Police called to National Theatre to deal with gender critical feminists sitting on chairs

Not the lesbians. Just lesbians. Any and all lesbians

So I watched a video from Venice this morning of the conversation with the policeman and it was saying the lesbians don't have penises to the bar staff which caused the problem.

www.facebook.com/772952979/posts/10157241072422980?s=563891883&sfns=mo

Because facts kill!

So it would appear that enough people, in the bar, at the NT, and the newspaper, all think that the definition of lesbian is transphobic.

Have they really thought this through? Or are they having a knee-jerk reaction to what they perceive (or have been told) is indefensible hostility towards trans people from lesbians?

I can't imagine they truly understand the problem. Because firstly it's now landed them in a heap of shit, and also most people don't want to be thought of as homophobic.

It looks to me as though they have no idea that lesbians are being persecuted in real life, and across social media, to sleep with male born individuals with penises.

If any of the bar staff, the theatre staff, or the newspaper staff, are reading this, please google cotton ceiling and also Get The L Out.

Please find out what this is about. It's not about prejudice. It's about rampant homophobia and corrective rape.

By the way, I think it was right that tobee did query; we cannot accuse others of a lack of critical or lateral thinking if we cannot do the same.

The manager needs to go on a training course.

Wow I didn't know that.

In fairness to the trans member of staff, s/he wasn't even there at the time, according to Anne. So - as well as cocking up in multiple other ways - the NT has landed their employee in the middle of a shitstorm through no fault of his/her own.

I was just going to say this. We actually have no idea what views this particular trans person holds about lesbians in t-shirts because someone else decided to take offence on their behalf.

Of course this might be because said trans person's views are well known amongst other staff but either way we have no idea and they may be pissed off now at being part of a nationally reported story.

assuming that's true and they haven't just made it up a la Vanessa, I'll bet there are a number of people who work at the NT currently having a really shit Sunday evening
Indeed

The NT's media handling of this has been abysmal - amazingly so, for an organisation that works with the media all the time.

Quite, its astounding really the way its been handled. As you say, they have left themselves no wiggle roon at all, and have gone on record with obvious lies also. Very strange handling, mind I am sure I have read that the NT approached their press office or something prior to the decision to not serve anne and co? And they said to not serve them too. Something along those lines.

Seems a fair few people are shit at their jobs, tbh.

Baffling, how this has played out and I really do hope legal action is taken as its surely an open and shut case. I know how..much energy and such it takes to launch legal action though, especially against a large company. I am sure a crowdfunder would raise at least enough for the legal battle. Its if the women have the time and energy too though.

In fairness to the trans member of staff, s/he wasn't even there at the time, according to Anne. So - as well as cocking up in multiple other ways - the NT has landed their employee in the middle of a shitstorm through no fault of his/her own.

(Am not making some political point with the pronouns btw - I don't know whether the trans employee is a TW or TM).

Mirror Online has approached National Theatre for a further comment

Maybe they did what The Guardian did and ‘approached’ them via a spoof twitter account, like @NotAnalTheatre or some such.

Never mind approaching the NT for a comment, Mirror Online. How about you do your job and ask them some questions?
E.g. what was the nature of these disturbances?
Can you speak to these witnesses?
How come the duty manager never thought to take photos of these placards?
If I can think of them and I'm not even a journalist I'm sure you can do it too.

Surely in the 21st century there was someone there with the means and the foresight to take a photo of these mysterious placards?

They could be vampire placards that done show up on camera.

Ok I’m going to qualify that statement - I’m talking about those who demand entrance to woman only spaces, cry ‘literal violence’ at a word, and refuse any debate or different view on the whole TWAW. The ones who take women’s roles, titles, jobs and sports achievements.

If trans people feel so unsafe and scared around women - just not the blue haired familiars (yeah because your average male is so scared of female violence 🙄) then there is a serious emotional/mental illness issue going on there. Maybe they need to be re-educated?

Aren’t they more likely to be beaten up by a man or is the words they are so scared of? Can handle a punch on the nose but a single word from a woman will crush them to the core? I suspect they don’t like lesbians because they don’t feel them to be ‘womanly’ enough for their liking - I mean, have you ever seen a (purposely) butch transwoman? It’s all pre-teen kids clothing and hello kitty handbags.

from the Mirror article

Mirror Online has approached National Theatre for a further comment

assuming that's true and they haven't just made it up a la Vanessa, I'll bet there are a number of people who work at the NT currently having a really shit Sunday evening

The NT's media handling of this has been abysmal - amazingly so, for an organisation that works with the media all the time. They should have issued a bland statement saying they were sorry if anyone was upset (without admitting any wrongdoing on their part) and that they are investigating. Then shut up.

By tweeting about trans staff needing to feel safe, then letting their CEO go on the record with a lie about the placards, they have left themselves no room for manoeuvre. They have in essence admitted to denying AR service on the grounds of her T shirt (but made the excuse about safety) - so they have admitted breaching the EA rights of a someone with a protected characteristic. Then they have involved senior management, which will make it impossible for them to climb down with a senior apology and a promise to train staff better in the future. Totally inept.

Or of them putting the placards away in the car as mentioned by them.

The police were probably wearing bodycams, so there will be footage from those. The NT is probably desperately wiping its own CCTV, but there may be CCTV from the Southbank of the group entering- without placards.

Are they just counting on It all just blowing over, which it will if no legal action is taken? That's the trouble with the system - the victim has to pay both in money and nervous energy.

Well the Grauniad has called it the Women's World Cup. We know where we stand in the world.

www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jul/07/womens-world-cup-final-report-usa-netherlands

Very good point flo - where are the photos on SM of the offensive, violent group sitting on chairs that show the placards that they refused to put away?

Surely in the 21st century there was someone there with the means and the foresight to take a photo of these mysterious placards?

Won't they have to prove it if there's a case? And lying about it doesn't look good.

@SadlyMissTaken

I understand, they are desperately scrabbling around to cover their arses in any upcoming discrimination case.
Smearing the victim (especially if it is a lesbian - see what the Guardian did to Bindel) seems to part of the course these days in certain quarters

Meanwhile, the chap with his "Bum boys" t-shirt was served drinks by staff.