Women's rights general conversations - Thread 3

Our local primary school has been teaching 9 year olds not to use “wrong” pronouns for their “non-cisgender” classmates

I never thought I'd see a day when parents would have to unteach their kids what they learned at school.

Oh I’m definitely going to broach it. That’s what I meant by set font to green CAPS. A fine disgusted of Tunbridge Wells rant is brewing. I read Vebrithien‘s threads as they unfolded and was nudged by them to get involved.

Someone said something like “this is the time to be boring” meaning just ask lots of questions. That’s my next step, ask about various policies, safeguarding, how they are balancing rights under the EA characteristics, etc., just give them enough rope to tie themselves up in knots and then say my piece.

I see cis in the same light as that daft 'allopathic' than homeopathy loons use to mean 'everybody except us'.

I think as more people reject using cis to describe themselves because it's frankly unnecessary, it will die out. Activists will keep on using it but when a descriptor is foisted on people it rarely works. Except TERF because we've sort of reappropriated it, cf happy terfmas, etc.

I bring you my first Twitter "attack". It was hidden because "May contain offensive content." To be fair it wasn't particularly offensive. I'll give you my Twitter bio (it's mentioned so handy for perspective) and my tweet.

My bio. This has changed recently but only in part. The last part is new, the other(s) not. My back image is a black and white photo of a young girl, fist in the air, standing by graffiti which says "A woman's place is in the revolution." Bio words: "Come the revolution I will woman the barricades! Adult human female." This is followed by three hearts in purple, white and green.

My tweet: This is so wrong. I can't stand Starmer, for other reasons, but there is no way I would do this during a vigil. The lack of respect is egregious.

The response: The fact that people like you, with your blatant bio, feel comfortable talking about Brianna or the vigils in any way is fucking disgusting.

Keep your transphobic bullshit away from this topic.

How dare you comment on anything to do with this when it's YOUR politics causing it.

My reply: It isn't. What I have to say, which is not transphobic but deeply concerned with those TRAs who are more intent on ideological point scoring than young trans people, is measured. Brianna's murder was tragic and as awful as every meaningless knife crime in this country.

To be fair to the responder their tweet was well written and there were no threats just anger. I think/hope I responded with dignity. I do feel sort of grateful that I am no longer sitting on the sidelines just watching and have finally found the courage of my convictions.

I don't think cis is going to last. Hopefully.

It's a slightly different situation with pronouns, though.

The words (excluding neopronouns) aren't new, and will almost certainly carry on being used for hundreds of years. It's the surrounding behaviour of announcing/asking/swapping/demanding that is new and will (I hope) prove a short-lived fad.

Now I’m practising “pronouns” in a Brizzle accent.

I've come back to apologise. While 'thee', etc. are not exactly commonplace, they're not as close to extinction as I suggested. Perhaps, that's what'll happen to pronouns. They'll cling on as a regional dialect, in Bristol or Brighton maybe?

Nee one like yee petal

mach2 · Today 19:03

Ye is common in Newcastle, in the singular.

I suppose he had to hide somewhere after his antisemitic meltdown.

Groan etc.

Thee and tha, for thee and thou.

We still have ye in NI, with a short rather than long e.

Ye is common in Newcastle, in the singular.

I suppose he had to hide somewhere after his antisemitic meltdown.

Ye is common in Newcastle, in the singular.

In Sheffield it's "da".

In country places in Ireland many of us continue to use 'ye' as the second person plural.

I remember an elderly neighbour, a Yorkshireman, coming round with his dog one time. When they left, he looked at the dog and said 'Come along, thee'. Even in Lincolnshire there was still a fair bit of theeing and thouing amongst older people.

Yorkshire twitter must be a joy, 'appen!

Still hanging on in Yorkshire!

'Thee', 'thine' and 'thou' have pretty much died a death.

Well people used to call each other "cat" and "daddio" at one point but they've fallen into disuse and I imagine eventually, when the kidz start trying to not be down with whatever their parents are doing, they'll be like, so over pronouns.

I'd agree it's a fad, but seems to be established in French, German, Italian etc just like in English. Unfortunately. Whether the genie can be put back in the bottle...

Thinking of ‘sex not gender’, please will anyone who hasn’t before, please consider having a look at the update the Equality Act petition on a ‘Petition’ thread, or the petitions board? It needs support to achieve its aim.