Ocado siding with misogynists and agreeing that the word "woman" and its dictionary definition is hate speech

[PerverseConverse]

Mumsnetters in their droves are abandoning Ocado after they sided with advertising company, Primesight, for removing Standing for Women's billboard in Liverpool. The billboard was a very simple dictionary definition of the word "woman." This has been declared homophobic and hate speech by Dr. Harrop who demanded the billboard be removed.
Since when did the very word, "woman" equal transphobic hate speech?
Posie Parker, the woman behind Standing for Women, was on Sky News this afternoon with Dr. Harrop defending the rights of women and the right to call ourselves women.
Shares in Ocado have gone down today and the company amidst a torrent of cancellations have said they will issue a statement today. So far they haven't done so but all their tweets saying Primesight reflected their company values have been deleted along with the many comments that followed.
Is it unreasonable to boycott Ocado for publicly showing themselves to be against women, who after all are their target consumer group? Scores of posters on the feminist boards don't think so but I'd love to hear the opinions of those outside of the feminist boards.

The whole reason it was put on a billboard is that you know it will offend some people. Why else do it?

It was done to make the point that MRAs are attempting to remove the very language we have to define ourselves as a group by, e.g., saying women is a feeling a man can have or putting a content warning on a sanitary product ad for 'gendered language' or calling women bleeders (I have seen all of these examples without looking for them within the last 48 hours). If we can't define ourselves we can't fight oppression against us. We can't challenge the pay gap or women's representation in politics or STEM because 'women' no longer has a meaning. The point that our language is being removed was proved rather spectacularly when the poster was taken down on the demands of a known MRA. I'm not having my rights and my daughters rights or my sisters rights or my mother's rights snatched away from me in case some random blokes get offended.

Ocadodumped sorry I’m tired and I didn’t read it properly.

Ocado are behaving outrageously and are losing their customers as word gets out about their misogynistic views and actions.
Harrop is a twonk with a tres amusing Twitter feed.

JamAtkins has it spot on there.

The Sky interview was very revealing. The Dr actually accused KJKM (Posie Parker) of 'appropriating' the term 'woman.'

Since when does a male get to tell a female how to use the term 'woman'? Honestly, it beggars belief - the sheer arrogance....... complete and unapologetic male entitlement displayed for all to see.

This is all just absolutely insane. I am struggling to get my head around how in 2018 women cannot use the dictionary definition because it might cause offence to men. It's like an alternate universe.

I think their share price may take a hit tomorrow!

There was an article on the BBC news mobile site earlier about this. It's now gone. Jeez. The whole thing is so very, very wrong. Science is on our side.

When people seek to control language, it's time to get worried. George Orwell, 1984:

"The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc, but to make all other modes of thought impossible. Its vocabulary was so constructed as to give exact and often very subtle expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express, while excluding all other meaning and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods. This was done partly by the invention of new words, but chiefly by eliminating undesirable words and stripping such words as remained of unorthodox meanings, and so far as possible of all secondary meaning whatever."

It's still up for me, Missus?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45650462

Tilly why do you think it is about an attempt to offend, rather than to defend? This would not be necessary without the systematic attempt to deprive women and girls of hard-won rights, when we don't even yet have full parity with men. It is possible to have empathy for trans individuals, to wish them no harm, and for them not to be discriminated against, and also to defend the rights of women.

Down with this sort of thing. Bastarding handmaids tale is just around the corner

This all makes me so angry. I can’t believe it’s not covered more in the media too. I caught a glimpse of the sky news interview and set about looking for coverage online, and pretty much nada!

littlebillie apparently they have already dropped as of this morning.

Magicmonster the Fail, Times, BBC, Sky, and another paper have all carried the story about the billboard poster being taken down.

@tillytopknots

Can you please let us know what the word is that categorises what we used to call 'women' that isn't 'triggering' to some men.

Thanks.

Why do you think it is about an attempt to offend, rather than to defend? This would not be necessary without the systematic attempt to deprive women and girls of hard-won rights, when we don't even yet have full parity with men. It is possible to have empathy for trans individuals, to wish them no harm, and for them not to be discriminated against, and also to defend the rights of women.

Because that billboard was clearly meant to offend. It just was. You can go on about dictionaries all you like, but the intention was obviously to offend. At least, that his it looks to me. Not an acitivist on either side.

Just read the drs tweets threatening a mumsnetter, to expose her personal details he’s terrifying! There doesn’t seem to be a proper discussion about this as we’re being accused of being transphobic and being targeted by someone like him. The more I’ve read the more uncomfortable I have felt as there doesn’t seem to be any reasoning.

I agree with protecting people so they can live their lives as they wish but not at the expense of women’s rights being stripped away. That doesn’t make sense to me at all, why isn’t the press picking this up more?

i am fully happy for someone born as a male to identify as female and to take hormone drugs and be surgically made female. they would never genetically/ by nature be born a woman but could have surgery to be a woman.

i dont understand how that poster made transgender females feel uncomfortable. the doctor didnt really explain that. have i missed something?

feeling a bit stupid as i think i'm very inclusive and accepting but dont get this!!

Not an acitivist on either side

But you have shown bias.

Wow! KM made toast out or AH. She is far superior intellectually.

I can't believe Ocado would isolate their purchasing demographic. I'm not sure how this self-ID malarky will pan out but I think it's fair to say there is a rising proportion of females who are beginning to feel uneasy about these proposed changes to their spaces and to publicly oppose those views will surely damage Ocado.

@tillytopknots

Interesting post. Why is the truth ‘offensive’? How can a dictionary definition of something be offensive? How can a simple fact offend someone?

Because that billboard was clearly meant to offend. It just was

It was meant to show the lunacy that women cannot state they are women.

Can you give us the word to define what we used to call women, if this word is offensive to men...please.

Thanks @RichardLongcross dunno why it's gone from mine.... At least others can see it though! Still think the whole thing is abysmal.

Billboard was made to defend not offend. And by fuck we need defending at the moment.