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A war of words is beginning to wipe women out of existence, Janice Turner in the Times

136 replies

Igneococcus · 22/01/2021 18:12

Haven't actually read it yet:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ca340930-5cce-11eb-86f4-4fa0aa4e7fd3?shareToken=12c48ac962c2fb8fc9593cc9f5bbf5f3

OP posts:
MaudTheInvincible · 22/01/2021 18:44

That is a brilliant read; she completely nailed it.

MRB2 · 22/01/2021 18:42

wonderful piece of writing, thank you so much for sharing this.

gardenbird48 · 22/01/2021 18:41

a powerful article thank you.

Callmejudith · 22/01/2021 18:40

Stunning writing

RedDogsBeg · 22/01/2021 18:38

Thanks for the share, an incredibly powerful and truthful piece.

BlueBrush · 22/01/2021 18:38

Thanks for sharing. Wonderful writing from Janice Turner, as always. I like this point:

Gender-neutral speech doesn’t make biology go away: it just removes the analytical tools to understand and address it.

HumphreyCobblers · 22/01/2021 18:36

Oh that is so good.

Thank you Janice.

HDDD · 22/01/2021 18:33

Remarkable piece, just remarkable

yourhairiswinterfire · 22/01/2021 18:32

Thanks for sharing Igneococuss

This “inclusive language” is necessary, we are told, because it includes trans men. No matter that it erases the beloved, even sacred words of 99 per cent of those to whom it applies. Even a compromise, perhaps referring to “women and trans men” rather than the insulting “menstruators” is usually rejected. Because in this context “women” does not include trans women, who do not have periods and are the chief driver of this linguistic erasure.

I'm glad to see that acknowledged. Dehumanising women has never been for the benefit of transmen.

boatyardblues · 22/01/2021 18:29

It’s brilliant! Thank you Janice. Star

Winesalot · 22/01/2021 18:23

Thanks for the share token. Some great rhetoric by Janice.

For trans people, navigating a society which often diminishes and misunderstands them, it is natural to have minted neologisms to describe their experiences, such as trans men who become parents referring to “chest feeding”. But gender-neutral terms should not replace the words women need to describe their own lives and uphold their rights in public discourse.

“People evolve a language in order to describe and thus control their circumstances,” said the American writer James Baldwin, “or in order not to be submerged by a reality that they cannot articulate. And if they cannot articulate it, they are submerged.”

Just leave these here.