Institute of Race Relations article says gender critical feminists are just a tool of right wing fundamentalism because of arguing for the reality of biological sex

It's interesting because when you see in depth polls around political views in those same groups they often are not overlapping especially with the activist leaders' views.

Another fail by the author, @EmbarrassingAdmissions!

I can't quite grasp their intended audience for this as it's neither accessible in style for a general audience nor rigorous enough for a decent journal.

That article is full of logical fallacies. I suspect it is written in a deliberately obtuse way in order to sound intellectual and therefore impress people who don't know anything about the topic.

tl;dr: Rubbish article.

This may not be the best place to post it, but for anyone who might be interested, this Sunday (13 June) at 1 pm BST is the India WHRC Launch Webinar.

You can register for it using this link
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Djq515q5RNiaq7gYmbMy4A

Announcing The Launch Of Women's Human Rights Campaign India Chapter.

With Speakers From India And Sri Lanka. Discussing Legal, Sociopolitical Challenges In Achieving Women's Sex-based Rights.

13th June, Sunday at 5:30pm IST (1pm London Time)

Speakers:

Vaishnavi Sundar - writer, filmmaker, country contact WHRC India (host)

Linda Louis - a lawyer specialised in international human rights law and women's rights. Originally from Chennai, Linda graduated from NLSIU Bangalore in 2012, has a Masters in International Law and Human Rights, and worked with prominent NGOs such as the International Commission of Jurists with their Women's Rights and SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) Divisions.

Shefali Sequeira - works as a teacher of French. She is also a member of the LGB Alliance India.

Saranya Das Roy - a STEM student from the Northeastern state of Tripura. She desisted about a year ago and is also a member of LGB Alliance India.

Thulasi Muttulingam - a journalist based in Jaffna, Sri Lanka from where she reports on post-war issues, particularly those affecting women and marginalised minorities.

Sophia Siddiqui would learn a lot from watching the next WHRC when it's uploaded (4 June event): A Woman's Place is Holding NGOs to Account.

It was eye-opening and maddening. From Gita Saghal's Twitter it took her a couple of days (as ever) to recover from re-telling the story of what happened to her with Amnesty.

www.youtube.com/channel/UCWECmp5Tk3epYSkjs0qAKKQ/videos

Their arguments amount to a fundamentalist approach to biology, that labels anyone who doesn’t conform to a normative view of ‘womanhood’ or ‘manhood’ as abnormal

This contradicts itself. Yes, male and female are biological terms. 'Womanhood' and 'manhood' relate to social expectations - e.g. gender stereotypes. A woman is an adult human female, but 'a normative view of womanhood' implies expected behaviours, and that is not what feminism is about at all.

Oh, a classic trick here, starting with a false analogy.

Just as scientific racism centred on supposed biological differences to classify humans in a rigid racial hierarchy (this is true, racism did this) ‘gender critical’ feminists are propelling biological arguments that essentialise sex and its relation to gender identity, contending that sex is purely biological depending on what reproductive organs you have. (No, this isn’t the same as racism, this is feminists stating a basic biological fact.)

Their arguments amount to a fundamentalist approach to biology, that labels anyone who doesn’t conform to a normative view of ‘womanhood’ or ‘manhood’ as abnormal (and here we’ve taken a huge sideways leap from recognition of biology to imposition of sex-stereotypes.)

No logical progression there. In reality, it’s the genderists who insist that people who don’t conform to their sex’s stereotypes must be the other sex. But pad it out with enough sciency-looking waffle and hope that covers up the gaping holes in your argument….

Unsurprising article as there's a big overlap between Queer Theory and Critical Race Theory. It's a bandwagon for fairly privileged young people to jump on. I've noticed a growing trend for privileged young people in the UK from minority backgrounds attaching themselves to this race industry that has blossomed around CRT. Opportunities for endlessly writing puff pieces moaning about white supremacy this and that (with a dash of 'won't someone think of the trans people of colour') without actually doing anything that would bring tangible benefits to people's lives. If the Gal-Dem profile is up to date, she's supposedly 22 and currently interning at The Times (that terrible, right wing, white supremacist publication!!). It's not a career choice that would necessarily put food on the table if one actually lived in Pakistan / India hence why the rest of us have degrees in engineering and science.

That article is not even coherent never mind accurate.

It's basically boils down to trans rights are under threat, they're coming for everyone else next and it's all feminists fault. It's a way of extorting support from the wider LGB population.

In reality in the UK, trans rights are not under threat, trans people have all the same rights as they rest of us, as they should, but TRA's are having a tantrum because they are being denied special privileges. What's the end goal?

How the fuck do you argue feminists are bioessentialists when you are peddling gender woo.

As always with articles like this, change the content to trans-race instead and see the authors do a 180 so fast on their 'be kind' stance it will make your head spin.

Well, that's a lot more wording than they'd normally use to frame us as bigots.

Look, there are people who claim that non-white men can't be sexist because they can be oppressed by white women. Caring about race does not mean you have a paradigm of reality about anything else or even a paradigm of reality about race. Queer theory comes from the same well as critical race theory so of course as supporters of the one they embrace the other.

Because girls/women don't matter.

Simple as that.

IME most female TRA allies come from
a position of privilege.

They are not likely to find themselves in prison, or think they'll ever need the services of refuge.

They don't worry about single sex spaces because when the only bathroom you access is usually at a "naice" restaurant it's not an issue.

They haven't spent years training at a sport only to be pipped at the post by a man whose been mediocre at best for n their own sex classification.

They think women's right are an old fashioned concept and that we've "won" because they've never had to fight for them - rather than understand they are enjoying the benefits of a previous generations struggle whilst simultaneously pissing all over their accomplishments.

Sorry - I'm quite angry/ranty tonight but I'm absolutely sick to death of the fact that we are even in this position at all.

This is an org who have clout though, I think.

I'm sure I've heard of them and seen people from there in newsnight etc. But could be getting mixed up.

If they care about race then why are they ignoring women/ girls experiences? That's proper shit.

Because they don't care.

Seriously. Not one shiny shit given.

It's all smoke and mirrors.

But yes you're right.

The fact we are now being told to prove that biological sex is a thing in human mammals. And that it makes a difference.

Is proof of how privileged men still are.

It's a shock tbh.

But no one I know subscribes to it.

Even, and especially. The very blokey blokes I know.

I find it really interesting that that piece is a massive outlier in the rest of the content. In mentioning women, feminism etc

Have a look. How can they talk about children in poverty and not mention women??!;

You've got far more patience than I have .

It's skim read it and dismissed as a load of old cobblers (as my dear departed grandmother would have said).

I noted on another thread it was said how some posters who align themselves to TR ideology are constantly demanding "we" as women "prove" our assertions and that's just really a continuum of "the mental load" and "woman's work".

Shit like this gets published and women on FWR feel the need to spend significant time diligently taking every "argument" apart (mostly after we've spent ages trying to decipher the deliberately obfuscating word salad).

In return we get "TWAW" and #nodebate etc utterly ridiculous sentiments that offer zero effort wrt a considered response to the points we raise.

It's so damn frustrating.

I just want to flip the narrative and actually say stop wasting my time. I know what a woman is. I am one.

It's my brave, stunning and authentic experience.

I don't have to debate that with you or chase around the internet to validate my biological reality.

You want to erase the language and meaning of my womanhood and denigrate it by suggesting it's all about lipstick and clothing.

So fuck off - you start doing the running and prove why I'm wrong.

Start by providing evidence of the following:

• that male pattern violence decreases as a result of transition

• that the percentage of TW prisoners charged with sexual offence is an "anomaly"

• that unisex toilets are as safe for women as single sex facilities

• that puberty blockers for children are safe and beneficial

• that TW are statically likely more likely to be murdered than women

Etc etc.....

I'm sick and tired of being expected to do the leg work - so yes, my official MO to crap like this is Meh 🙄.

Please don't interpret this as a dig at you Gerbil. It's absolutely not.

Without the contribution of yourself and so many women on FWR we would be fucked .

I'm just ridiculously angry that we are being put in the position that we have to waste our time on crap like this.

Sorry for multiple posts.

My main take away from this thread is that the think tank that I've heard of-

The IRR-

Has no interest in women or girls in the groups they claim to care about.

So that's important info.

The education bit doesn't mention girls at all. Boys yes about low attainment of afro Carribbean boys.

Bit ironic, considering she went to an all girls' school...

Hahaha

'It is cause for concern that some of the most vocal attacks on trans rights come from within the queer and feminist community,'

Yes. Have a little think about that why don't you?

I mean. Yikes.

'What happens to trans rights today will have ramifications for anyone who lives outside of gender norms'

Erm. Like why many Feminists are feminists? Because they couldn't adhere to restrictive gender norms?

???

And here it goes tits up

'The past few months have seen a backlash against trans rights in the UK, led by ‘gender critical’ feminists who contend that sex is immutable and cannot be changed.[1] Those rallying around ‘sex based rights’ almost exclusively use this argument to justify the exclusion and separation of trans people from gendered spaces and from the wider feminist and LGBT movement. What should be of concern to those advocating for a strong civil rights framework that protects all minorities from discrimination, is how ‘gender critical’ feminists play into the hands of far-right street forces and extreme-right electoral parties which would like to abolish anti-discrimination protections altogether. Time and time again, they use the same biological arguments that a ‘man is a man, a woman is a woman’, to debase the rights of trans, intersex and non-binary people – often in the name of ‘women’s rights’. Alarmingly, these ideas are fast gaining political traction, which could have a damaging effect on global feminist and LGBT movements by reinforcing conservative ideas about gender and sexuality.'

Sex and gender role conflated. I mean. Come on.

Oppressive heteronornative gender roles, sex based oppression and that. Yes it's bad.

Biological sex however just IS. and is why the oppressive heteronornative gender roles, sex based oppression EXIST.

Good grief.

Also. Women who know that sex exists are dim patsies in the growing religious and social intolerance.

Not Nigel farage types or the blokes in various European cities who go marching around with swastikas etc.

Nope.

It's dim middle aged women. BOO!