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.

trans mum 🧜🏻‍♀️‏ @transmum1 · Sep 24

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Interesting how context seems to have gone out the window here. In and of itself a billboard stating those words would be harmless if not a bit pointless. Given who put it there and paid for it, it’s so obviously transphobic. Nice try for pretending to be innocent though. 👍🏻

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Dr Adrian Harrop‏ @DrAdrianHarrop

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Replying to @transmum1 @Direct_PS and 10 others

I‘d compare it to a group of racists or white supremacists crowdfunding a billboard containing only the dictionary definition of the word “native”, and posting it on, let’s say, Brick Lane London E1... May seem innocent enough at first glance, but the motivation would be obvious.

Sorry - I thought I had written an insightful post to accompany the above extract from twitter - but copying and pasting the twitter extracts seem to have deleted my post...

And please, for the sake of all born female in a male-dominated world take part in the government's public consultation on self-id. It ends on the 19th of October.

Here's a link to an explainer on the Fair Play for Women website.

Absolutely - I have just taken time to do that - and for those who (understandably!) think that this is very male against female - I am male, but support the points being made here - it isn't the fault of all men that it is a male dominated world, but all men can choose to be a part of making it a more equal world...

Thank you akkakk. From my own discussions on the subject with men (adult human males), I know you are not alone.

There are many decent men out there who respect women and don't want to intrude into our changing rooms.

VerbeenaBeeks Having a differing opinion is ok. Don’t have to accept or agree with it when it comes to losing rights. It’s ok though, other women will fight for you and I’m sure you can thank them later. I’m not even trying to be a dick with this comment but people have to wise up, you can go and pretend they are women all you want but the fact remains, they aren’t.

Ocado have lost my business, I'm not a normal shopper but I do a few large orders at this time of year to make use of discount codes, so I'll go elsewhere now

Those tweets Aridane posted - the Dr Adrian Harrop one. Think that's a fair point. Now it's been pointed out that's what it reminds me of too. The saying in itself, the woman quote - it's just a statement. The intent behind it though,and by who, it comes across as intending to inflame. I can see why transpeople would feel vulnerable.
Also - the fact that people cannot see racism even if they're being it. They'll swear blind they're not. Or think they're right. It's exactly the same with any transphobia.
I find these threads interesting (for want of a better word) yes there's concerns over self ID, I can see that and that's fair enough.
There's also blatant transphobia though and "what? what did I do?" posts if they get deleted. They must genuinely don't know.

ColePorter thanks for the link

I have closed my account. I probably spend £7-10 k a year with them and I have for many years. They have not replied to my email.

VerbeenaBeeks

I agree with you, there's two extremes at play here when most people are somewhere in the middle, i'm somewhere in the middle. But i can also see how this stunt has been used to bring self ID to the attention of a general public.

I have cancelled my account with Ocado and have told them why by email. They responded two days later to say that I would be contacted by a "member of senior management" but so far...crickets.

Fuck off, Ocado, with your woke bullshit.

Women are adult human females. Get over it.

I‘d compare it to a group of racists or white supremacists crowdfunding a billboard containing only the dictionary definition of the word “native”, and posting it on, let’s say, Brick Lane London E1... May seem innocent enough at first glance, but the motivation would be obvious.

You might have a point if it had been posted outside somewhere like the Tavistock Clinic so specifically in a place where Trans people might be going in a state of distress. But it wasn’t. It was posted outside the Labour Party Conference. Aimed at people who may in future be responsible for legislating on these issues. That’s lobbying. It’s a perfectly legitimate aim. It’s proportionate too, because the amount of TRA propaganda being spouted at that conference and in the general media was/is astounding.

Incidentally to put ‘native’ up in Brick Lane with the intent to exclude the local non-white community would be inaccurate. Although it can refer to indigenous people it also refers to people who were born or where they live.

Nobody has yet bullied the dictionaries into changing their definition of woman yet. So not really comparable at all. One is accurate and one is not.

I'd like to see a definition of native. "Someone who was born in the country in which they reside", perhaps? If that is the case, I am British but I'm not native. You could put that on a billboard outside my house and I wouldn't blink an eye.

Oops! "Not born in the country in which they live." In fact, I have dual nationality and was not born in either country for which I hold passports.

there's two extremes at play here

I need to be talked through how ‘woman is adult human female’ is an extreme position now.

I need to be talked through how ‘woman is adult human female’ is an extreme position now.

I'm not going to do that, because i didn't say that. Twisty twisty.
Posie is extreme, it's what is needed right now to bring attention to the issue.
However not everyone on the thread 100% agrees with her opinions, most like me are somewhere closer to the middle.

I've just misread a tweet as 'Walnut whips are whips' and had a little chuckle.

Turns out that it said 'walnut whips are just whips' which is both reducing walnut whips to to their physicality and a comment on the removal of walnuts from walnut whips

In what way is posie an extremist? She is vocal, yes, but I’m not getting the use of the word extreme.

In what way is posie an extremist? She is vocal, yes, but I’m not getting the use of the word extreme.

You don't have to get it, it's my opinion on her style.

Oh right, there’s two extreme styles at play here.

Oh right, there’s two extreme styles at play here.

And views too.
But i didn't feel like arguing on this thread and derailing.

Is anyone leaving good reviews for Waitrose and letting them know why you have switched?

I bet these other supermarkets will be thankful.

Bumping this for the new week

Thanks for sharing this.

Had my follow-up phonecall.
"some junior flunkey overstepping the mark and had no right; not Ocado's views" type blarney.
I explained that unless there was a public denunciation of the previous comments and a PUBLIC clarification that Ocado did not support the silencing of women nor do they condone the censoring of legal political protest, and they apologise for being so insulting to their core customers, I won't be reactivating my account.
The woman on the phone was quite "it's a fair cop, guv'nor" about it.