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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

I've just been called a TERF...

282 replies

OhCharlieYouPrick · 27/09/2019 20:03

On Facebook.

Local Facebook page, a man posts a discussion about Prolife protesters outside abortion clinics. A picture of himself with a sign saying 'screw these guys', pointing to the Prolifers.

He then proceeds to lecture women thinking about counter protesting, saying sometimes it makes the situation worse (yet he posts a photo of himself clearly antagonising the prolifers at a previous protest Hmm )

I point out to people thinking about counter protesting, with a particular group who are mentioned, that the prochoice group hold certain views about gender that conflict with my own.
That they believe the word woman should not be used on placards as 'people of all genders use abortion services'
Obviously it's just women that use abortion services.

So a sign stating 'A woman's womb is no ones business but her own' would not be allowed. It would have to say 'A person's womb is no ones business but their own'

Anyway. I was blocked by the OP.

This below was the reason.

Funnily enough, before he blocked me I received around a DOZEN likes from Women agreeing with what I said. They also believe that the word woman is Not dirty and should be a use able word in relation to abortion services.

Yet this man think he knows better than them and me.

He blocked me again before I could reply.

Argh.

I've just been called a TERF...
OP posts:
teawamutu · 27/09/2019 23:33

These days, if you don’t meet the criteria for being a TERF, I consider you a misogynist

God, I love this place.

Ereshkigal · 27/09/2019 23:23

I confirmed that indeed I had, and that I was proud to wear the TERF badge. I may have also suggested that there was loads more ‘TERF shit’ where that came from and if he didn’t want to listen to it then he could return to uni early and make his own way there.

GrinWine

Ereshkigal · 27/09/2019 23:21

These days, if you don’t meet the criteria for being a TERF, I consider you a misogynist

THIS

Meercatsarecats · 27/09/2019 23:08

Welcome to the club.
I got called a terf on fb for saying sterilizing children with drugs intended for cancer patients might not be wholly ethical.
Call me what you want I will never, ever agree that's an ok thing to do.
I will die on this hill.

teawamutu · 27/09/2019 23:01

Just for clarity, Chip, beards do not = misogyny.

But there's definitely a Venn diagram with beards on one side and 'traditional' misogyny, if you will, which has new and improved wokey misogyny right at its 's heart. And it always seems to wear a beard.

VinandVigour · 27/09/2019 22:58

My own son called me a TERF last week, said he couldn’t believe that I was spouting such TERF shit, and he assumed I’d read it on Mumsnet. I confirmed that indeed I had, and that I was proud to wear the TERF badge. I may have also suggested that there was loads more ‘TERF shit’ where that came from and if he didn’t want to listen to it then he could return to uni early and make his own way there.
Strangely he didn’t take me up on that.

Gingerkittykat · 27/09/2019 22:56

I had a similar disagreement with an abortion rights group and when I objected to the term vagina owner I got this back.

A trans man may have a vagina & may be able to get pregnant, so abortion rights necessarily includes men with vaginas.
(I am thinking of a friend who, a few weeks after he had begun transitioning, was raped - his rapist didn't use a condom (and fortunately didn't have an STD) and my friend was able to get emergency contraception (and it worked).
But if we believe in abortion rights for everyone, we want them for trans men, too.

I pointed out that trans men might find being referred to as a walking vagina to be dehumanising.

Abortion is a women's issue.

Sleepyhead19 · 27/09/2019 22:44

I just had to look up what that meant! Only a person with female reproductive organs can have children. That defines them as a woman, no matter how they define themselves. Its basic science.

ChipOnMyOvary · 27/09/2019 22:35

I really, really object to making assumptions about men with beards. They are just as natural for a male as underarm hair is for a woman.

Apart from that , I do obviously agree with previous posters.

OhHolyJesus · 27/09/2019 22:02

Welcome to the club OP, strength in numbers.

The new profile pic suits him, reduce him to his genitals, but I'm guessing you had to be a little creative with reality in order to cover his face.

IfYouSaySoDear · 27/09/2019 22:00

In defense of bloody beards: while they do, indeed, happen to unfortunately correlate with unbearable wokeness: I'm elated to report that, for the past year or so, I've finally no longer felt as though the man I work for may literally be around 12 years of age.

Seeing as I generally tend to agree with the prohibition of child labour, there's got to be something positive in this!

Also, my boss is, in fact, 49. He just happens to have an incurable case of "baby face". Seriously, the beard is majorly helpful! Grin

OhCharlieYouPrick · 27/09/2019 21:03

😂😂😂

OP posts:
teawamutu · 27/09/2019 20:54

Because it always bloody is, Charlie.

TheProdigalKittensReturn · 27/09/2019 20:50

Oh the drama! The pathos! Women talking about politics on the internet is what gets women killed, definitely, please splain this to me more kind sir.

OhCharlieYouPrick · 27/09/2019 20:50

He did Tea... Why?

OP posts:
teawamutu · 27/09/2019 20:46

Did he have a beard, perchance?

I'm reclaiming the Terf label now. If nothing else it's a lovely moment of recognition when I realise I've met a fellow radfem: 'Ooo, are you a Terf too? How lovely!'

Quaffy · 27/09/2019 20:35

ifyousayso

I know, it’s ridiculous.

IfYouSaySoDear · 27/09/2019 20:33

These days, if you don’t meet the criteria for being a TERF, I consider you a misogynist

Actually, I'm reasonably certain that a basic understanding of sexual reproduction going beyond single-cell organisms suffices as a qualifying criterion at present.

LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD · 27/09/2019 20:31

It wasn’t that long ago when you’d see men with the ‘this is what a feminist looks like’ T-shirt’s. I haven’t seen one of those for ages.

MrsElijahMikaelson1 · 27/09/2019 20:30

I’d wear that label of TERF with pride!

Quaffy · 27/09/2019 20:27

These days, if you don’t meet the criteria for being a TERF, I consider you a misogynist

OhCharlieYouPrick · 27/09/2019 20:26

Oh I'm not upset. I found it hilarious.

OP posts:
IfYouSaySoDear · 27/09/2019 20:26

*sexual DIMORPHISM

thanks, though, autocorrect

IfYouSaySoDear · 27/09/2019 20:24

If it makes you feel any better: I've been called a TERF by my self-declared radfem lesbian friend - who happens to come with any and all of the feminist credentials one could possibly hope for. And whose cop-out re. the cotton ceiling is, conveniently: "I'm in a committed relationship with X [a natal woman, FWIW], and wouldn't consider anybody else".

In actual reality, I'm - fairly so, in my opinion, although it's unflattering - usually classified as a typical libfem with a note of "corporate drone". It's just that I happen to hold an undergraduate degree in biology and hence also happen to know about chromosomes and sexual bimorphism.

The standards for what it takes to be a "TERF" are really slipping, I'm afraid.

Don't get upset, OP!

Rachelover60 · 27/09/2019 20:10

Fellow TERF here - wear the label with pride.