To think a mental health charity shouldn't put this on website?

[flashbac]

I don't think a mental health charity should be advertising an event with the word "terf" used within an image. For those not in the know, the word "terf" is commonly used as a slur against women, especially those that seek to protect women's rights and/or raise concerns about safeguarding.
This mental health charity has invited an activist and used the following image to advertise their attendance:
Aibu to be a bit peeved/concerned?

Yes I know terf stands for trans exclusionary radical feminist but the word has evolved since.

WTF. Not very charitable is it?

I know nothing of this organisation, but having any kind of hate message at all on mental health literature, tells me it's run by fecking eejits.

Is it registered as a charity?

Yeah this is bad but unsurprising

Yes, a charity

www.touchstonesupport.org.uk/about-us/

Yes it is:

Touchstone works in Yorkshire, providing a broad range of services to improve the mental and physical well-being of people from all communities. Our vision is to inspire communities and transform lives. Our specialisms are work with people experiencing, or vulnerable to, mental health difficulties and their carers, and with people from black and minority ethnic communities.
beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?subid=0&regid=1012053

Ah well.
Tatchell as guest speaker.
Speaks volumes to me.
Remind me to avoid any fund raising requests.
I'll give a shout out for MIND in Leeds instead.

They traded their moral compass for woke cookies.

The Stonewall Employer Mark is increasingly a sign of an organisation without principles other than the quest for popularity.

@flashbac
"Yes I know terf stands for trans exclusionary radical feminist but the word has evolved since."
Do you have any evidence for this?
It literally is an acronym for trans exclusionary radical feminists, that is what it meant and continues to mean. Are you hurt by this phrasing because you may somehow consider yourself to be a terf? You can be a 'radical feminist' without being trans-exclusionary, you know. That's totally okay.

You can acknowledge that trans women are women and trans men are men, while simultaneously acknowledging that there are experiences which trans women have, that cisgender women do not, and vice versa.

For example, both transgender and cisgender women may experience sexual harassment from men, but perhaps mainly cisgender women experience sex-based discrimination from childhood.

TL;DR: yes, it's okay that they put TERF on the poster; you are being unreasonable; calm down

It literally is an acronym for trans exclusionary radical feminists

This is a facile comment. It may well be an acronym but it is one which is frequently used in conjunction with threats of violence or abuse. Just do a quick search of Twitter, for example the “POV of TERFs in my mentions”.

certain highly offensive racial abusive terms are abbreviations of the a country/nationality, but the evolution of those words and context in which they are used mean they are very offensive.

Your comment is naive and simplistic. You can support trans rights without calling women who disagree “TERFs”.

Lots of racist words are purely descriptive too. Doesn’t mean they are not intended to attack and to other.

That’s exactly what’s happening here. Twitter is full of violent men vowing to ‘torture’ ‘punch’ ‘kill’ ‘rape’ a TERF. Nothing similar about trans people. Funny that.

Do you have any evidence for this?

terfisaslur.com/

@Kablam
Thank you for the Michael Winner-ish patronising response.
The word TERF is not a neutral word. It's commonly used as an insult or to make threats against women. It's become like the P or N word.

Kablam, you list me at 'cis'. And if TERF is such a neutral descriptive term, why is it linked with the word HATES in the poster? Why is a mental health charity headlining hate?

Does not compute...

Would it be OK for any group, especially a charity to declare that they hated any other group on their literature?

I don't think that it would be.

It's long been said that LGBT groups no longer represent lesbian interests and issues. You can be both lesbian, Bi and a TERF (in the original sense).

At least it’s making it clear from the outset that the event is only really for the T never mind the LGB, especially the L.

As a lesbian I would avoid an event that promotes hate towards anyone who is remotely gender critical because i would expect the event to be all about trans and mansplaining to me why I should have sex with people with penises just because they claim to be women.

If women make factual statements that simply don’t buy into the narrative of gender-feelz, they’re pounced on with this kind of hatred. Yet it’s ok for the TRAs to promote hate and violence towards woman.

@kerblam you’re ignoring that the poster is supporting hate for terfs. You can say we shouldn’t be offended by being called terfs (by people who get very offended at what others call them ) but you can’t argue that it’s ok for anyone to actively promote hate for a group of women because of their beliefs

It's wrong but they are probably not bothered if they display hate messages as they know that all terfs are not important. They are wrong.

Do you have any evidence for this?

Plenty.

Where is your evidence that it is ever, ever used as a neutral descriptor? If it was, it would be entirely inaccurate- I know no feminist who “excludes” trans identifying people as a group.

It’s a slur, and it’s most often used to incite hatred of women who prioritise the freeing of women from oppression (which very much includes trans identifying and GNC women).

I'm tempted to complain to the CEO. I don't think she will care tbh.
She used to be a Labour councillor, until 2019.
It's seen as acceptable to be shitty towards women who have concerns.

@Kablam

Yeah, it's a slur. A High Court judge recently stated, "I have become familiar with the term TERF. It is a derogatory term used by those who seek to deplatform those who hold different views."

When a ton of hate, rape and death threats are thrown around, using a term? It's a slur.

When useage is assessed linguistically, the same terms surround it as are used for eg Jewish or black people by violently bigoted trolls. That's an extremely clear indicator.

‘Terf’ quite often shows up in the same tweet as other words whose status as sexist slurs is not disputed, like ‘bitch’ and ‘cunt’. Other words that occur include ‘disgusting’, ‘ugly’, ‘scum’ and a cluster of words implying uncleanness (‘smell’, ‘stink’, ‘garbage’, ‘filth’)—which is also a well-worn theme in racist and anti-Semitic discourse. Likewise the sexist insult feminazi is also used frequently.

People who would be genuinely furious if anyone suggested that they use all manner of other hateful terms happily use this one. It's only about feminists, right? Who cares if people threaten to rape or kill or slice their spines open. They're only women with opinions.

As is the fact it was created by others and used solely by those who hate the targeted and named group or person. It's used as a means of control and silencing and implicit ordering that any associated views are worthless, by those with narcissistic seeming behaviours that, to many women, look utterly male.

Finally, some try to argue that it's not a slur because it's descriptive. But firstly, SCOPE used to be called The Spastics Society, and an extremely unpleasant abbreviation of transsexual exists which may once have been nothing but descriptive, but is now a slur, so clearly that's not definitive in and of itself... and secondly, the word was created by a feminist who vehemently disagreed with the gender critical position. A word coined by an opposing side should not be used to label the other, while they protest, and then an innocent face made and, "but it's just descriptive!"

It was always meant derogatorily. It's never been used by gender critical people. And the hatred attached to it is plain. Slur.

But hey, if you're happy using misogynist slurs, and you're happy to tell women who aren't happy with such slurs to to 'calm down', then you do you, boo.

Touchstone works in Yorkshire, providing a broad range of services to improve the mental and physical well-being of people from all communities.

Obviously not interested in the well-being of people from ALL communities. Nice way to sneak in hate speech through the use of graphics there.

Yup.

Interestingly, Karen Ingala Smith is gender critical, for the reasons she very movingly sets out here, because she's had a career working in the women's aid sector. She was the author of the Femicide Census MNHQ are presently promoting as their pinned link.

Rhona Hotchkiss is a Scottish MP who used to run a women's prison, as a governor. She saw the horrific impact on women prisoners of allowing transwomen in. She said sexual harassment and assault is common. She also recently stated - I believe last week - that because transwomen offend at male rates, we now have more transwomen in jail for sex offences than women.

13500 men are in jail for sex offences and fewer than 130 women. From equal populations of 33 million. There are 200,000 or so transwomen and yet more sexual offenders than women. 1 in 50 male prisoners identify as women now according to Ministry of Justice figures.

Transwomen are no more likely to offend than any male, I should stress. And transmen are no more likely to offend than any woman, either. But that's the point, isn't it? People seem to offend based on sex and not gender identity. Single sex spaces are provided because women pose almost no threat and men pose a significant one. Given 80% of trans people have no medical intervention of any kind, we are literally saying access all areas should be given to any biological male who says "I'm a woman". Including dorms and communal changing rooms. And despite the above women, and many others with huge expertise in safeguarding, raising the alarm. Because, for example, Center Parcs now have a policy that any male who rocks up at the spa and says, "I'm a woman" can access their communal changing rooms. Where women change together, and the showers have frosted glass doors but are otherwise visible. And that male can walk in and strip off. Tell me, what stops any sex offender taking advantage of that to expose themselves, legally, to a room of naked women? I'll tell you: nothing. Nothing at all.

But sure, call women who say that terfs. Because any woman raising factual evidence that suggests all males should not have access to all women's spaces, as soon as they declare themselves to be women, is deserving of hate.

Facts don't care about gender identity. Of course people should be free to live, love, present and feel however they like, and anyone abusing or discriminating unfairly should face consequences. Of course the Equality Act should protect trans people from discrimination. But ignore reality, when that harms women? No. And women who say no are now subjected to horrendous levels of hate. Even though what is at issue is rape prevalence, and ways to reduce violence and trauma for women and girls. But no. Hateful.

And that is what this charity are advocating. That's Karen Ingala Smith they're gleefully insulting. Not ideal, is it?

You can acknowledge that trans women are women and trans men are men

Nah, I'm alright thanks.

This is awful. Hate against women is really going mainstream. Is it worth complaining to the charity commission?