Row breaks out over event’s single sex policy: bbc

As ever.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints/make-a-complaint/

Just imagine the BBC interviewing a bloke who'd set up a website called 'tr* watch', that published the names and details of men who dressed as women, called them slurs, and called for 'war' against them.

Somebody using a derogatory slur as a title doesn't give the BBC license to use it. There may be all sorts of people who set up groups called 'Insert derogatory slur of your choice - watch' - do they get interviewed by the BBC like this?

Can you tell us the title of the article or the Journal that has published it?

Notwithstanding the both-sides-ism, the BBC article does at least have some great quotes from Rosie.

Around the same time this dropped yesterday, I was reading (in a work context) a forthcoming academic paper that casually referred to "extremists such as trans-exclusionary feminists". The context was historical, relating to sex-based roles and occupations. The author felt the need to tell readers that not all those who can bear children are women, and only extremists would suggest otherwise. The paragraph read as if it had been shoehorned in, and to my mind it derailed the narrative of the article, which was otherwise rather interesting.

I am not in a position to push back against this.

I think that sentence will do a lot of good work. Let them speak.

I hope this gets wider coverage.

This is such a stark example of ‘Stonewall Law’ operating in defiance of the actual law..

One venue - which the BBC spoke to anonymously - said they stopped hosting the event because of the row that had broken out on both sides

There is no ‘both sides’.

One group is acting in compliance with the law by running single sex events and the other is harassing them.

Yes, that is the news story. Its appalling to see it wtitten up like this.

One would have to work pretty fucking hard to show a group (in fact, it seems 'Terfwatch' is one man) who obsessively hate posts about rape survivors, lesbians, and feminists on his wee Instagram as a 'journalist' rather than a very disordered misogynist.

The article and the actions of Terf Watch (conveniently TW) are both despicable and it is utterly incredible that anyone reading the article would go ‘hmm yes those bigoted women’ after reading that trans get their own services but women can’t. But many will.

However, Joshua Askew has slyly and carefully ensured that the ‘both sides’ sleight of hand disingenuous comment has been included as well as ending the story giving TWB the last word.

Knowing full well that the recency bias means people will remember that claim and not Sister Heal buried in the middle.

Edited to add: Just looked him up: Why doesn’t Joshua want to show his whole face on LinkedIn? But he looks young and appears to be a white male (though difficult to confirm because of the flower in front of his face). Anyhow, this is a quote from The Moscow Times: Joshua Askew is a journalist at Euronews. He has also written for openDemocracy and Iran Wire. So, ‘progressive’?

It’s so depressing how much they hate women.

'Terf watch Brighton' appears to be an anonymous group set up to stalk and harass women. They post about women meeting, give names.

They post pictures of women's groups and call them 'mould infested' and talk about how they 'smell'. They talk about 'war' on feminists. Posts include 'TERFS OUT' and a celebration of the vandalism of a feminist conference.

It will be very instructive for anyone who goes looking for more info on them after the BBC interview and quote them. But it is horrifying and sinister that this is being described as journalism by the BBC.

Males bullying women, re traumatising them. The men in frocks demonstrate toxic masculinity so clearly, i honestly think only men could be this vile to women who are survivors of abuse. 🤬🤬🤬👿

I'd bet that the "terf watcher" TRAs are all blokes in frocks, bullying women and trying to insert themselves into places women don't want them to be in is such classic toxic male behaviour. Evil abusers.

I tell you what's a myth Terf Watch, trans women being women. Because they're not.
"Deliberately divisive" is what Terf Watch sounds like, not a group set up to support women who've been assaulted.

There will be scores of groups and services that include trans women in Brighton, so it’s very telling that they cannot allow women a single penis-free space.

I avoid that place - it makes me too sad seeing so many children being groomed and abused.

Social media ban for children can't come soon enough.

Men think the BBC having "Women's Hour" is sexist.
They choose not to see how women's voices, history, point of views have been excluded.

But they want to play dress ups and pretend they are women and then control women again.

I can't f*cking stand it. I might get a t shirt that says "TERF: OUT AND PROUD".

Terf watch are not journalists they are a tra activist group who dox womens single sex groups and those who use them.
That bbc article is an absolute mess

The comments on reddit - you-know-which-sub are appalling- so angry, so vindictive, so nasty! Such victimhood
Everything is 'transphobic'
Apparently

I agree that women should be able to have their own spaces because they want them. They shouldn't need to show that they've had trauma.

But this article is about trauma healing classes so it's very relevant to the story.

I also like it because it helps to educate people that you can't reason your way out of a trauma response, it's an involuntary physiological reaction to situations, stimuli, etc. If you react badly to men because of past trauma, having trans women in a group will make it very stressful and unsuitable for women trying to heal from that trauma. It could easily exacerbate problems instead of lessen them.

I used to be shocked at how many people didn't understand this. Many think that if you reframe your trauma or accept transwomen (in general), you won't have a trauma response to transwomen in single sex spaces. But that's completely ignorant of how trauma responses work. It's very similar to the misconception that Tourette's verbal tics show your true feelings. No, you have no control over either. I've had trauma responses to good friends. I didn't think they were bad people, my body had a physiological reaction. I think it's important that the public - and policy makers - understand how trauma responses work and also how difficult they make life for those who have them.

I also think that explaining trauma responses will lead some to understand why some women need single sex spaces. Many people start off with "be kind" and only start to understand the need for single sex spaces when they see something that seems unfair or harmful. I think many can understand why a woman who's been raped wouldn't want to be around men, especially when dealing with their rape. Once they see how that's a problem, they often start to see how transwomen in single sex spaces leads to other problems too.

Time for a couple of court cases to put these fuck3rs back in their box. Happy to contribute to a crowd funder.

No, of course it isn't.

But it's that classic thing of one party goading or forcing the other into retaliation, and then someone runs to teacher blabbing that 'Emily and Evie are having a fight'.

The BBC isn't very smart about stuff like this, owing to what I can only conclude is ingrained misogyny.

Five or ten years ago I didn't feel like this, I thought the feminist fight was well on its way to being won. How bloody wrong I was.