Radfem 2013 and the MRAs

[MooncupGoddess]

As many of you will remember, the Radfem 2012 conference in London was explicitly open only to born women and consequently attracted lots of condemnation and anger from people who saw this as transphobic. It was kicked out of its original venue at Conway Hall and went underground (very successfully in the end).

This year Radfem 2013 has not explicitly banned transwomen... but instead it's come under attack from Men's Rights Activists, who have staged a demo at the planned venue, the London Irish Centre, while making lots of unpleasant and ridiculous claims about how radical feminists want to murder small boys and the like. As a result the venue is threatening to cancel the booking.

www.mralondon.org/

bugbrennan.com/2013/04/20/statement-from-rad-fem-2013/

I have mixed feelings about the whole trans issue but have no hesitation in declaring the MRAs utter misogynist knobbers and am disappointed the London Irish Centre has seemingly caved into them.

Yeah, I figured it was to her.

If you're so bovvered about women as well as men Elohim, how comes you've joined a men's rights group because women can be so "wicked, evil and vindictive" but you haven't joined a women's rights group because men can also be "wicked, evil and vindictive"?

Is it because you don't think men can be as wicked, evil and vindictive as women?

Or is it because you don't care enough about women to do something about it when men are "wicked, evil and vindictive", but you do care enough about men to do something about it when women are?

Either way, your claim that you care about women as much as you care about men, rings a teensy weensy bit hollow.

Also can I just say that I guffawed at the bit about not wanting to be a poster on here because she knows the difference between King Herod and other ancient baby-smiters.

It would be simply dreadful to know or care about anything regarding history or myth, wouldn't it? Unthinkably awful.

So are posters ok with the hatred towards trans?

I'm not OK with hatred towards anyone.

Well isn't that a step in right direction that Trans-women were welcome.

Is it just me who is feeling pretty keen on going to rad fem 2013 given the shit the organisers have been getting.

I went to radfem last year (the first day anyway) and it was really good and really, it was about women's issues around the world and teh feminist movement and where it's going and all sorts of interesting stuff. Hatred? No. vegetarian food? Yes. And that, for me, was as offensive as it got

I mean seriously, this is a bunch of women who feel that the current situation for women globally is atrocious and the only way around it (and which will help lots of other oppressed groups as a happy coincidence) is a total (radical) change in how everything gets thought about and organised and done. Who runs what and how and why and for the benefit of whom. That stuff. rip it all up and start again. Are you with me????????????

Well yeah Nicetabard, but really? No meat options at all?

Not at the evening disco, no.

But there was a disco, so that kind of made up for the vegetarianism

Also it's in london so you can duck out to a bab shop and get some carniverous action going.

I'm certainly not ok with hatred towards trans.

I think, on balance, it is good that radfem 2013 invited transwomen.

But, I do have reservations with some aspects to do with transsexuality. I agree with beer that spaces for women who were born women are important (as are spaces for transwomen). I think we need both. But something that bothers me is the way that it seems to have become acceptable to re-label women as 'ciswomen' and it has become unacceptable to say you think gender is a social construct. And IMO it is damaging that there is that pattern to what we can and can't say. People are entitled to label women without their consent, but women are not allowed to to describe how they feel about sex and gender. It isn't right.

I really, really strongly believe that feminism is the way forward for women and transwomen and transmen and pretty much everyone who isn't a misogynist, and I think getting transpeople and transactivists and rad fems angry with one another is something the patriarchy thoroughly enjoys.

Oops, sorry, my joke namechange isn't terribly appropriate any more.

FWIW, no, kim, as I understand it it's because they had threats and some harrassment of the people working at the venue. It does seem like it's MRAs rather than transactivists, though I grant I'm not really well up on it.

kim - I would be stunned if some transactivists hadn't written, I just mean, I've heard it was the threats not people complaining.

I am completely aware transpeople don't have to do with MRAs - sorry, that was my point, that I think this time they've had aggro from a totally different source.

Basically, no matter how much rad fems do, there will always be someone to say 'shut up, women'. That's pretty much it. The comments about some of the organizers show it is pure misogyny. It's really upsetting to read and I have no clue how any of them keep doing what they do, when they hear that stuff. I think they're amazing.