

ManifestingPowerhouse · 04/05/2018 17:30

Does anyone know when governmental decisions around proposed self ID legislation are likely to be made?

Chocolatecake84 · 04/05/2018 17:16

Fabulous post. Agreed.

We must keep speaking up. The "first they came for the..." quote has never been more apt.