Simon Fanshawe calls for calm

I'm not surprised lesbians feel the need to hide their activities, and dread the day a trans woman turns up. Having read about their attitudes to the revoltingly-termed 'cotton ceiling', if they end up conceding those particular women's spaces they could end up having this kind of coercive rhetoric shoved at them on a regular basis. Or worse.

The name 'Stonewall' has proven to be sadly prophetic. It's ironic that this is the precise tactic now being turned against its co-founder and one of its most passionate activists. Pink News are now claiming Fanshawe is 'anti-trans rights' when nowhere has he made any suggestion of the kind. He is pro-women's rights.

Have to hand it to the TRAs. Divide and conquer is proving to be a spectacular talent of theirs.

I only recently started reading about TRAs and Stonewall and its impact on women's spaces and sports among other things. I was really surprised how much has happened without hearing about it until it had gone through. It has made me wonder how much of the general population is aware of these things. Have any of you brought these issues up with family or friends who aren't in the activism arena or aren't LGB? I was discussing it with my DH & DD and they both seemed dumbfounded, 100% unaware. What is the best way to get people talking or at least thinking about the big push to get people on board with the TWAW mantra, and how it affects women's rights?

I think I'm going to send it to my MP, too. I have talked to my MP about this in the last, but just the LGB Alliance existing strengthens all our hands immensely.

Agree. Even if you're not yourself LGB (general you).

Because it is Stonewall that is getting policy changed without regard for women in the majority of cases. It's Stonewall who are training organisations and workplaces to ignore the single sex provision in the Equality Act. It's not been dubbed "Stonewall Law" for nothing. The LGB Alliance challenges Stonewall's domination of the equality and diversity arena with regards to sexual orientation and gender identity. And that's why TRAs fear it so much.

There's been a ton of the usual homophobic backlash against the LGB Alliance, but not much that I've seen against this specific article. I think I'm going to send it to my MP, too. I have talked to my MP about this in the last, but just the LGB Alliance existing strengthens all our hands immensely.

(On the potential for backlash: I mean, anyone describing this as "hate speech" would look like a loon, but that's never stopped them in the past.)

Such a great article!

Has there been much backlash?

Such a brilliant article.

I had to take a deep breath before tweeting that article out, and I remain anxious about how much shit it will attract to my timeline, and how many of my friends will unfollow me because of it, which makes me reflect on all the times in the 1980s and beyond where I was much more open and much less frightened about being out about my same-sex attraction, in my own name, and on the streets. It's absolutely bizarre how this is where I find myself, thirty years later, being frightened to press the "tweet" button about homosexuality being a real thing.

Thank you Simon. It's a really great article, and it's of material use in helping to change things.

I need to fess up: earlier in this thread someone asked whether I was aware of the LGB Alliance and in the heat of my fury with what had happened with my regional branch of Stonewall I wrote:

Yes, absolutely, and I'm already a signed up and paid up member and look forward to attending a conference or event where I can meet more of my tribe.

This wasn't accurate, There isn't, so far, anywhere to sign up and pay up to become a formal member of the LGB Alliance. I have made a contribution to the crowdfunder, which I'm not allowed to link to, and I used my name and said something along the lines of wanting to be a member and I conflated doing that with signing up and paying up.

I apologise for misleading anyone who has been looking for ways to join the LGB Alliance and pay their sub. The crowdfunder is being run to enable them to get the organisation up and running, at which point I hope to be at the front of the queue to become a paid-up member. I hope it won't be long.

Ahhh - sorry about the garbled post above - it is a bad copy of Mandy's tweet.

Mandy

mandy rhodes

@holyroodmandy
·
Nov 4
Mandy Rhodes has also written this:

Me in @ HolyroodDaily on why, when we are told that trans gender rights are not up for debate, it appears that women’s are.
www.holyrood.com/editors-column/view,women-represent-half-the-population-but-we-are-still-waiting-for-fundamenta_14656.htm

Thanks for your account thatdamnwoman.

It’s been the same everywhere hasn’t it? A hostile takeover, initial stages covert and deniable. Then when enough bodies were in place, a highly effective power grab.

And shame on those who encouraged it to further their careers. My daughter now has to enter a world where young lesbians will have to hide their actions or deal with pushy men that they have no interest in.

Excellent article, I'm tempted to post it on fb...

Thank you Simon Fanshawe.

That was such a great article, I've asked my local Labour MP to read it. I'll be curious to see what the reply is...

thatdamnwoman thank you for sharing that

He nails it. Anyone that cannot see this is the outcome of self-id is either too distracted or purposely vindictive.

Yes.

Michelleoftheresistance, totally agree with your sentiment about 'kind'. I recently stood up to two men who were being idiots in different ways. Everyone else around was 'kindly' pointing out the flaws in their arguments and going down the rabbit hole of trying to persuade them they were wrong. I just said they were taking bollocks and refused to engage with them. They shut up. So empowering. Simon Fanshawe's article is the exact opposite of bollocks - wonderful to read it.

What an article. Nails it.

This is my favourite part:
The first campaign we took on was the age of consent which is all about men. The reason we chose the age of consent was it was such a fundamental symbol of inequality, but women wanted to get involved because they understood the common purpose, and one of them said to me rather sadly the other day that they set aside their concerns as lesbians to a certain extent because it was a bigger principle at stake which they knew they were part of and now she feels abandoned.

I could never present the case so clearly - well done Simon Fanshawe.

I met him a couple of times when I was at University, though at the time I'd never heard of him. He was a guest tutor for a few sessions, and he was excellent: friendly, informative, clever, funny - I wished I could have had him for a term or more.
On the remote chance that you're reading Mr Fanshawe, thanks very much for that and for this.

Thanks for sharing this MrsSnippyPants, I've sent it to my MP.

Placemarking for later and happy that people are saying the article content is better than I feared ‘an appeal for calm’ would cover

What a brilliant article by Simon.

I met him at the WPUK Brighton meeting and thanked him for being so brave, I was actually referring to him being at the meeting, it was unclear what was going to happen with another organisation at that point. He has gone from strength to strength since then.

I wonder if the dreadful violence from TRAs at Brighton will be seen as a bit of a turning point in years to come?

Thank you again Simon.

I realise it is now necessary to speak in extreme clarity for the benefit of those seeking to control women, and this is extremely difficult to do, so I will confirm HQ:

When I say:
*I find it very sad that we got to this point through thoughtless and well intentioned attempts to be kind, to those who saw it merely as weakness

I use the word 'those' to indicate specific people who did take advantage in pressing anti women policy as opposed to implying any generalisation.

Excellent article. Very well explained and clearly laid out.

I find it very sad that we got to this point through thoughtless and well intentioned attempts to be kind, to those who saw it merely as weakness to manipulate and take advantage of. I'm starting to become allergic to the word 'kind' as it is so often said to rhyme with 'doormat'. And 'no boundaries allowed'.