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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Mary Harrington on KJK

65 replies

NotHavingIt · 29/03/2023 10:52

https://unherd.com/2023/03/what-posie-parker-learnt-from-brexit/

Mary Harrington writing about KJK in Unherd. Interesting points and analogies, as usual.

What Posie Parker learnt from Brexit

Every campaign needs its shock troops

https://unherd.com/2023/03/what-posie-parker-learnt-from-brexit

OP posts:
FOJN · 29/03/2023 19:43

But if all the left wing women are writing for the right wing press who is going to reach the socialist, gender critical left? Women who despise the Daily Mail and won't even touch Times or the Torygraph.

I doubt they despise the publications, more likely its the people who read them. If they won't read from a range of news sources then they don't want to be reached, that's their choice.

GailBlancheViola · 29/03/2023 19:42

Great swathes of the supposed British left now despise the working classes. They can’t stand white man van and his St George’s flags, the working classes are just dehumanised as chavs, gammons and karens and anyone who isn’t white but doesn’t wholeheartedly embrace Labour as their lord and masters are decried as Uncle Toms or coconuts.

It’s all perfectly summed up by the Queer Theory activist bellowing ‘Nazi’ through a loudhailer at a dancing Jamaican chap because he had the temerity to object to men in frocks twerking at minors.

This a million times @CryptoFascistMadameCholet well bloody said.

And that attitude is rife in WPUK and the AGCL isn't it @SapphosRock ?

CryptoFascistMadameCholet · 29/03/2023 19:30

Grammarnut · 29/03/2023 19:05

Refreshing to find someone who admits to being a Brexiteer and why. The unfettered movement of low skilled labour is a problem and wanting to have this free movement I would characterize as Right Wing, because it keeps wages down. Never understand why left-wingers supported 'free movement'. Agree heartily that Farage (who I dislike and is a health business free marketeer) and KJK are using similar tactics. Good for beating gender ideology, I hope.

Spiked was very pro Brexit from a mostly working class, left libertarian standpoint.

I agree re: borders. Carefully controlled immigration WAS a left wing policy until middle class and posh students started identifying as political representation for the working classes and importing American IDPOL and EDI.

Great swathes of the supposed British left now despise the working classes. They can’t stand white man van and his St George’s flags, the working classes are just dehumanised as chavs, gammons and karens and anyone who isn’t white but doesn’t wholeheartedly embrace Labour as their lord and masters are decried as Uncle Toms or coconuts.

It’s all perfectly summed up by the Queer Theory activist bellowing ‘Nazi’ through a loudhailer at a dancing Jamaican chap because he had the temerity to object to men in frocks twerking at minors.

GailBlancheViola · 29/03/2023 19:25

KJK is quite niche and I don't think many will have heard of her until last weekend. Obviously lots more have heard of her now!

Which begs the question as to why you @SapphosRock and others in your circle and those you feel are doing it right and of of the required political purity spend so much time amplifying what KJK says and does, spend so much time and energy dismissing her and those women who attend SFW events.

But if all the left wing women are writing for the right wing press who is going to reach the socialist, gender critical left?

Why do they need reaching if they are already gender critical? It is notable that these pure gender critical left have not poured vitriol on those left wing women writing for these hated publications and accused them of being right wing.

Also notable that for all their we are the only ones who can speak to the left wing political power base they have achieved the square root of fuck all as detailed by a previous poster, they are not changing hearts and minds within the Labour Party, they are not influencing policy.

The number of women that WPUK are speaking to must be dwindling by the day.

Indeed @CryptoFascistMadameCholet they are a lost cause as far as I am concerned and that is down to their attitude, actions and inactions.

RealityFan · 29/03/2023 19:06

Chris Rufo in US, Ron DeSantis Florida Governor culture war attack dog, has made this precise point.
His bone to chew is Critical Race Theory, and associated IKendi "anti racism" ethos replacing colour blindness, and the rise and rise of DEI (diversity equity inclusion) in universities and other institutions of govt/corporations.
For him he's been happy to have the intellectualising on the subject on Quillette, UnHerd, various Substacks from previous Leftists/liberals who've fallen from the current Democratic Party consensus that America is racist to the bone, and only a root and branch leftist excision via embedded DEI infrastructure will reverse centuries old white on black racism.
But for him, mere talk now is pointless. Now the right in America need to strike and take back the narrative from the left who say all is systemic poison from whites.
I see the equivalent of Rufo in Posie. She's saying that the intellectual left GCs have done invaluable work, but what's needed above all right now is guerilla tactics, maximum visibility, and taking the fight upfront in society so the Conservatives, and especially the Labour Party cannot ignore the broad and deep outrage from the 51% (minus 5% transmaidens) re wholesale erosion and eliminating of their rights.
All are welcome, but Posie and other GC guerillas will more and more break the cloak of invisibility that MSM and institutions have somehow until now successfully managed to cloak this subject in.
2023 is a long way from 2018 when Posie first came to prominence with the Femal = Adult Human Female campaign. Hell, it's a long way from 2022.

Grammarnut · 29/03/2023 19:05

Refreshing to find someone who admits to being a Brexiteer and why. The unfettered movement of low skilled labour is a problem and wanting to have this free movement I would characterize as Right Wing, because it keeps wages down. Never understand why left-wingers supported 'free movement'. Agree heartily that Farage (who I dislike and is a health business free marketeer) and KJK are using similar tactics. Good for beating gender ideology, I hope.

EdithStourton · 29/03/2023 18:57

KJK is quite niche and I don't think many will have heard of her until last weekend.
I'm not so sure.
She was the first one I heard of, aside from being slightly aware of Julie Bindel. It was the Adult Human Female poster on the news that first alerted me to her. I was already enraged by the Guardian's non-coverage of the Cologne attacks, and that really set me rolling.

I think she was DD's gateway drug to all of this. DD disagrees with her more than I do, but she's now reading widely.

So no, not as niche as all that.

CryptoFascistMadameCholet · 29/03/2023 18:42

The Morning Star used to be brilliant for platforming left wing terfy women but seems to have completely lost it’s bottle.

The so called left (which no longer seems to have any left wing fiscal, health or educational policies) is a just a useless rump, attacking it’s own over pointless American IDPOL.
The number of women that WPUK are speaking to must be dwindling by the day.

It’s a travesty.
Can’t stick around for the funeral though, too much to do!

SapphosRock · 29/03/2023 18:32

Such a shame that all those brilliant female writers have been cast adrift by the vast majority of mainstream left and centre left publications. Almost all are now regularly published in the Times, Telegraph, Spectator, Daily Mail etc - not something we would’ve predicted ten years ago!

Totally. It's positive that left wing women are given a voice in the right and centre right press.

Hadley Freeman revealed that she was blocked by the Guardian when she wanted to cover the Tavistock scandal.

But if all the left wing women are writing for the right wing press who is going to reach the socialist, gender critical left? Women who despise the Daily Mail and won't even touch Times or the Torygraph.

These women need Filia, WPUK, the Radical notion. They won't be reached otherwise.

As an aside I wonder if the left wing press are gutted that their brilliant female writers have jumped ship and they are stuck with the likes of Owen Jones.

CryptoFascistMadameCholet · 29/03/2023 18:12

KJK is quite niche and I don't think many will have heard of her until last weekend. Obviously lots more have heard of her now!

She’s been on loads of daytime telly, talk radio and podcasts tho. I reckon she has more mainstream name recognition than everyone on your list except perhaps Julie Bindel, especially amongst the working class, not-explicitly-feminist sector (a massive group). Posie has been on loads of podcasts and YouTube channels with majority male audiences too, Spiked, Triggernometry, Lotus Eaters etc (c’mon Joe Rogan! You next!)

Like I said before, Posie is now mostly talking to different audience.

Such a shame that all those brilliant female writers have been cast adrift by the vast majority of mainstream left and centre left publications. Almost all are now regularly published in the Times, Telegraph, Spectator, Daily Mail etc - not something we would’ve predicted ten years ago!

Tillytrotter67 · 29/03/2023 18:11

I have similar feelings Iwanttoretire. There was a definite undertone putting KJK down in that piece.

DemiColon · 29/03/2023 18:03

What strikes me is that Harrington seems to think that really, political change is no longer really down to liberal democratic processes. What's happining is something else.

I suspect she's right and I find that a bit scary.

This stuck out to me:

And it’s no use wringing our hands and lamenting the loss of civility in politics. We stopped forming liberal democratic citizens a generation ago, as we began to transition from a print-first to a digital-first culture.

Which means the options are limited in terms of being effective at a campaign.

Am I really a threat to democracy?

Pointing out authoritarianism doesn't make me the bad guy

https://unherd.com/2022/09/am-i-really-a-threat-to-democracy/

SapphosRock · 29/03/2023 17:57

But seriously, who other than Posie is gonna get the base rising and attending in numbers? She is absolutely the lightning rod, the brave one at the head of the queue, the rouser.

Yes definitely when it comes to events. I know feminist lectures and conferences are just not on the radar for lots of women.

If we're talking getting the word out and make huge numbers of women question gender ideology then the gender critical journalists are the ones spreading the word far and wide. Hadley Freeman, Victoria Smith, Janice Turner, Jo Bartosch, Julie, Bindel, Kathleen Stock, Jean Hatchett. They have written for all the mainstream newspapers.

And obviously the books too. Helen Joyce, Abigail Shrier, Hannah Barnes, Karen Ingala Smith.

KJK is quite niche and I don't think many will have heard of her until last weekend. Obviously lots more have heard of her now!

Villagetoraiseachild · 29/03/2023 17:13

Am loving the mention of the reversal of gender neutral toilets thanks to a local newspaper campaign....
Excellent work.

Like@CryptoFascistMadameCholet
am more likely to attend a LWS event.
Agree to a patchwork approach, rather than either/or.
Everyone can help, with the will and a little time to contribute.
I am done with feminist in fighting.
We want to see results here.

IwantToRetire · 29/03/2023 17:09

The article is a load of twaddle.

And patronising. Presumes that KJK is only imitating some male elitist who wanted (like Boris) to re-establish an England that never really existed for anyone but a few privileged men.

KJK organising is (and I know she rejects the lable feminist) far closer to grass roots organising as done by 70s Women's Liberationists.

And even though I reject the false accusations that KJK is some sort of right wing entryist into women's organising, I think that stitching together some flimsy link of the Let Women Speak events to Farage being given a free platform on msm, is not only implausible but playing into the hands of those who campaign against her.

We really need to stop listening to this writers who think their pontification on issues is so vastly important they have to have their own blog ie far too important to for instance join in discussion here, plus the chronically clusmy fabrication of because I wanted Brexit everyting else I like must be linked to that.

Please, and I say this as someone who isn't the biggest fan of KJK, value her for what she has and is doing, and compare and contrast to other women's activism.

(Don ever forget as well, that the media promoted Farage as they thought he was an object of fun, little realising that in giving him a platform they made him acceptable. How totally different to the msm media's response to KJK and other women.)

CryptoFascistMadameCholet · 29/03/2023 17:07

NotHavingIt · 29/03/2023 17:05

There are many women, of course, who wouldn't call themselves a feminist, or who haven't identified with that label for a long time. I'd include myself in that. A feminist is for me simply a woman who thinks that women matter; who appreciates the female perspective, and who says so. Certainly not a 'professional feminist'.

Absolutely.

NotHavingIt · 29/03/2023 17:05

CryptoFascistMadameCholet · 29/03/2023 16:59

There are loads of brilliant, professional, expert and academic women engaged in this struggle who aren’t the self appointed ‘Real, Actual Gender Critical Feminists’ who we jokingly refer to as the The Head Girls.

Look at the Sex Matters open letter in support of Posie.
The tiny number of orgs that are missing from the signatories list are the ones run by The Real Feminists.

There are many women, of course, who wouldn't call themselves a feminist, or who haven't identified with that label for a long time. I'd include myself in that. A feminist is for me simply a woman who thinks that women matter; who appreciates the female perspective, and who says so. Certainly not a 'professional feminist'.

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CryptoFascistMadameCholet · 29/03/2023 16:59

NotHavingIt · 29/03/2023 16:43

No! We also very much need those who know what they are talking about when it comes to law and policy; who understand the ins and outs of institutional practice. If there hadn't been any push-back in the form of legal cases and tribunals and committee hearings we wouldn' be where we are now.

There are loads of brilliant, professional, expert and academic women engaged in this struggle who aren’t the self appointed ‘Real, Actual Gender Critical Feminists’ who we jokingly refer to as the The Head Girls.

Look at the Sex Matters open letter in support of Posie.
The tiny number of orgs that are missing from the signatories list are the ones run by The Real Feminists.

Floisme · 29/03/2023 16:53

I'm surprised there hasn't been a stronger 'Come back to Labour' push in red wall constituencies. They just seem to be assuming the voters will drift back, and to be fair maybe their polls are indicating that's the case. But now they've broken the habit of a lifetime those votes will surely be much more precarious, regardless of what they're telling pollsters.

MrsOvertonsWindow · 29/03/2023 16:51

So interesting. It's true that Posie (and I'd argue organisations like Safe School Alliance, Transgender Trend, Fair Play for Women, Keep Prisons Single Sex) are making a significant difference - not just with awareness but with some policy changes in their areas (slow as that is).

In contrast, the impact of the sad head girls (the ones who pop up on here to lecture us about how awful KJK is & how important it is that women shut up and do politics their way).
Do labour now allow women to speak freely? Has Starmer finally spoken out about the bullying of Rosie Duffield or LRM's bullying behaviour? Has Karen Ingala Smith been allowed to join the party? Has the LWD finally been offered a platform at any meeting / conference? Have Starmer, Lammy, Nandy etc clarified any of their inane comments about cervixes, rapists or dinosaurs?
Nothing. Nada. No impact. No change. Just the unleashing of the bullies to literally terrorise women.

NotHavingIt · 29/03/2023 16:46

FOJN · 29/03/2023 16:45

I think you might have misunderstood my post, I agree with you.

👌

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FOJN · 29/03/2023 16:45

NotHavingIt · 29/03/2023 16:43

No! We also very much need those who know what they are talking about when it comes to law and policy; who understand the ins and outs of institutional practice. If there hadn't been any push-back in the form of legal cases and tribunals and committee hearings we wouldn' be where we are now.

I think you might have misunderstood my post, I agree with you.

NotHavingIt · 29/03/2023 16:43

FOJN · 29/03/2023 16:34

I don't think the head girls need to worry about this, they have effectively written themselves out of the script.

No one wanted to pick a side as it was obvious that there was room for everyone and that multiple different approaches would be necessary but they insisted it was their way or the highway, I chose the highway.

KJK knows exactly what role she is playing in the fight back against gender ideology and she is not trying to step on the toes of people with narrower campaign aims, KPPS for example, and greater expertise. She's passionate about a single issue, likes public speaking and isn't easily intimidated; she's found the perfect niche for this skill set.

No! We also very much need those who know what they are talking about when it comes to law and policy; who understand the ins and outs of institutional practice. If there hadn't been any push-back in the form of legal cases and tribunals and committee hearings we wouldn' be where we are now.

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NotHavingIt · 29/03/2023 16:41

CryptoFascistMadameCholet · 29/03/2023 16:31

I’m NW and gender neutral everything has been foisted on us by Labour councils who are overly influenced by Young Labour.

I bet the NE isn’t very happy either.

Labour are definitely thinking about how to win back the Red Wall, but they need to be aware that they are in danger of losing support in strongholds further north.

There are parts of the North that have never had anything but a Labour ward councillor, a Labour MP and a Labour controlled council.

Up north, we can be as thoroughly sick of Tory shitshow as people elsewhere, the difference is that for us, voting Labour isn’t a vote for change, it’s just more of the same old shite.

Same for Wales.

I actually think that Labour people are still under-estimating the red wall and other conflicted voters. That they are so far ahead in the polls at present is down to the impact of the 'cost of living crisis', but increasingly people are also concerned by social and cultural issues. These issues tend to get dismissed as irrelevent side shows or culture wars - but I suspect that that big lead will gradually whittle away if some of those issues are not dealt with head on and in the plain and simple language that people feel they can trust.

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MissLawls · 29/03/2023 16:40

@CryptoFascistMadameCholet "I’m NW and gender neutral everything has been foisted on us by Labour councils who are overly influenced by Young Labour. I bet the NE isn’t very happy either."

Absolutely this! Starmer needs to stop listening to the mostly young, mostly metropolitan, mostly London-based activists and get out into the country and listen to voters! I think this is already happening. He's not a stupid man - tho I do think he's a very weak one. He will listen to pollsters who tell him this stuff doesn't sell among the vast majority of voters. If he wants to win he'll have to listen to us! Blair knew electoral victory lay with courting middle aged and older women. Starmer must know he can't ignore us in favour of the youthful ones who call us bigots for wanting to protect women and children and indeed everyone from an ideology that at its extremes we perceive as harmful. We are NOT bigots! We are concerned citizens and we've a right to be heard.

What's that line from GK Chesterton that Martin Bell quoted when he won in Tatton?

SMILE at us, pay us, pass us; but do not quite forget.For we are the people of England, that never have spoken yet.

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