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Original poster

Are there any liberal/progressive US GC feminists?

61 replies

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 12/06/2023 09:47

I used to live the US, well before the gender madness, and admired lots of American feminists, all of whom now seem to have lost their minds.

We are seeing increasing pushback against the medicalisation of children and males in women's sports in Red (Republican) states but, because the US is so politically polarised, this seems to be making every Democrat and left-leaning woman double-down on supporting trans activists, at the expense of women.

WoLF are awesome, but explicitly non-partisan.

Are there any GC US voices on the left?

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FKATondelayo · 13/06/2023 14:19

Naomi Wolf is definitely NOT GC.

GrinitchSpinach · 13/06/2023 14:10

JKR, when she finally spoke, set of a massive bomb, and crucially, had the money, the brains and a willingness to fight for her principals.

The USA needs a JKR.

I agree, 4plusthehound. Wonder if anyone will ever step up...

Lilifer · 13/06/2023 14:04

Yes @NotHavingIt she was, though it didn't take much to get banned from twitter over the last few years.

She is strongly anti the covid vaccines. I have heard her on it. I have some concerns about the massive upswing in miscarriages and still births but would like to hear more about it from people in the medical field before I can have an opinion on that. 🤔

Lilifer · 13/06/2023 14:01

4plusthehound · 13/06/2023 14:00

Naomi Wolf has a LOT of rehabilitation to do!

My read on the States is that they lack a JKR.

For a long time here it was only (some) women trying to push back on line with limited success due to media balckout, being fired, intimidated etc.

JKR, when she finally spoke, set of a massive bomb, and crucially, had the money, the brains and a willingness to fight for her principals.

The USA needs a JKR.

Like a previous poster I read the NYT. When they open comments it is always 99% GC. Very few want this.

What do you mean by rehabilitation?

4plusthehound · 13/06/2023 14:00

Naomi Wolf has a LOT of rehabilitation to do!

My read on the States is that they lack a JKR.

For a long time here it was only (some) women trying to push back on line with limited success due to media balckout, being fired, intimidated etc.

JKR, when she finally spoke, set of a massive bomb, and crucially, had the money, the brains and a willingness to fight for her principals.

The USA needs a JKR.

Like a previous poster I read the NYT. When they open comments it is always 99% GC. Very few want this.

NotHavingIt · 13/06/2023 13:58

Lilifer · 13/06/2023 13:53

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow yes I think thats right actually.

Naomi wolf was on the left and even worked on the Clinton campaign in the 90s she is now politically homeless and very GC

I see she has become persona non grata because she is also sceptical about vaccines - to the extent she was banned from Twitter. Free speech is most certainly an issue in the U.S - no wonder elon musk has decided to do something about it.

Lilifer · 13/06/2023 13:53

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow yes I think thats right actually.

Naomi wolf was on the left and even worked on the Clinton campaign in the 90s she is now politically homeless and very GC

Original poster
MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 13/06/2023 13:48

Lilifer · 13/06/2023 13:39

Camille Paglia

I think she has said she is a libertarian and does not align with either political party.

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Lilifer · 13/06/2023 13:39

Camille Paglia

Original poster
MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 13/06/2023 13:34

Interesting that Newsweek has apparently been forced into updating an originally very biased article, due to pushback from women -twitter.com/fem_mb/status/1668596678977282053?s=20

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Original poster
MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 13/06/2023 13:04

GrinitchSpinach · 13/06/2023 12:42

I guess what I find is surprising is that (virtually) no one is breaking ranks, given the evidence of increasing scepticism in the US public.

It's hard to overstate how dreadful the US media coverage of this issue has been. For a long time it was just glowing pieces about how great pediatric medical transition is and how it's every male's civil right and human right to grab any resources and invade any spaces set up for women.

Once cracks finally started to appear (because of the inevitable consequences of the policies being pushed by the sex denial movement) most of the media framed this as "homophobic and transphobic conservative religious right backlash against LGBTQ+."

They do not cover feminist, progressive objections to sex denial. If they did, the whole thing would fall apart.

I hear you. I don't see US TV anymore, but still listen to NPR & US podcasts, and read WAPO, the New Yorker etc.

It's actually impressive how sceptical the public has remained because, as you say, the propaganda is relentless. But, on the rare occasions that WAPO or the NYT allow uncensored comments on gender issues, it's obvious that women are pissed. None of that seems to get through to the Dems or media, though.

My worry is that no one is speaking for centrist/leftish women who are GC. I hesitate to call other US hot topics - abortion, gun rights, immigration - nuanced but, compared to trans issues, they are. There are some Republicans who support gun control. There are some anti-abortion Dems. There's a whole tranch (albeit an aging one) of the Reaganite Republican party that is pro immigration. But, on trans issues, you can only be "anti-trans" or totally compliant. WoLF and Ron DeSantis are supposedly of one mind!

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GrinitchSpinach · 13/06/2023 12:42

I guess what I find is surprising is that (virtually) no one is breaking ranks, given the evidence of increasing scepticism in the US public.

It's hard to overstate how dreadful the US media coverage of this issue has been. For a long time it was just glowing pieces about how great pediatric medical transition is and how it's every male's civil right and human right to grab any resources and invade any spaces set up for women.

Once cracks finally started to appear (because of the inevitable consequences of the policies being pushed by the sex denial movement) most of the media framed this as "homophobic and transphobic conservative religious right backlash against LGBTQ+."

They do not cover feminist, progressive objections to sex denial. If they did, the whole thing would fall apart.

Original poster
MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 13/06/2023 09:02

Sympathies, @GrinitchSpinach . Having lived in a city with one of highest gun crime rates on the East Coast, and also having spent a fair amount of time in Texas, I absolutely understand the concerns about violence at physical meetings.

I guess what I find is surprising is that (virtually) no one is breaking ranks, given the evidence of increasing scepticism in the US public.

69% of Americans are now opposed to males in female sports, including half of Democrats and 67% of independents (whom the Dems need, to win power), with rates of those opposed rising. Only a minority support drug/surgical transition for under 18s. But - as in the UK - the great majority support human/employment rights for trans people.

So this seems to give the lie to two arguments heard constantly from the media and the Dems: firstly that all progressives support the Dem policies on trans issues, and secondly the insistence that being concerned about medical transition or males in female sports = being "anti-trans".

Americans less supportive of transgender athletes playing for teams of their choice, poll finds

Americans are less supportive of transgender athletes playing for teams aligned with their identity, despite more people knowing a trans person.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/06/12/trans-athletes-us-support-for-allowing-team-choice-falls-poll-finds/70306217007/?taid=6486deacf695830001bca957&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

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Delphinium20 · 13/06/2023 04:25

GrinitchSpinach · 12/06/2023 21:59

Maybe one of the reasons why the UK has become T**F Island, is that we had brave GC women on both the left and right, prepared to speak out?

Definitely, and I am a long-time poster here and long-time admirer of TERF Island.

Still...please don't underestimate the challenges US women face. It's not just the political polarization or the vast distances we need to travel in order to meet up here (though those are major factors).

It's the fact that if you lose your job you can expect not only to thrust your family into poverty but also lose access for you and all your dependents, including children to much medical care.

And it's the fact that when women gather in public here, we never know when the black-masked woman-haters are going to show up with guns.

Some brave women have shown up anyway, but these factors limit our numbers pretty dramatically.

KJK appeared to underestimate the dangers in the US. I was, frankly, surprised no one got shot.

KatieAlcock · 12/06/2023 22:18

I'm a US citizen and a registered Democrat though I usually live in the UK, I am temporarily in the US.
I'm hoping to meet up with some GC women while I'm here but I know many of them are going to be conservative.

I think I probably call myself "mildly and evidence-based socially conservative" though. It's always been possible in the UK to be politically left wing while being mildly socially conservative, less so in the US, though some of the traditionally democratic demographics can be socially conservative (e.g. lots of Black churchgoers are both).

GrinitchSpinach · 12/06/2023 21:59

Maybe one of the reasons why the UK has become T**F Island, is that we had brave GC women on both the left and right, prepared to speak out?

Definitely, and I am a long-time poster here and long-time admirer of TERF Island.

Still...please don't underestimate the challenges US women face. It's not just the political polarization or the vast distances we need to travel in order to meet up here (though those are major factors).

It's the fact that if you lose your job you can expect not only to thrust your family into poverty but also lose access for you and all your dependents, including children to much medical care.

And it's the fact that when women gather in public here, we never know when the black-masked woman-haters are going to show up with guns.

Some brave women have shown up anyway, but these factors limit our numbers pretty dramatically.

IwantToRetire · 12/06/2023 21:05

It may be worth reading Ovarit which I think you can without joining.

You may find groups mentioned on there.

https://ovarit.com/

Ovarit

Ovarit is a platform for women-centered communities featuring conversations on politics, news, media, life, activism, and gender-critical and radical feminism.

https://ovarit.com

Backstreets · 12/06/2023 20:01

It's a massive problem that the only visibility the GC viewpoint has in mainstream media is on the right. Thank GOD for JK Rowling and other high profile left thinkers speaking out on Terf Island. In the US the polarization just seems to become more and more entrenched, with democrat states racing to become "trans sanctuaries" to stick it to their political enemies. (And mentally ill children, while they're at it.)

Original poster
MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 12/06/2023 19:44

Delphinium20 · 12/06/2023 19:41

Sadly, Gloria Steinem USED to be publicly GC back in the 70s. She still espouses several radical feminist views today, like being anti-surrogacy. But, she's massively disappointed us on this issue.

She is the epitome of US feminists who have disappointed me. She blew my mind when I discovered her writing in the 90s, but now...

Thank god for Germaine Greer (tho not American, obvs).

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Delphinium20 · 12/06/2023 19:41

Sadly, Gloria Steinem USED to be publicly GC back in the 70s. She still espouses several radical feminist views today, like being anti-surrogacy. But, she's massively disappointed us on this issue.

Delphinium20 · 12/06/2023 19:39

Some of the journalists at Reduxx are from the states and don't appear conservative. However, a good journalist won't appear too politically aligned.

Delphinium20 · 12/06/2023 19:30

BellaAmorosa · 12/06/2023 15:21

Abigail Shrier would most definitely consider herself a conservative.

I've heard her call herself a moderate.

BellaAmorosa · 12/06/2023 19:07

And she is definitely the one to follow. I've just remembered someone else - Amy de Souza. I think she is/was a Democrat as well. But she organised or co-organised LWS events.