Why r/GenderCritical was banned by Reddit

MadBadDaddy

Hope the hangover isn't too bad.

I was surprised r/GC lasted as long as it did. Not because of how 'hateful' it was, but because reddit is overwhelming tied in to trans ideologies. Anything even remotely questioning of gender on most subs was deleted and people blocked. A lot of the women's subs have TRA mods. r/GC stuck out because it didn't go along with the prevailing mindset. Yes, I'm sure there were hateful comments on there, but in general from when I occasionally read it, it didn't seem to be hateful of trans people, more questioning of the ideology. Don't kid yourself that this is some sort of purely administrative judgement - it is ideologically driven.

Do you genuinely want to win hearts and minds? Do you think that banning discussion, forcing people off to their own closed groups etc is going to help? All it's going to achieve is to make things more antagonistic and harden attitudes.

Read the T&Cs again covering posting on here, but yes absolutely see if you can get the mods to tell you where you went wrong.

If the moderators see this I'd like to be messaged to tell me what was it I said that was so terrible, offensive and awful that it cannot now be seen by anyone.

@justanotherneighinparadise I'm just a bit confused about it. There are some posters who hold nothing back, who have said things that would be seen as offensive......but my comment was moderated???? It wasn't long, contained no swear words.....I can't type it again because that will be deleted, but I'm just baffled!

Just be careful Wonder as they’ll ban you on here with no warning and for a minor transgression. That’s why I won’t pay for the premium subscription as I know they’d happily ban me any given day.

Also, I wonder who reported my earlier comment. It makes it looks like I said something terrible, that I swore, when what I said what extremely mild.

[quote PacificState]@MadBadDaddy I'm glad you started this thread. I think it's been interesting and I appreciate your openness.

I also think, in general, that it's very difficult when lone trans people post on here and are asked to justify/explain everything about themselves or their perceptions, and everything about trans theory and politics. (Different if they willingly open up an AMA.) I understand why some posters ask the questions but it must feel overwhelming when you're on the receiving end. It's why we need more trans voices in this board. There's a whole lot the two groups don't understand about each other. And I suspect most of us in each group don't 'hate' the other side - we just don't comprehend it because we aren't talking to each other enough.

Anyway I hope you'll stick around.[/quote]
Oh we'd like to talk, but it doesn't help when Women's Place events are cancelled, when you are labelled as transphobic the moment you say you care about keeping single sex spaces, and Stonewall goes around with their 'NO DEBATE' message.

One recent idea tickled me though - that I was born somehow allergic to male socialisation.

I think most women here would disagree with that.

I like the OP. I hope they stick around.

picklemewalnuts
Why aren't you campaigning and organising for the rape and violence threads to be taken down? As you are so against people saying hateful things? Don't you think they are hateful?
It's a fair comment and I suppose the only honest answer is that I only act in furtherance of my own direct self-interest and my own little world.

So do you understand that I want to act in my own self interest? I want to freedom to discuss the protection women are entitled to from predators and abusive arseholes. We have managed the risk by creating safer male free spaces. Undermining that sends up a bat signal to every abusive arsehole that this is now a soft target. It's safeguarding 101. Organisations have safeguarding hoops to jump through so abusers don't target them.

We have to be allowed to safeguard women's spaces. We have to be allowed to talk about safeguarding children. There are very few places allowing that conversation due to the actions of you and your friends whose main purpose seems to be to shut down that conversation.

What do you call someone who shuts down safeguarding conversations?

@MadBadDaddy I'm glad you started this thread. I think it's been interesting and I appreciate your openness.

I also think, in general, that it's very difficult when lone trans people post on here and are asked to justify/explain everything about themselves or their perceptions, and everything about trans theory and politics. (Different if they willingly open up an AMA.) I understand why some posters ask the questions but it must feel overwhelming when you're on the receiving end. It's why we need more trans voices in this board. There's a whole lot the two groups don't understand about each other. And I suspect most of us in each group don't 'hate' the other side - we just don't comprehend it because we aren't talking to each other enough.

Anyway I hope you'll stick around.

An aside on the slight derailment. I can understand the feeling of “being allergic to male socialisaction”, or the feeling of not belonging in whatever box that is ascribed to one by virtue of the sex one happens to be born as.

I would point out that it is entirely normal to feel this way, because most, if not all children have to be coached/coaxed/coerced into their gender roles. The roles are enforced in childhood. Many children rebel against this, and find complying difficult and upsetting. You are looking back and making your experience of kicking against the traces of gender mean more than it necessarily has to mean, with adult hindsight.

Secondly, that you feel you don’t fit into masculinity is absolutely fine, and would be fine with any feminist. Many feminists do not feel comfortable with femininity, and challenge it. The difficult part is when you leap to the assumption that because you feel not-male, you assume that you must feel female. You move from refugee to colonist. You assume a knowledge that you can’t possibly have.

I don’t find the crowing about a space for women being censored very edifying.

Ffs in the name of the wee man.
@MadBadDaddy have you ever considered looking outward rather than inward? Just a thought.

OP it's perfectly fine that you don't wish to elaborate but I'd also respectfully suggest that if you choose not to do so (for whatever reason) then it's not appropriate to use those experiences in response or to deflect to another posters question/comment - specifically re: your 1.35 post.

I confess I am surprised this thread is still here.

Your solipsism is your own affair, of course, but women rarely have the luxury of gazing only at their own navel.

We do experience the impossibility of it though...

When 8 months pregnant aside from realising I couldn't bend over enough to tie shoelaces (or even see my feet standing up) I had the revelation that my navel was utterly obscured unless looking in a mirror.

Thankfully I wasn't the owner of the Mirror of Erised and potentially driven loopy by a reflection of successfully identifying into a pain free birth, lack of complications, sore breasts etc all to follow.

'I wrote a lot more than that but scrapped it as it isn't really on-topic. Another time maybe.'

Write it my friend. Why not?

MN is fine with off topic.

Thing is, the male and female experience of life is different from the word go.

Other thing is, many many girls want, and always have wanted, to opt out of their gender role. Forever.

Feminists have fought for women and girls to be seen as people. Not treated like women/ girls. I was a feminist before I knew what it meant because I noticed how I was treated due to my sex and I did not like it. I wanted to be treated as a person.

Many women are non binary/ non gendered in the modern terms. So under stonewall trans umbrella. But still we aren't listened to. Why is that?

So, ashamed as I am to say it, I wimp out. I try to keep my own little corner free of weeds as I've described above, I'll sign a petition or upvote a post, but I guess that's all.

Good to know that while you’re willing to “wimp out” on things like rape and death threats, which have no impact on your wellbeing, psychologically or otherwise, you’re happy to make time to crow to the uppity women about your efforts in closing a Reddit forum.

Your solipsism is your own affair, of course, but women rarely have the luxury of gazing only at their own navel.

Not read the whole thread, sorry.

OP, why can't trans women be out and proud trans women and accept that they are not female, that the struggles come from the same place (very narrow gender roles and male violence) and work together?

We are natural allies. These have been feminist issues forever.

Why the antagonism which as far as I can see goes 1 way?

Ok now perhaps you could explain why the r/jkrowling sub was banned as well?!

I totally get that. It was just as alien and incredible to me when I first had that same idea as a 6 year old.

You didn't have an experience of being female at 6 - in your own words you had the "alien" and "incredible" "idea" of that being so.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on the theory that (especially at aged 6) you did not have a "perception gap" rather are more likely to have rejected stereotypical "maleness" and in the absence of an alternative understanding that people can express themselves and behave in a way that's non conforming to their birth sex, chose to emulate a female identity.

Obviously this is a deeply personal question and I understand if it's not something you wish to respond to.

I ask not to be goady or disrespectful but rather expand my understanding of gender dysphoria in children and how it manifests.

I think transfolk would have a much easier time if these TRA's were only more reasonable and rational. When I hear such things as 'we are real women' as if trying to convince people who know better, it just seems like all rationality has gone out of the window.

I understand you have a condition that deserves to be taken seriously, it really does, but stating that your condition is something that it isnt will never ever ever ever get you the results so many seem to be asking for.