Helen Lewis blog of her WPUK speech

thank you

IIRC she was on Andrew’s Free Speech Nation show two Sundays ago discussing her cancellation - should be on YouTube.

ooh I'll have to find that interview. I've never heard her speak before- she's fearless.

You make an excellent point. I saw Louise being interviewed by Andrew Doyle and found her honesty refreshing; admired her bravery too. She’s a woman who’s had to fight to get where she is and it shows in assessment of the current situation for women.

the instagram link is to the video of her speech- it's brilliant!

Apologies for slight derail but Louise Distras (musician) is worth one hundred of these over-intellectualising, head girl feminists (and I agree with previous poster- I don't believe many of them wholly care- it's all a bloody academic dance to them)
Anyway, don't know if it's been posted on here, but Louise Distras at "let women speak", Leeds was awesome. It's so refreshing to hear undiluted honesty and you realise how little you do. no bloody caveats and to call the baying TRAs "Buffalo Bill motherfuckers" was sublime.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz00pIzKkCc/?hl=en

I don't think I even have the energy to be militant.

Women who are witheringly disappointed in the women they see as not important enough to pretend they care about though? I can spare them a 'fuck off'.

Loving that sadface that Mumsnetters are somehow failing to understand the political positions of the Right Sort of people, fail to condemn the Wrong Sort of people, fail to toe the party line.

Away and tend to your important careers.

Tendency as in "political wing", as used in the "Militant tendency" Labour of yore, I think. Niche phrasing, but it makes immediate sense to English Labour members old enough to know who Michael Foot was.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militant_tendency

What even actually is a 'posie tendency', anyone?

To not give a fuck about being part of the tribe?

To always put women first?

What even actually is a 'posie tendency', anyone?

A tendency to actually get stuff done?

Maybe the 'posie tendency' is bluntly stating facts.

What do you expect from a bunch of bug eyed, paranoid, dimwitted and hateful radicals?

I'm sorry we're not as kind and lovely as Rowan.

What even actually is a 'posie tendency', anyone?

I don't have the self-importance to think that, personally.
They said very self importantly.

As well as your self declared lack of self importance you also appear to lack understanding of light hearted self deprecation.

To help you: I don't actually think she was talking about me.

I was mocking myself and the brief moment of personal insult.

I'm very surprised this needs to be explained... maybe she had a point 😏

I don't have the self-importance to think that, personally.

Uhm….that’s quite the response she gave. What about Hannah? Doesn’t she feature in this at all? 🙄

I find her response very telling:

I agree with you. Lewis’s post and the current Genspect debacle reinforces for me that certain people feel it more important to be seen as kind rather than to tackle this issue practically.

I don’t know why people like HL have decided that compromise is always the best way to tackle any situation because, in this situation, the compromise of 'men can be legally but not really women' doesn’t work in the real world. Compromise means we get the ridiculous fudging of the GRA which has been steadily worsening safety for women and children since 2004. Compromise means we get men living their AGP everywhere with no concern for other people who have not consented to participating in someone’s erotic fantasy life. Compromise means we get children being convinced that they need to medicalise their healthy bodies because some of them might be really trans and if they detransition later, well it’s unfortunate but we must be kind. Compromise means we get the NHS and the prison system housing men with vulnerable women in hospital wards and prisons. Compromise means we get increasing numbers of men in women’s sport, winning competitions/prizes and injuring female competitors. Compromise, so far, has meant that men get what they want and women don’t.

Even the right wing of UK politics feels the need to compromise and be seen as kind on this issue, so compromise means the Government Response to the petition "Do not allow people to have acquired gender listed as sex on government ID' is basically, 'Soz, we’re gonna keep doing it - gotta be nice'.

@MalagaNights You nailed it 🙌 This is exactly what is going on.

I just saw the tweet about the cancelled event, and couldn’t help but find it ironic that Helen keeps aligning herself with these gender critical topics, before retreating again. She comes back to it and skirts around the issues (her piece about social contagion, now this event with Hannah Barnes… I’m sure there are numerous other examples, podcast appearances etc) but doesn’t quite have the courage or the conviction to jump in with both feet.

You’ve explained exactly why this is.

Did anyone else think...oh my, does she mean me?! 😁

I think along the lines of PP that her position on this is caught up with her view of herself as left wing, open, tolerant, progressive, kind.
All the Good Things basically.

She is a Good Person. having to grapple with the now obvious, even to her, dilemma here.

But she has to do this whiile maintaining her identity as left wing, open, tolerant, prgressive and kind.
Which basically means fudging the core of the issue, in order to maintain her sense of self as a Good Person.

Posie is not a person who cares about being seen as left, open, tolerant, kind, she is in intersted in truth, honesty and realism.

When you focus on truth and reality above tolerance and kindness you are to HL's tribe Not A Good Person.

People who are right wing are such people to HL.

She cannot be like them. She must find a way to diffrentiate herself on this issue. She will fudge to be kind. Posie won't.

I agree with PP that what HL is really doing is hiding behind those who are preapred to really grasp the truth and core of this issue despite this making them appear not toleratnt or kind or open. HL therefore gets the issue dealt with by others whilst maintining her self idenity as Good Person.

I personally think this is common on the left. declaring your compassion for sitautions whilst it has no imapct on you and you have no solutions, and harshly judging those who try to deal with the reality of having to make hard choices, is often present in left wing politics.

But then I'm right wing, so she probably does mean me.

Who cancelled it? The pub, the Skeptic Society, KJK😁 or someone else?

That event could have been an excellent one dickbiscuit. What a pity.

https://twitter.com/helenlewis/status/1727314286630916114?

She's still getting cancelled, despite the capitulation.

JoMarch is/was also the username of one of the best contributors to Times comments on this issue. Be good to think she walks among us.

And yes, her comments were excellent. I hope Rowan and Helen reflect on them, although with no real expectation that it will happen.

Just been back to have another look at the comments, see what's been added. Well done JoMarch 👋 if you're on here. You put it far better than I ever could.

So men can invade our toilets, changing rooms, refuges, rape counselling sessions, prisons, sports competitions, book prizes, etc etc and issue rape and death threats to those who protest, doxx them and stalk them and get them arrested or lose their jobs and careers but it’s sad that occasionally some women make slightly bitchy comments about said men’s appearances. Got it.