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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Would this women's social group put you off joining?

144 replies

purplestrip · 23/06/2026 14:31

In my local town there is a group called the town's name girls collective. Its supposedly a social group for women to come along and take part in various activities like running, yoga or crafts as to make new friends. Sounds good right but on their socials they make it very clear that anyone who doesn't think transwomen are women are not welcome and presumably men themselves who imagine they are women are welcome. They also have a whole list of prerequisites of any potential joiner's political views such as being pro-Palestinian, opposed to ICE, pro asylum seeker, pro-refugee to be welcome yourself and that if you ignore the suffering of people in Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan, Iran and Myanmar then the community is not for you. If you think women's spaces should exclude males transwomen then this is not the community for you and so on.

Now for what it's worth I agree with most of their politics but I am gender critical but I also think that not every interaction has to be founded on complete political alignment and that they are actually being quite exclusionary.

Personally I'd be put off attending myself and I wonder how many other women they are driving away with such a confrontational set of requirements. I don't know if they have any males who go to their group but I do think its somewhat ironic that a group set up for women prioritises male inclusion over those of women they don't happen to agree with on everything!

OP posts:
CassOle · 23/06/2026 18:11

I couldn't possibly join such a group until I knew whether they had the right opinions on Buckskin Vs Dun regarding horse colours, whether Schrodinger's cat is dead or alive, and also whether the overdose that killed Marilyn Monroe was accidental or intentional.

I want an exclusive 'inclusive' group! They must hold exactly the same opinions as I do on everything.

teawamutu · 23/06/2026 17:54

TheywontletmehavethenameIwant · 23/06/2026 16:10

How do some posters always end up making every thread all about them. 😂

Your brain on gender woo, kids.

Would this women's social group put you off joining?
teawamutu · 23/06/2026 17:51

I'd avoid like the plague, OP. They sound like insufferable self-righteous twats.

On plus side: any other activity in similar timeslots will likely be free of luxury-belief bien-pensants because this group has helpfully hoovered them all up. Just a thought.

Inmyuggs · 23/06/2026 17:05

hairbearbunches · 23/06/2026 15:48

Fuck's sake, they sound like they knit their own mung beans. Steer clear!

🤣🤣🤣

DoloresDelEriba · 23/06/2026 17:04

I would cross the street to avoid them…

wrongthinker · 23/06/2026 16:55

They sound like a bunch of insufferable twats.

CurlewKate · 23/06/2026 16:47

It calls itself a “girls collective”? Are you sure?

Dollymylove · 23/06/2026 16:46

No thanks. I would rather have my leg gnawed off by a rabid dog

ApplebyArrows · 23/06/2026 16:46

I can understand adult women calling themselves "girls" (even though many people don't like it), but it's going pretty far to use the word in the actual title of an organisation!

Is it clear that the founding members are actually all women? Some transwomen like to make a big thing of being "girls", something which is often supported by their sycophantic female admirers.

Alucard55 · 23/06/2026 16:39

TransParentlyAnnoyed · 23/06/2026 16:09

My local GP surgery, dentist, opticians etc are friendly and polite to my son. They use his name even when his deadname's in front of them.

Some of them might be GC, who knows? But they're polite, respectful and professional toward him, creating a safe space in which he feels able to trust them. That's incredibly important.

Lots of people are quietly racist, homophobic or misogynistic, and view their bigotry as sincerely-held, evidence -based beliefs.They still know not to air those views in public spaces.

Although public transphobia is emboldening them. Enable one bigotry, open the door to the rest.

They know you have a daughter and not a son though.

Wishesandhorses · 23/06/2026 16:35

TransParentlyAnnoyed · 23/06/2026 15:55

It's about creating a safe space for everyone. Sounds great.

If you have different opinions then just don't air them. Be respectful, and there won't be an issue.

I love how 'everyone' actually means exclusively 'people who think like me and are in my social circle'.

It's exactly the kind of laughable snobbery of Margot Leadbetter that The Good Life was taking the mickey out of in the 1970s. Her snotty dinner parties and making the plebs stand on newspaper in her front hall.

TheywontletmehavethenameIwant · 23/06/2026 16:34

EmpressDomesticatednottamed · 23/06/2026 16:25

Well I am toying with the idea that maybe their list isn't anywhere near long enough and would like to know their stance on tuning concert A at 440hz.
If enough things are added on it'll fall over with the weight of absurdity.

Agreed, I mean where do they stand on DAB or analogue radio because I have very firm opinions on that. I couldn't associate with a group who can't understand how absolutely necessary it is to fix a firm opinion on this unbelievably vital area.

BeMoreBear · 23/06/2026 16:30

TransParentlyAnnoyed · 23/06/2026 15:55

It's about creating a safe space for everyone. Sounds great.

If you have different opinions then just don't air them. Be respectful, and there won't be an issue.

If you have different opinions then just don't air them. Be respectful, and there won't be an issue.

I do hope you are raising your child to do the same? I mean, you wouldn't want one rule for your family, and a different rule for everyone else, would you?

I expect, given your views, that you tell your child to just shut up when someone else says something they disagree with? Something that might have a personal effect? Because that's the "respectful" thing to do, isn't it? Just.shut.up. If your child does that, they won't have any problems in life, will they?

Daleksatemyshed · 23/06/2026 16:28

TransParentlyAnnoyed · 23/06/2026 16:09

My local GP surgery, dentist, opticians etc are friendly and polite to my son. They use his name even when his deadname's in front of them.

Some of them might be GC, who knows? But they're polite, respectful and professional toward him, creating a safe space in which he feels able to trust them. That's incredibly important.

Lots of people are quietly racist, homophobic or misogynistic, and view their bigotry as sincerely-held, evidence -based beliefs.They still know not to air those views in public spaces.

Although public transphobia is emboldening them. Enable one bigotry, open the door to the rest.

The difference is that all the people you mention are meeting your DC in a professional capacity, they understand what their job requires of them and act accordingly. If you're in a social setting those restraints don't apply, you are allowed to mix with who you like and voice your own views

Seethlaw · 23/06/2026 16:26

KaleidoscopeSmile · 23/06/2026 16:14

"If you have different opinions then just don't air them."

I can't quite believe you've said that out loud. What the fuck is wrong with you?

Heh. They are just too used to environments where only "the right kind" of opinions are mentioned. I spend part of my hobby in such a space, and some of the people there truly seem to believe that any challenging opinion is at best impolite, and at worst a terrible act of bigotry. It gets very funny when two different kinds of "the right kind of opinions" go head to head 😆

EmpressDomesticatednottamed · 23/06/2026 16:25

purplestrip · 23/06/2026 16:21

Exactly, perhaps that poster is in favour of a sort of Stasi system where we are all reporting on each others wrong think?

Well I am toying with the idea that maybe their list isn't anywhere near long enough and would like to know their stance on tuning concert A at 440hz.
If enough things are added on it'll fall over with the weight of absurdity.

Pudmyboy · 23/06/2026 16:23

With such a proscriptive list of conditions for entry, I wonder how many members it has?

GreenFootstool · 23/06/2026 16:22

A room full of what amounts to political extremists is my idea of hell.

Not because being pro-Palestine or pro-Ukraine is an extremist view but because being this prescriptive about your politics and who you'll engage with is the extreme behaviour in and of itself.

Nutjobs.

ChamonixMountainBum · 23/06/2026 16:22

I need a safe space from safe spaces.

purplestrip · 23/06/2026 16:21

KaleidoscopeSmile · 23/06/2026 16:14

"If you have different opinions then just don't air them."

I can't quite believe you've said that out loud. What the fuck is wrong with you?

Exactly, perhaps that poster is in favour of a sort of Stasi system where we are all reporting on each others wrong think?

OP posts:
purplestrip · 23/06/2026 16:19

TransParentlyAnnoyed · 23/06/2026 16:09

My local GP surgery, dentist, opticians etc are friendly and polite to my son. They use his name even when his deadname's in front of them.

Some of them might be GC, who knows? But they're polite, respectful and professional toward him, creating a safe space in which he feels able to trust them. That's incredibly important.

Lots of people are quietly racist, homophobic or misogynistic, and view their bigotry as sincerely-held, evidence -based beliefs.They still know not to air those views in public spaces.

Although public transphobia is emboldening them. Enable one bigotry, open the door to the rest.

Being gender critical isn't transphobia or bigotry its a legitimate position backed up by law. Its one thing to be polite to a person but its quite another to prioritise in this case the feelings of men who image themselves to be women over actual women.

OP posts:
Seethlaw · 23/06/2026 16:19

TransParentlyAnnoyed · 23/06/2026 16:09

My local GP surgery, dentist, opticians etc are friendly and polite to my son. They use his name even when his deadname's in front of them.

Some of them might be GC, who knows? But they're polite, respectful and professional toward him, creating a safe space in which he feels able to trust them. That's incredibly important.

Lots of people are quietly racist, homophobic or misogynistic, and view their bigotry as sincerely-held, evidence -based beliefs.They still know not to air those views in public spaces.

Although public transphobia is emboldening them. Enable one bigotry, open the door to the rest.

Do you sincerely believe that the owners of that group would never air their own opinions around other members of the group? I highly doubt that.

IsadoraQuagmire · 23/06/2026 16:17

TheywontletmehavethenameIwant · 23/06/2026 16:10

How do some posters always end up making every thread all about them. 😂

😁

EmpressDomesticatednottamed · 23/06/2026 16:15

I sometimes wonder how people manage to stand in a bus queue without checking to see if they are standing next to the person with the correct opinions.
I wouldn't go near it and whether I agree with any of it or not is irrelevant to me, I don't believe that things are necessarily improved by making more and more rules and I don't like the idea that if you have the right opinions you can express them but if not you should just shut up. I don't need a collective telling me what to think.

KaleidoscopeSmile · 23/06/2026 16:14

TransParentlyAnnoyed · 23/06/2026 15:55

It's about creating a safe space for everyone. Sounds great.

If you have different opinions then just don't air them. Be respectful, and there won't be an issue.

"If you have different opinions then just don't air them."

I can't quite believe you've said that out loud. What the fuck is wrong with you?