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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

to think that Eddie Izzard is

234 replies

Singlenotsingle · 24/01/2019 11:10

just another rich person trying to persuade poor people to give their hard earned money to other poor people? I've just seen him on one of these tv ads guilt tripping people into donating to a worthy cause. Whilst I can understand and sympathise with the people who need money, I can't help but think it would be better if the said Eddie Izzard put his hand in his own pocket first. rather than flouncing around in full make up and nail varnish trying to be a politician

I know - I'm totally U, aren't I?

OP posts:
birdsdestiny · 24/01/2019 17:23

We must not mention men ignoring women's boundaries and consent, it's just not polite you know.
If there was a thread about save the children I would mention the staff who paid vulnerable women to fuck them. Should I not mention that, who is deciding these rules.

Oxytocindeficient · 24/01/2019 17:24

Transactivists are the deciders of all things

NaturalBlondi · 24/01/2019 17:30

What’s the daily mail got to do with anything? Apart from making you sound like a high-and-mighty twat?

UniversalAunt · 24/01/2019 17:33

“I reckon someone who's run 70 marathons and raised £1.35 million for charity can't be bad.”

I think Jimmy Saville had that one sussed.

GlitterStick · 24/01/2019 17:33

Oh and I’ve seen plenty from you on the feminist boards repeating the same tired crap at us

Hardly been on any of the threads, maybe one or two but hardly "plenty."

ChariotsofFish · 24/01/2019 17:34

webuiltthisbuffet It is not difficult to find factual information on UNICEF, its funding structure and what it spends the money on. I’m not going to bother writing it all out for someone who appears to have uncritically used Breitbart as their information source.

Beerflavourednipples · 24/01/2019 17:36

Hardly been on any of the threads, maybe one or two but hardly "plenty."

Lol. If you had only been on 'one or two' threads, people would recognise you would they?

Beerflavourednipples · 24/01/2019 17:36

wouldn't recognise you that should say.

GlitterStick · 24/01/2019 17:39

Lol. If you had only been on 'one or two' threads, people would recognise you would they?

Yes, because you don't need to post more than just on "one or two" if you're a lone voice against the echo chamber.
You're noticed and shouted down immediately.

Beerflavourednipples · 24/01/2019 17:41

You're noticed and shouted down immediately.

Oh change the record.

GlitterStick · 24/01/2019 17:43

Oh change the record.

Sorry, wasn't I supposed to answer you? You asked a question. I answered.

Oxytocindeficient · 24/01/2019 17:48

Nobody is shouting you down. We’re just responding to the same lazy and tired accusations you always use- a lot more than once or twice and you’re hardly alone. It’s just the others usually get banned when they take it too far.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 24/01/2019 17:54

@ChariotsofFish

Thanks for coming back. I've vaguely heard of Breitbart, but I've never been on their website or seen any of their output. There's no need to type it all out - a weblink is always appreciated.

According to their own website, "Unicef UK is a charity, entirely funded by our supporters. We receive no money from the UN budget." However, those supporters seem to be largely governments (apparently giving directly rather than in conjunction with the UN).

According to Wikipedia (whether that's a trusted source or not), "UNICEF's total income for 2015 was US$5,009,557,471. Governments contribute two-thirds of the organization's resources. Private groups and individuals contribute the rest through national committees."

I don't know who the 'private groups' are - whether more quangos or possibly local societies. Either way, UNICEF is still very much supported and influenced at a government-level - and those governments of many western nations do indeed have access to immense sums of money that they can give at will.

Limensoda · 24/01/2019 17:56

Another slagging of a celeb you don't like, despite not knowing them, thread?

The nastiness on here is ridiculous at times.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 24/01/2019 18:10

Another slagging of a celeb you don't like, despite not knowing them, thread?
The nastiness on here is ridiculous at times.

I agree that there is a lot of nastiness and some people think that flinging playground insults is the same as considered debate and sharing of opinions.

However, whilst I agree that criticising people for what they are (as with the Kelly McGillis thread, although the OP did later apologise) is absolutely unacceptable, I don't see a problem with criticising what people do.

Eddie Izzard (along with the other celebrities who do the adverts) is clearly a very well-off person and he is asking ordinary people to donate - that much is self-evident. As PPs have said, we don't know how much of his own money and time he already gives to charity (the many marathons, on the face of it, seem to put him in a positive light there).

His comments and actions that have made women and girls feel very uncomfortable and potentially in danger are things that he has consciously decided to do.

Adults who choose to do things that cause many people great concern - especially those in the public eye - cannot be expected to be immune from respectful criticism for those chosen actions.

beanii · 24/01/2019 18:10

So potentially then a paedo can call themselves transgender and get changed in front of children???

Anoushkasays · 24/01/2019 18:19

so,if a FEMALE wears make up/nail varnish and wants to be a Politian- that's ok by you? Eddie has done far more for charity than the majority of so called 'celebrities' and I'll wager, even you have.
But sure, disguise your transphobia as a' rich person asking me for money'
I haven't seen the adverts. I don't have a television. It is not something I can afford.
YABU, and ignorant, and offensive. Congratulations. I'm sure the interaction on the internet has given you the attention you sorely crave.

birdsdestiny · 24/01/2019 18:23

I can't speak for the op but I couldn't give one shiny shit about nail varnish and clothes. I could give a shit about men ignoring women's boundaries and consent. Still no.

CandleConcerto · 24/01/2019 18:24

No one minds what he wears at all. He can present however he is happy to and however he feels confident. Anyone - male or female - can wear anything they want and it does not determine their sex.

Singlenotsingle · 24/01/2019 18:24

Emotive words Limensoda, no one is "slagging" anyone, simply commenting or even criticising (heaven forfend!) a person in the public eye who seems to enjoy putting himself out there as an icon to be admired. I'm not convinced! Neither am I swayed about the charity work (someone up thread has already mentioned Jimmy Savile); and charities themselves have not exactly covered themselves in glory recently!

An advert such as the one EI appears in does nothing for me, and I was just musing on how many people are convinced. I just do a little bit in my own small way for society. I volunteer in a school locally, I might give a few pounds to a homeless person begging on the street, or someone rattling a tin.

OP posts:
NaturalBlondi · 24/01/2019 18:31

Maybe you’re easily offended, anoushka

GrimSisters · 24/01/2019 18:35

MNHQ, why on earth did you delete my post? HmmAbsolutely everything in it was fact - I'll leave what he wrote in his book in his own words rather than paraphrase then. People can make their own mind up about Eddie and his quest to use the women's toilets.

I had a little bag I’d brought with me with my other clothing to change back into. So at the end of the afternoon, I came back on the Underground to Highbury Corner in Islington and went to the ladies’ loos as planned. I’d expected to go in, quickly change my clothes, wipe off my makeup, then slip back out in boy mode so I could go home with no one the wiser.

What I wasn’t expecting in the ladies’ loos at about three o’clock in the afternoon were three teenage girls smoking cigarettes. They were probably just skipping school. So there they were, smoking cigarettes, while I was just trying to find a stall, change clothes, and get out of there.

But the first cubicle I went into didn’t have a lock.

Actually, it’s the kind of public loo where it’s surprising that they’ve even got doors. And I’m sure the men’s loos were even worse than the women’s.

I thought, Oh shit, I cannot change in this loo and be constantly trying to hold my hand against the door.

So I decided to find another stall.

I opened the door of the stall I was in and zipped across the middle passageway to the stall opposite.

I closed that door. It didn’t have a lock, either.

I thought, Oh crap. I’ve got to try for another one now.

So I went across a third time, and by that time these girls were quite obviously whispering about me: “Who is that? What are they doing? Is that a he or a she?”

I could hear the whispering going on. In the third cubicle there was a lock. So I locked the door and quickly managed to change my clothes and wipe the makeup off my face, not using the handy makeup wipes that you can buy today, but probably with liquid makeup remover or something else incredibly inconvenient.

Finally, the dress was off, the heels were off, the makeup was off, and jeans and flat shoes were back on. Now I had to make it out quickly before the girls could react.

But that was impossible.

The girls were ready to act. They were just waiting for me. And when I finally came out of the cubicle, they shouted, “Hey, mate! Hey, mister! Why are you wearing makeup? Why are you dressed as a woman?”

I was out the door, heading back toward home, but they were following me. “Hey, why are you dressed as a woman?” They were still following me across Highbury Fields, which was when I thought, Don’t go home, they’ll know where you live, you’ll never hear the end of it.

So I was heading away from home, walking and walking and walking, around Highbury Corner, down Canonbury Road, while they continued to shout at me. Finally, I thought: Screw this. They’re just going to shout at me forever. Let’s confront this. So I stopped and I turned around to face my teenage inquisitors.

I shouted back, “You want to know why I’m wearing a dress? I’ll tell you why.”

But before I could say anything else, the girls just screamed and ran off in the other direction. I was stunned. Wow. That wasn’t as hard as I thought.

I think that was the first time I was overtly intimidated because of my sexuality.

You assume older people intimidate younger people, but those three thirteen-year-old girls had power over a twenty-three-year-old man.

Maybe they turned out to be wonderful human beings. Or maybe they all now live in a tree. Whatever.

I learned something that day when those girls ran off: If you confront aggression—Sometimes just standing your ground or even with cheeriness and politeness—sometimes you can shut it down. It’s not a perfect science, but it feels better than being scared. I also learned that you could feel empowered by facing people down. They were only thirteen or fourteen, but the turning around and saying, “All right, I’ll tell you,” felt almost like a second coming out because I had to say, “Okay, you want to put me in a corner? I’ll face this down as opposed to screaming and running.” Which I always thought I might do. But I didn’t scream and run—in the end, they did.

SinisterBumFacedCat · 24/01/2019 18:41

Surely the ads are aimed at everyone watching, rich or poor or in between, it's not just targeting poor people.

Beerflavourednipples · 24/01/2019 18:45

so,if a FEMALE wears make up/nail varnish and wants to be a Politian- that's ok by you? Eddie has done far more for charity than the majority of so called 'celebrities' and I'll wager, even you have.
But sure, disguise your transphobia as a' rich person asking me for money'

Oh for fucks sake. No one gives a shit what Eddie Izzard wears, in fact as people said, back in the day when he said his dresses were 'mens clothes' because he is a man and they were his clothes, he was great for pushing gender boundaries.

It's the misogyny and eroding of women's rights to space away from males that has come since that is pissing people off, as well as the sexist 'I like nail varnish because I have girl genes' shite.

But sure, it's just 'transphobia'. Yawn.

Madmarchpear · 24/01/2019 18:49

Anybody else thinking I'd be proud of my daughter for having the balls (pardon the pun) to hound a man out of the women's toilets. Not only do his words reek of misogyny but also class superiority. Why didn't he just stick to his hammy woeful American accent TV support roles?Citizen Smith crossed with my nan circa 1985 is not a good look.