Q&A thread for New Posters

Trans rights is talked about as if it is one thing. Are there any significant differences between MTF and FTM trans people? Do they have the same needs for new or changed rights?

I honestly can't stop laughing at the hypocrisy of FWR posters accusing other people of sealioning

The whole premise is flawed. There's nothing unreasonable in the sea lion asking why the female character can't stand his group en masse.

The examples of radical feminists, TRAs, etc aren't exactly analagous (despite one being my own example) as being a member of those groups is a choice. Black or Jewish or even women is a better example as they no more choose their group than the sea- lion did.

Do you think any of those groups would be interrupting others' conversations to try to impose his wish to derail the conversation. He refuses to observe or respect the boundaries of others if they challenged a blanket, irrational statement being made about them?

I see claims that straight women's willingness to have lesbians share spaces with them shows that objection to transwomen being present is bigotry not real fear. Apparently it shows that the problem is not over fear of sexually predatory behaviour because of course lesbians would present the same danger to women. What do you think of that argument?

I have seen claims that transwomen are no greater risk to natal women than natal women are to each other, including in prisons. Is this true?

^^ They have a very broad definition of violence though. Not agreeing with TWAW or misgendering are considered violence, for example.

When I first became aware of these issues I frequently saw claims that transwomen suffer serious violence in the UK. I still keep seeing it claimed that transpeople, especially transwomen, are the most marginalised and oppressed group, even more than women, black people, people with disabilities and homosexual people.

Is this true?

Try changing sea lion to say, Black people, Jewish people or Trans people or even "Gender critical feminists"

Alternatively, try changing sea lion to say, MRAs, or lefty woke bros, or liberal feminists, or even "Trans Rights Activists".

The sea lion is interrupting others' conversations to try to impose his wish to derail the conversation. He refuses to observe or respect the boundaries of others.

The students so determined not to say no you are not a 7 year old child

A full grown man standing in front of them 🤦‍♀️

[quote CranberriesChoccyAgain]Try watching this. You can see the cognitive dissonance in action. 😁

m.youtube.com/watch?v=xfO1veFs6Ho[/quote]
I find that a very depressing thing to watch. Presumably those are students who are quite happy to deny any kind of reality, even when it is stood in front of them. What is going on here, why are young people prepared to accept any kind of nonsense for fear of offending anyone? Has critical thinking left the building?

Fwiw, it's entirely possible that a female on testosterone will 'pass' more convincingly that the opposite situation, because testosterone is incredibly powerful. That's entirely why males rarely pass at all if they have been through puberty, because of how profoundly testosterone affects the body.

I know a TM whom I clocked straight away, because of the croaky teen boy voice, and the first double take was only confirmed when I registered their body shape, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if many of the people this TM meets don't look beyond the scruffy beard and masculine styling.

But so what? I get called 'sir' or 'mate' any number of times in a week because I'm quite masculine in personal style, as our culture defines it. It's a bit of a running joke. I've been challenged in women's toilets. I was told off by an irate old lady once as an androgynous young teen for being in the ladies, and was far too shy to say I was a female and ended up scarpering. On the few occasions it's happened as an adult, the challenger has usually apologised, on a closer look, or when I've spoken, and I'm always very clear that I don't mind being challenged at all, because I understand how important it is for women to have the confidence to speak up if they are concerned about something.

But toilets, while important, are the very least important of all the places where single sex provision matters, and I really would like to know why so many people seem to think they are the be all and end all.

He isn't claiming that- he is a sea lion asking, not unseasonably, why someone has an inexplicable and irrational hatred of sea lions.

Personally I think gender critical feminists shoot themselves in the foot every time it gets trotted out.

The sea lion is a talking sea lion. An (imaginary) but sentient being capable of conversation; effectively a human being. The female character has no issues with any other (imaginary) sea creature yet for no reason at all she doesn't like sea lions. She can't give any plausible reason at all- she simply doesn't like all sea- lions- for no reason. It's not as if all sea- lions are Nazis or rapists etc.

Try changing sea lion to say, Black people, Jewish people or Trans people or even "Gender critical feminists"

It's not disliking "something" (I can't stand brown bread or dark chocolate is disliking "something")

It's disliking a whole group of people for no reason beyond the fact they exist- but maybe gender critical feminists are fine with that?

I think the sealion thing doesn't work if you anthropomorphise it. It would be more accurate if she said sealions aren't seals. But I don't expect perfection from a cartoon.

I'm unsure as to why the message changed? What was the driving force. Does anyone know?

Some people note some of the powerful, rich people supporting TRA ideology:

thefederalist.com/2018/02/20/rich-white-men-institutionalizing-transgender-ideology/

I don't know if that's the whole picture. I would imagine a combination of things. Some rightwing people say it's the logical conclusion of feminism - 'the left eating itself'- and blame feminism for 'erasing the difference between sexes'.

I think some of it is kick-back from males who don't feel they are the privileged & dominant people that some theories suggest they are. Perhaps dissatisfaction with societal stereotypes, but in a rather odd twist of understanding, instead of trying to dismantle and challenge stereotypes, people are pursuing individualism to a bizarre degree by creating an ideology of gender that suggests we choose from any number of genders to create our own identity. So, identity politics, too.

I think academia has been taken over somewhat by post-modern thought, people point to Foucaultian theories, post-human ideas, etc, queer theory - here's a vid from a leftwing intellectual on the latter:

Then there are purity spirals: unherd.com/2020/01/cast-out-how-knitting-fell-into-a-purity-spiral/

Then there is the undeniable fact that males are now taking places that were specifically created to help address sex inequality - places on all-women shortlists, in women's sports, women's awards, etc.

the female character is an unreasonable bigot.

How so? Because she dislikes something? How is 'dislike' equal to 'bigot'?

I enjoyed the play. I'm unsure as to why the message changed? What was the driving force. Does anyone know?

I'm not being a sealion. I'm GC. I just can't work out how it happened in plain sight and everyone was like, yeah that's cool, nothing to see here.

Is there any evidence for example that other groups have piggybacked for their own aims. Mra for a start.

Because I think most people who think twaw have a very different idea of what that means to both tea and GC people. It's this misunderstanding that will forever brand us bigots.

thanks @CharlieParley

I've had a thread deleted, absolutely no idea why. I don't think I said anything offensive. How do you find out?

The first picture shows the female character is an unreasonable bigot. The question put by the sea lion is a reasonable and polite question about her bigotry. The female character refuses to answer and compounds her bigotry in the succeeding pictures.

If one can identify as a different sex and this not be sexist, why can one not identify as a different race? How is it different?

Yes, I agree that I don't see any difference myself between a male claiming to be female and identifying from a more privileged class into an oppressed class, and people identifying from white to black or other minority. I see it as equally offensive to say that a male shares the experiences and difficulties faced by women and girls just by virtue of changing their appearance.