The misogyny continues in Manchester's Gay Village

Thanks R0wan for posting the surviving Manchester Pride thread. I really appreciate your posting of links.

Unless protesters block the route again

That is so 2018 . This is the format that the extra security will be prepared for. It's also the easier one to police swiftly and effectively, without kettling.

On the other hand, it would be a headache if protesters were embedded in the crowd, highly mobile, darting into positions along the route - not interfering with the march, directing any chants or banners at lesbian marchers only, and leaving trans marchers well alone.

That's just one example of a scenario that stewards find challenging.

I don't discount the sit-down-obstruction tactic at all.

Like the suffragettes, the publicity surrounding an arrest followed by court appearances, is not to be sniffed at.

I can't imagine that the Suffragettes' would have agreed to proceed by summons or accept a caution, if they'd existed - because the publicity and newsworthy activity was all that mattered to them. They were so brave and selfless for the cause!

theOtherPamAyres
I'm not sure how effective that will be, really. Unless protesters block the route again.
Police will kettle protesters and that will be it.
I'd like an alternative Pride, really. Not much time to organise one. Gay Shame manage to do it. wiki
There's a trans pride in Brighton. Why not a lesbian pride somewhere?
Macclesfield? I'm sure there's a Travelodge I can crash in.
Also if it was big enough, policing would have to be light touch, because the alternative (lesbians show up to have a parade and a few beers, coppers beat them up because they said TWANW) isn't very photogenic.

We lost a Manchester Pride thread to the zapper and I was worried London Pride threads had gone the same way!

relevent thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3350481-Homophobic-attack-against-lesbians-at-Manchester-Pride-Thread-title-edited-at-OPs-request

There will be a difference between 2018 and 2019 Pride marches.

In 2018, the numbers of protesters were small. They were characterised as extreme transphobes on the fringes - and not representative of lesbians. The plight of lesbians facing homophobia and overt rape culture was largely unknown to the general public.

I feel that the tide is turning, especially since more high-profile gay men and lesbians have become switched on to the cuckoos in the LGB nest, and the recent activities of Stonewall.

There is some groundwork to be done before the summer. There is a need to build on peak-trans-ing the people who continue to say that a man can be a lesbian. Stickers, posters, pamphlets, hoardings, boycotts of sponsors will all play their part in the run up. There will be a need for a fighting fund.

Upping security is no way to stop a burgeoning grassroots movement and an increasingly enlightened LBG. The Trans brand is tarnished and will never regain its credibility, in my view.

R0wan thank you for the links- that’s great. We lost a Manchester Pride thread to the zapper and I was worried London Pride threads had gone the same way!

Pam I am very pleased to see there are some other options still open for peaceful protest despite the authoritarian (to put it politely) climate among some of the bigger LGBT organisations.

Tano As many have said, its a very effective MRA movement.

And silencing them.

Rowantrees - That's what I was getting at. I mean that it is sad that a movement which was supposed to be unifying has now turned to this disgusting state of affairs with claimed special oppressed status used as justification for attacking women.

It seems that groups which originally organised on the basis of shared oppression are now disintegrating into a battle over who is the most oppressed.

No, women are focussed on defending Safeguarding & Women's rights against groups who are deiberately using 'oppresion hierarchies' as a means to deny these.

It seems that groups which originally organised on the basis of shared oppression are now disintegrating into a battle over who is the most oppressed.

LGBT groups should be calling for lesbians to still be able to peacefully protest for their rights at Pride, in response to this ‘upping of security’

Yes, they should. They should also tackle Pride's rewriting of history with their statement about putting transpeople at the centre of Pride in recognition of '50 Years since the first Stonewall riot'.

They are obviously gearing up extra stewards and more dancing police officers to deal with the sort of protest that happened in 2018. It will be playing into their hands to carry out the same protest from within the March.

There are more creative and effective ways of protesting at Pride - ones where stewards and police have limited control and power to intervene. I couldn't possibly discuss the options on this public forum.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3301033-Get-the-L-Out-Statement-by-the-lesbian-protesters-at-Pride-London
since the other threads on London Pride 2018 and the peaceful and non-hateful Get the L out protest seem to have been zapped

ChattyLion
I don't think they're zapped just harder to find!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3299646-Lesbians-protest-at-London-Pride-getthelout

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3337090-Get-the-L-Out-Interviewed-by-Let-a-Woman-Speak

Macclesfield bar bans women but this time they fight back!

makemorenoisemanc.wixsite.com/mysite/mmnblog/women-stand-up-in-manchester-protest-at-the-five-clouds-tap-and-bottle

Quick update for the record: (and since the other threads on London Pride 2018 and the peaceful and non-hateful Get the L out protest seem to have been zapped ):

www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/11/30/pride-in-london-2019-security-hijack-dates/

I missed this article at the end of last year but the theme continues: Penis News reports that London Pride 2019 will be stepping up its security to stop protesters.

LGBT groups should be calling for lesbians to still be able to peacefully protest for their rights at Pride, in response to this ‘upping of security’.

Impact report from the organisers:
prideinlondon.org/impact-report-2018

If I can report it anonymously I will do. I'm pretty sure GMP's Pride Network shared the 'TERF' poster itself so there's no point contacting them, in fact it could be a risky thing to do

I can understand how you feel about GMP after that incident.

Their first apology was less than useless and they had to make a second apology. They admitted ignorance of the meaning of 'TERF'. They got their arses handed to them on Twitter and some people made mention of the plight of lesbians in the Gay Village. I'm not convinced that a few tweets will have made the position clear to the police - especially since the person behind that particular twitter account is a gay man.

On the question of whether it is safe to approach the people behind the Twitter account, they say: We remain absolutely committed to working with partners to tackle this abhorrent crime, and support those who suffer from it That's you, that is! You have a protected characteristic.

A face to face meeting is always the best way to explore solutions with the police - especially when it comes to hate crimes. They need to be told that they are failing and that lesbians have lost confidence in GMP. Lesbians are still reeling after the incident at Manchester Pride and after the police published hateful material directed at lesbians.

Maybe you don't feel that you can do that, yourself. Fair enough. Maybe there is a lurker, or another resident of Greater Manchester reading this thread who would be up for it.

I'd do it, but I live hundreds of miles away.

Failing that, I would direct @GMPPrideNetwork to this thread.

Why would trans women watch/approve of a film that portrays them as violent thugs?

In my experience it is usually men who like to watch that shit.

Fancy them having that in common. (Sarcasm emoji)

Pam excellent

Hostility towards lesbians, because of their same-sex orientation, is a hate crime.

I think that Lesbians need to report incidents of hostility, in all its forms, to Trust Vision report-it.org.uk/your_police_force

I also believe that the Greater Manchester Police needs to be made aware of how unsafe the gay village has become for lesbians. One way of doing this is to meet with, tweet or write to GMP's Pride Network outlining the problems and raising their awareness.

Inspector Jacqui Prest is based at Oldham but is Deputy Chair of the GMP Pride Network involved in 'outreach' work, on a voluntary basis.

The problems are being hidden because lesbians are vacating spaces and going underground. The hate incidents (posters, harassment etc) are invisible because they are not being reported and recorded.

Making inroads into the ignorance starts with small, courageous steps.

That isn't even the correct rainbow in the heart.