Where did all the Feminists go?

[Portofino]

MN seems to have had a reorganisation of FWR when I was on holiday and me no-likey. Why do we now have a Rad fem section and Feminist light chat. So many of the dynamic, knowledgable and interesting posters have disappeared. I have to say that some of the more radical stuff posted really made me think about my views and re-align them. There doesn't seem to be much of that anymore. I am disappointed to be honest.

I don't know Nick Clegg or David Cameron. Never met them. I'm disappointed by them daily. HTH

Well said frothy!

yes and amusingly you're being all coded
ohhh I know
about another poster.as if it matters

I've just taken the time to read this thread. I must say I was a bit confused as to the re-org since I dip in and out and missed the bunfight. I am disappointed that I met some MNetters in the flesh recently but have only met one of them on MN (briefly in one thread) since.... I hope this doesn't mean I won't bump into them here again

I have a horrible feeling that the dastardly coalition of transactivists, MRAs and sex industry profiteers have got what they wanted: dispersed an effective and powerful feminist campaigning force that was Mumsnet and had politicians quaking in their boots.

How can we stop them demolishing every feminist space that gathers real power and a strong voice for women?

I know they are words on a screen to you sm.

Your view that people are just words is valid, but other poeple use forums (I am NOT saying fucking fora) differently, build up a picture of who is posting, and can build online 'friendships' for want of a better word. And that is just as valid as your view of words on a screen. And if people regularly talk to someone and they turn out to have different values than you thought, then yes, that can be upsetting. You can't just say that people are idiots because they feel invested in something.

LRD, interested in your definition of "we" in this context?

frothy, that just made me wee a little.

SM, I count a lot of mners as friends. some Ive met, some I will meet v soon. others I wish I could meet. not everyone distances themselves from their posts and other posters.

I meant 'us' as in, the rest of us on this thread. I'm sorry, but while I understand SM's point about the internet not being the same as face-to-face conversation, I do think that most of us are trying to communicate. I think it is valid for us to be disappointed when we discover someone has put on a persona in order to manipulate.

So I do feel angry about the MRAs who pretended to be one kind of person, while all along they were sniggering amongst themselves about how they were winding us up. You can tell they are not genuine because if they were, they would care that they might give a bad name to the many genuinely concerned men and dads out there. IMO.

Artex, I've flippin missed you. :)

BlameIt, apologies.

And like BlameIt, there's posters here I've met, shared a laugh, lunch and dinner with. There's posters here who've helped me through so many issues,at a time that my "Real" friends were nowhere to be found.

I class the women here as people I care about. They're no longer "just words on a screen" to me.

I think it's time I bow out of this conversation. I didn't quite follow your last post, LRD, but I was on a nightshift last night, have had a couple of hours snooze, but am now failing.

Will look forward to catching up with this conversation in the morning.

Oh, ok, sorry! Not sure what I did there.

no I don't understand lrd post either
hopefully shell elaborate
nor do I know what she's alluding to about personas

No, no, it's me, LRD, am dead on my feet!

I'm sorry I'm not clear.

I was trying to say why 'we' (ie., most MNers) understand that there are real people typing the words we see on the screen.

Putting on a persona means putting on a fake face, SM. As in, when MRA posters pretend to be feminists. It's a basic feature of the internet that people can do this, but it's still pretty naff and unpleasant, and easy to see through, usually.

I understand what LRD means, but I'm having a "brain has been mushed by Disney" kinda day, so I can't translate...

Sorry, x-post

What I find soul destroying is that on a forum largely frequented by women, everybody seems to think that its perfectly fine to confine feminism to one board. Feminism should inform everything we do. It's not a hobby, it's a way of life. And it should be a way of life we all lead. All the time. Every day. And particularly as we bring up our children.

Frothy, how are you doing with twilight? (It is you reading it isn't it?)

Thank you, and gotcha. Going to shower and cuddle up in a fleecy dressing gown now...

seeker, yes

I completely agree with you Seeker. Feminism shouldn't be confined to one piddly little section it should be all over Mumsnet.

BlameIt, I gave up... I substituted it for Female Chauvinist Pigs, Doctor Hoffman, and Dworkin's "Pornography".

I was swearing more at a wad of paper than was reasonably acceptable.