@JustineMumsnet I appreciate you are under pressure and I have no doubt you have received many complaints about feminist chat from people claiming to be women. What I doubt is that most of those complaints are from people born the female sex, and/or people who genuinely want to talk about topics from a´libfem’ perspective on feminist chat. I think if the people who made these complaints really wanted to discuss things from a ‘libfem’ perspective, but also didn’t want an echo chamber, they would simply post on feminist chat as it is. Indeed, I’ve seen many posters argue from a ‘libfem’ perspective, with posters on feminist chat being more than happy to debate them. If people who have ‘libfem’ views genuinely believe there is problem on feminist chat, I think it is because they cannot effectively counter the arguments by other posters on feminist chat who view women a sex class, this results in those with a ‘libfem’ perspective experiencing cognitive dissonance. I understand this may be uncomfortable for them, and understand why it leads them to desire to create an echo chamber, where they don’t have to experience cognitive dissonance. However, it is not reasonable in my opinion to try and create a echo chamber from existing boards for their benefit, so they don’t have to defend their position(s), as it functions to stifle debate rather than opening it up. If they desire an echo chamber, I would suggest they be directed to one of the many ‘libfem’ sites that currently exist, or as other PP have suggested why not create one for them on this site that doesn’t interfere with posters on existing boards who do not desire an echo chamber and do wish to debate?
Feminist chat is popular because people talk about how gender ideology is harmful to females, homosexuals and children, I think it is precisely because of this that there is a concerted effort to split it, those complaining under the pretext that they are ‘libfems’ who can’t post as they can get a word in, are being disingenuous in my opinion. I think even if you split the feminist section so that ‘libfems’ don’t have to debate with anyone with an opposing view, before long you would again be inundated with messages urging you to silence discussions on the area dedicated to discussing the harms of gender ideology, as the real aim is to shutdown discussions on this issue in my opinion.
I have seen this sort of thing play out before on previous women’s and lesbian’s sites, men flood the site (claiming to be ‘inclusive’ women) they complain about women on the site being mean to men when they discuss the harms of genderism. They try and get the rules of the site changed, in order to get women on the site removed, if they talk about the harms of men claiming to be women. Mods usually decide there are certain places on the site where women are restricted to discussing this issue. However, the issue obviously comes up in many contexts so women continue to post outside the designated areas, the men complain again that women are posting outside of the allotted areas, the mods then start vigorously deleting women for this infraction. From what I have seen this has invariably led to women leaving the site and it becoming deserted, or men take-over the site turning it into an echo chamber for genderists. (The only sites I haven’t seen go this way are sites with little to no moderation but they have other issues, e.g. excessive trolls who are free to run wild.) In short I think this is simply a tactic to closedown debate, and results in a type of colonisation of women’s online spaces, as the women who were originally there are pushed out by men, who then are free to claim the space as theirs. I see a similar tactic being used here.
If I understand correctly you are saying you are not going to delete posts that mention gender ideology outside the allotted area if it relates to the subject of the thread? Even if posts raising the harms of gender ideology are restricted to a designated area, if that area then becomes as popular as feminist chat, it will inevitably be targeted. Moreover, as the dangers of gender ideology become more widely reported, more people will end up looking for a place to discuss it, and likely will end up on the designated board. It is clear to me that when this happens, you will again be inundated with requests to close that board down, or restrict speech on it even further. I sympathise that you are under pressure, but if you keep trying to placate authoritarian bullies, they will never stop. My question is what will you do when they inevitably try to close the dedicated board down or restrict speech on it even further?