Group wants to ban feminist books from a women's library - WTF?

[Bambambini]

Who on earth would want to ban feminist books from a Women's Library? Hope that the Vancouver Women's Library stands firm and doesn't bow to this women hating group. Hope the library get's lots if support - this attempt to bully and censor seems to be becoming much more common, unfortunately.

m.facebook.com/notes/gag-gays-against-gentrification/response-to-vancouver-womens-library/379623995740078

I saw here

m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=680297195463040&id=372980072861422&tn=%2As

That one of the visitors to the library was assaulted.

That FB link makes it clear that GAG is a TRA group, not a gay one, despite the name.

"@bambam there's certainly some feminists who do exclude SWs. I don't exactly know how prevalent it is."

Exclude SW's from what? What does that men, to "exclude" them? From conferences? Nightclubs? Crochet circles?

Bollocks. This means nothing.

And another thing. Define the word door. A door is anything I call a door. Do you really think that's a definition?

Because if a woman is anyone who defines as a woman, how do you tell when someone isn't a woman, even though he's defining as a woman? Like if Donald Trump stood up and declared that he's a woman, just to fuck with all you liberals, would you believe him? Would he be a woman? And if not, why not? And if he were (because he self-identifies as such) then why? What makes him a woman?

Actually if Donald Trump really wanted to fuck with the world, he could self-define as a woman and declare himself the first woman president of the USA.

I might suggest it to him on twitter.

Oh please do not AskBasil, though I think he is pretty clearly an unreconstructed chauvinist man so the chances are negligible but even so

I just wonder how many idiots who are currently saying what a fascist he is (rightly) would suddenly start telling us all what a courageous, marvellous woman he is, and how beautiful as well?

If I were a science fiction writer....

Stunning and brave.

Oh, AskBasil, write that book!

I'd put it in my library, I would

It definitely was TW and their allies that were responsible for this. There's an article here from Feminist Current, which not only details what happened but also includes quite a long video. The intruders were drunk, obnoxious and - in some cases - unmistakably male. One large and very pugnacious bloke claims to be a TW and a sex worker. Have to say I found myself curious about who on earth would pay for his services, and what their sexual orientation might be. Not straight men, at a guess.

The women hosting the event were far more conciliatory than I would have been. Eventually they had had enough, and called the cops.

I watched that video prawn I'm afraid, by the end I was swearing like a fucking navvy.

The absolute drivel spouted by these idiots is ludicrous. Made all the more breath-taking because this IS what underpins the ideology!

A burly, pissed bloke verbally abusing some poor librarians, ripping a poster from the wall, telling them they are literally killing people with their violence, but refusing pointblank to define the word when one brave soul asked him to, intimidating, shouting, demanding books by women be banned that he's never read, accusing them of hating and killing sex workers, with an egomaniacal, enraged outburst of 'You're saying I'm not a REAL woman !!'

Boy, I could hear the reverberations from here as the facade hit the floor.

Insanity, thy name is transwoman.

I found it very difficult to watch that video.

I think the library should have a display case with the books that those arseholes damaged in it, explaining just who and why the books were wrecked.

And I don't understand why those arseholes haven't been arrested yet - criminal damage, threatening behaviour, and all the rest of it.

Annie

I think the library should have a display case with the books that those arseholes damaged in it, explaining just who and why the books were wrecked.

I think those women were completely nonplussed. Obviously they didn't expect their small, women's library to be a target for transactivists. And one or two were clearly reaching the extent of their patience.

And it may have felt completely different being there, but watching it infuriated me so much I don't know how they didn't just spectacularly lose it.

I hope they do make a display case, but I suspect they won't want to take up the cudgels. I don't blame them, but I still wish they would.

Your idea of a display case is a good one, ArcheryAnnie, I'd think. Perhaps they could have the video behind it on a loop. Maybe you could suggest it to them? It would stand as a record of what happened, and they could include material about other groups who try to censor books, from fascists to communists.

The man who ripped the poster down only got away with any of it because he is a very large man. Had he been the woman he claimed to be he wouldn't have got away with any of it. The librarians were keen to smooth things over but, when he said that thing about not being a real woman I was busting to be there and to reply "Well of course not. You're not any sort of woman. You're a large obnoxious man!" Grrrh!

prawn

I've been doing a Walter Mitty for the last half hour, wondering what I would have said. I like to think I could have gone out of my way to not accuse him of being male, but nonetheless make it overtly obvious.

Ah, all of this takes up far too much of my head space.

I don't think i could watch that video - would make me too angry. Hope it gets highlighted somewhere and not just brushed aside.

Watch it Bamb. Despite the blood pressure, I'm glad I did.

Just told my coolaid drinking colleague about this. "That's not right". There's hope.

I've watched the first minute of that video.

I will need to meditate before I am able to watch it any further.

Magdalene Bern's has been tweeting, so I've been retweeting it like crazy. If the tall man didn't claim that he is a woman, you really wouldn't know.

He displays completely socialised masculinist behaviours, a male body shape - paunchy at the waist, no waist inward curve, no breasts, no female-like curved outwards hips. And his voice is masculine in its timbre and his desire and actions of trying to dominate by shouting down any opposing views, or even questions. And the when he rips the poster off the wall, just after the Women's Library people are accused of violence.... well, it'd be a farce if it weren't so nasty.

A woman's safe space, dedicated to the words, thoughts and labour of women, and these fuckers try to wreck it. Instead of storming the local pole dancing club.

Nasty despicable people

I bet they just love a pole dancing club though. It's so empowering and sex worker inclusive.

Thank you for highlighting this Bambambini. MrsTerry your post was excellent. Since joining MN I've realised the fight for true women's equality still has very far to go. Banning books never goes down well, it's just another way of controlling people.

and the fact that they are standing there telling the people who work there that they are invaded their space. They are like nasty little children aren't they. With all the problems in the world and they have to pick on a load of middle aged liberal lefty women. twas ever bloody thus.

Prior to the opening launch of the library:

"The group is also working to build a list of books by trans women and sex worker authors, a category that Wonders acknowledges is, at the moment, missing. “We welcome all women into the space,” she said. “We want to offer writing from all perspectives".

I wonder if they are still of the same mind.

The video is really depressing: all the things that women have fought for, and the inclusivity that the Women's Library has shown.

My local Oxfam has a very good collection of women's writing, much of it out of print now (the original Penguin editions of Woolf, for example): I think on Saturday I shall buy a lot of it, parcel it up & send it over.

Just seen on Twitter that this place was vandalized again last night!