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Original poster

From today, I'm turning the radio OFF when Woman's Hour comes on

43 replies

OrchidInTheSun · 27/12/2018 10:46

I had such high hopes after their excellent series of interviews and discussions during their gender week although it's a shame they didn't invite a member of Woman's Place or Julia Long or Posie on to talk about why they fought so hard against the proposed changes to the GRA. But it seemed a step in the right direction. They were covering the conversations that women are having all over the country. And I wrote and thanked them.

But now it seems they are doing penance.

Just before Christmas, they featured Munroe Bergdorf - that well-known misogynist - sharing their views on what makes a perfect Christmas. Why? Why would women, who Bergdorf hates, care what makes their perfect Christmas?

And now they've invited that lovely homophobe ('gay men all want to be women') Juno Dawson onto the last Late Night Woman's Hour of 2018.

No doubt we can look forward to the Mermaids puff-piece that is Like a Girl, the story about the trans child where all the girls who notice that there is a child with a penis in their changing rooms are called out for being the horrid little bigots they are.

Jenni, Jane, I think you're both ace. But I wish you had the courage of your convictions. You no longer have my ear.

Who's joining me?

OP posts:
SirVixofVixHall · 27/12/2018 15:00

There is a pose that seems popular, with hands under chin a la Shirley Temple...

Original poster
OrchidInTheSun · 27/12/2018 14:57

It's that line that I've read several times to explain away the coquettish poses and ludicrous outfits of men who transition in middle age - that they didn't get to go that Japanese manga teenage girl phase that women apparently do so they're doing it now.

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SirVixofVixHall · 27/12/2018 14:42

An awful lot of fetishism of teenage girlhood out there, what on earth is that about ? Top shop Travis et al.

SirVixofVixHall · 27/12/2018 14:41

Blimey. What age group is that aimed at ? Didnt Juno do a book with the children’s author Alex Smith ?

silentcrow · 27/12/2018 14:36

It's...educational to read some of Dawson's YA. I read Clean when I knew nothing about the author (including TG status) and nothing particularly about the transgender movement as a whole. As far as I knew I was reading a book by a female author (Juno being a Roman goddess), and I found myself wondering why a woman would be writing a teenager in the "breasting boobily" fashion a la middle aged men writing litfic. It is a brutal novel about drug abuse so I let it ride, thinking the author was going with as much visceral imagery as she could crowbar in.

Of course, months later it became clear.

SirVixofVixHall · 27/12/2018 14:26

I am always surprised that Caitlin Moran etc aren’t more focused on women. I was reading Juno Dawson’s thread last night, saying how mean the critics are..how they don’t want to debate.....🙄 lots of support, which i find baffling, as I don’t get why a transgender person who professes to understand women to the point of wanting to identify as one, can’t see why women might want a woman-only space. Every space we had has been colonised.

ScrimshawTheSecond · 27/12/2018 13:44

Monroe Bergdorf's complaint about vagina-centric womens' marches was probably the main starting point of my questioning the whole trans ideology. I would welcome plenty of airtime for activists who can share their views with the world. As much as possible. Keep them talking!

ProfessoressWoland · 27/12/2018 13:42

I'm with you, Orchid. I just can't stand the inane position WH has taken on this. These people refused to come to the studio to talk about serious issues affecting women, and then they get invited to cosy chats - in a programme that is supposed to offer the female perspective.

Terfing · 27/12/2018 13:39

I agree. I'm not longer listening and have unfollowed them on Twitter. Sad

BigotedWoman · 27/12/2018 13:39

Late night WH is hosted by Lauren Laverne I think. And Juno Dawson is in the Lauren Laverne/Sali Hughes/Caitlin Moran circle. Don't know why they put up with a homophobe when they seem to have a lot of close friends that are gay but there you go.

Monroe Bergdorf I cannot explain. Ever.

Beamur · 27/12/2018 12:50

I'm also sticking with the 'institutions' - where else will the pushback and balance come from?

PerkingFaintly · 27/12/2018 12:48

I think that's the right way, BoreofWhabylon.

Much better to challenge things than silently cede the ground without a shot fired every time trans issues appear.

BoreOfWhabylon · 27/12/2018 11:38

I suspect there is a battle raging between people like Jeni and Jane at WH and the 'inclusive' policies of the WokeFolk at BBC.

I'm not abandoning but am making my feelings known by emailing and twittering.

theOtherPamAyres · 27/12/2018 11:33

I would expect Women's Hour to cover the growing disenchantment with the main political parties in the run up to the local elections this May.

It's a big story when every single one of them prioritise the rights of men before women and girls. It would be great to hear Jane Garvey interviewing Dawn Butler, Penny Mordaunt, Jo Swinson, Sian Berry, the WEP and the Communist Party.

Original poster
OrchidInTheSun · 27/12/2018 11:30

But if we don't call it out, then it reinforces the stance that we've been accepting trans women into our spaces happily since forever. It's legitimatising that false narrative and I'm not doing it any more. This show we got into this whole mess in the first place.

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feministfairy · 27/12/2018 11:14

I reckon this is the penance that the BBC are forcing the programme to do for centring actual women in the debate. Personally I wouldn't worry about it.
Demanding that transgender women are not given publicity just plays into the hands of TRAs. Anyway, they always make themselves look foolish in the long run with their warped views and lack of empathy for women.

PerkingFaintly · 27/12/2018 10:55

WorkingItOutAsIGo, this is what I'm concerned about too.

Women's Equality Party? Sorry, can't have meaningful webchat on MN because trans.

Women's March? MNers to boycott because trans.

Girl Guides, Women's Hour? Can't participate because trans.

Someone somewhere is enjoying this. I don't think it's women.

WorkingItOutAsIGo · 27/12/2018 10:50

So, one thing about all this, which we need to watch for, is women being disenfranchised from the institutions which they love, which bring them together, which represent them and give them power.

If we let men make us hate the Guides, the Women’s Institute and women’s hour, what do we have left? And who is the poorer for it?