Any lesbians feeling a tad battered and deflated?

Yes and no.

On the one hand, the lunatics running this huge asylum are never ever going to convince normal people that "lady dicks" exist, or that lesbians should accept men as partners. That's why they're shouting so loud online right now in their echo chambers.

But it's also incredible that the "woke" public figures including the city's mayor are publicly condemning the statement that "a lesbian is a female homosexual".

It's scary.

Another heterosexual woman here deeply distressed at the colonisation of lesbianism.

colonization
ˌkɒlənʌɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/Submit
noun
noun: colonisation
the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area.
"Africa boasts a tradition of higher education institutions that predate Western colonization"
the action of appropriating a place or domain for one's own use.
"the complete colonization of television entertainment by reality shows"

Arguing that it's up to lesbians to just say no to sleeping with someone they don't want to sleep with, completely ignores the social context we all operate in.

Young women who are still learning who they are and what their boundaries are; vulnerable women who are afraid; suggestible women who want to be "nice" or "woke", might all be pressured into sex they don't want to have.

Women in general have trouble saying no; because they are afraid of the response; because they're socialised to be nice; because men don't listen.

It's not good enough making it just the responsibility of women to refuse sex they don't want. It has to be the responsibility of men to respect boundaries and not just take no for an answer but recognise that asking might be inappropriate.

Putting pressure on one class of people to be available for sex with another class of people, in defiance of declared preferences is aggression.

I am a straight woman as well and lesbians have my support.

The thing that gets me, is that I'm pretty certain if you asked heterosexual men if they would consider a trans woman a woman for sexual/ romantic relationships the VAST majority would say absolutely no way.

I think trans rights activists are going about it all the wrong way. You can't force people to accept an untruth but you can ask them to accept you into society and expect to be able to live in peace without prejudice.

I’m heterosexual. I stand with lesbians against this rapey gaslighting crap.

Thanks, FermatsTheorem, for saying what you did there. Lightbulb moment for me.

I’m not in the lesbian or even Feminist communities but I find it deeply troubling that a lesbian would be expected to sleep with a person with a penis. It’s a bit like a religion , we must believe and have faith that transwoman are woman against all biological facts. It’s like a strange distopian fiction. Also where are all the trans men in this? And are straight men bigots for not wanting to have sex with a trans woman? Are gay men bigots for not wanting to sleep with trans men? What’s wrong with being simply happy with being a transperson?

I'm not a lesbian but I am horrified by the attitude towards lesbians atm and what happened at Pride. It's like people are just looking for an excuse to hate women and lesbians. They don't even research what the issue is. And so many people saying they 'don't believe' the pressure to have sex with people with penises. Same people who jumped on the bandwagon for #metoo are disbelieving women now. And when it is really easy to find out if it is true, just google Cotton Ceiling. So angry and really really upset.

Nynaeve, I've just joined in that Twitter thread you linked to. What a joy to see women (and some men) speaking truth to TRA power.

Well said @Sarahjconnor, I'm not a lesbian either but I am disgusted at how these ladies have treated.

I noticed yesterday two of my friends posting on Facebook about the awful transphobes at pride. They're straight men. They didn't think Pride was the place for lesbians to protest their concerns over homophobia. Straight men congratulating themselves on being so open minded that they called lesbians protesting homophobia at Pride bigots. It's mind blowing. They couldn't/wouldn't be convinced that women had genuine concerns. They just believe they're bigots. How has this happened?!

People don't believe us. They humour us. This has to stop.

You want people to stop humouring you

Oh

Not sure that's going to go well

The edifice is crumbling, OP. Let these people expose themselves. They'll do our work for us.

I'm not a lesbian but I am sorry this is happening to your community.
I will stand by and support you where I can.

Thanks busy.

twitter.com/munroebergdorf/status/1015998999227260929?s=21

This thread is a joy. They know how people see them and they are fighting against it but they can't win!

Not just you. I don't and won't do dick. And the agenda these men have is awful.

I've felt deflated for a while. Leave lesbians alone you bunsh of creepy gits.

HomoSEXual not HomoGENDERal.

Here with my foot pump, reporting for reinflation duty.

Nope, I'm fired up, proud of the women who had the guts to speak out, disgusted with the likes of Stephen Fry and his lazy homophobia because only men matter, and glad of the publicity around it. And this was perfect timing as in conversation currently with my MP and the TRAs have given me a brilliant example of what 'inclusion' is being distorted and bastardised to enable.

Hang on in there. I reckon this is exactly the sort of action we need to see.

Because most people in the population are not bisexual (or pan sexual, or whatever). Most are heterosexual or homosexual, i.e., there's one precisely one genital set up out of the two possible ones which turns them on.

And the "lesbians ought to accept lady dick or they're bigots" mantra is the point at which the personal becomes the political. Because the instant a reasonably intelligent person generalises the issue to their own life ("hang on, you're telling me that if I don't want to fellate a penis/go down on a vulva - delete according to which one is a turn off for you - I'm a bigot?"), that's the moment the whole carefully constructed pack of cards comes tumbling down. Because it is the point at which 90% of the population realises that no matter how right on it may be to repeat the mantra "TWAW/TMAM", they don't actually believe it. They know that the slogans aren't true.

Of course it's fine and laudable to campaign for transwomen and transmen to go about their lives free from harrassment, having equal access to employment (barring a tiny handful of jobs where biological sex matters), housing, etc. But most people can't make the step to believing "TWAW/TMAM", because they aren't. And sexual attraction (or lack thereof) brings that home in the most immediate, irrefutable way possible.

That's why it's such a threat to TRAs, but at the same time is a battle they can't possibly win.

I feel even more determined, OP. In hospital at the moment and peaked the woman in the next bed.

The protest at Pride set off something. That's why there's such a massive push back. I'm hoping they set off an avalanche.

I will stand with my lesbian sisters. I will protest the invasion of women's spaces by males, regardless of how they identify.

So sorry, OP. Some people need to take a good hard look at themselves. It isn't clever and it isn't pretty. My lesbian DF is afraid to return to the dating scene because she's been told she needs to accept that pricks can be female.

They can't, everyone knows it but a few loons seem intent on pretending female dicks exist. They don't.

Feelings pass, friend. I went to bed last night feeling appalled that homophobia is in such rude health. I woke this morning, snuggled my dog, saw my kids off to school and experienced a renewed sense of determination to stand with lesbians who are facing this crap.
What's deflated can be reinflated.

How can you hijack being a lesbian if you are a lesbian?

^^