Activism Around Last Week's Trans Violence?

[YetAnotherSpartacus]

I'm a bit under the pump with work, but I have been thinking about last week's violence against Maria (specifically) at Speakers' Corner before the gender seminar and generally before and after the event with tweets about punching terfs and enjoying watching terfs get punched.

I've been thinking that if almost any other group was substituted for 'terf' (which of course means 'woman') it would be seen as a hate crime (at least in an informal sense). I've been quite shocked about some of the things I've been reading, but I've also been wondering how we can save them, and where we should save them (i.e. links and screenshots, all in one place) and about what we can do with them. Finally they are publicly showing their true colours and I think this gives us an opportunity to act.

Have people been using twitter to pressure the Met Police?
Can we tweet some kind of link with an accumulation of the threats, gloats and actual violence to all MPs?
Can we do the same to media sources?
Can we do the same to all potential philanthropic funding bodies who fund these activists?
Can we tweet all feminist organisations (especially those associated with violence against women such as shelters, etc.) with this information?

Caveat (I don't use twitter).

Beyond this, can we use other means such as boring old print to print out a selection of threats and send them to MPs along with a letter saying we feel threatened and unsafe and we want them to make sure that women's rights are protected?

What else could we do?

I thought I'd set up this thread to suggest action and also to collate ideas...

I like what you are saying.

Another option...

Maybe a cartoon of protesters holding signs "transwomen are women", "Kill all terfs" and two folk walking past talking

"I don't know why anyone has a problem with folk being trans, it's so bigoted"
"you know that most of the folk who object don't have an issue with people living how they want to, they just want to keep women safe and make sure we don't end up with a world that's even more sexist"
"How do you mean?"
"There's a few things that worry me. Girls and woman have fought for a long time to be allowed to do things which aren't typically "girly", and now you've got people coming along and saying that a boy who wants to wear dresses and play with dolls must actually be a girl. That's just reinforcing the idea that girls and boys should do different things"
"I suppose, but what about people who are born in the wrong body?"
"ah come on, you're an atheist! You don't believe in souls, or god, how could you be born in the wrong body!"
"Fair point! but why are you worried about safety?"
"Because the government wants rules that says you can self identify. Basically, if you say "I feel like a woman" then you'll be able to access all of the places that are only for women - changing rooms, women's refuges, hospital wards. Remember when you were stuck in hospital with your broken knee and the nurses ignored your ward all night? Imagine how unsafe you'd have felt if there was a man in there"
"I wouldn't want to share with a man. But wouldn't they have had surgery to, you know, make them a woman?"
"nope, a very small percentage actually have treatment"
"you're kidding? I thought that's what trans meant, that you'd had a sex change?
"No, most don't, and some even insist that their penis is female"
"wtf! I mean, how, just, eh!!!"
"Really. All they will have to do is say they're a woman and they'll be able to come in to female spaces like prisons, refuges, hospital wards... That's all they'll have to do - no hormones, no treatment, no dressing like a woman"
"That's crazy"
"It's a problem for sport too."
"Sport? You mean I could end up competing against blokes?"
"It's already happening. There are already fully grown men competing in women's sports"
"that's dangerous, and unfair! They're bigger, faster, their bodies are different. What the heck is the point in me competing and training if a guy can say he's a woman and..."
"exactly"
"so what's this terf thing?"
"it's a made up label. Stands for trans exclusionary radical feminist. Apparently I'm one - even though I don't care how people dress, act, who they love, what they call themselves, I'm a terf because I don't agree that a man is a woman just because he says so."
"Guess I'm a TERF then"

Oh I like that @FactsAreNotMean!

These are great!

What about...
Sperm and ovum having a chat.
Ovum: I really feel like a sperm, you know? I'm a sperm trapped inside an egg.
Sperm: that's cool with me bro.
Sperm holds up tiny placard saying "trans sperm are sperm!"
Ovum: hey, you hear something?
Millions of sperm descend, entirely covering ovum.

Tag line: Biology matters.

Or other way around...

There's a hilarious ongoing twitter convo where someone reckons you should respect someones pronouns even if they rape you because their identify is fact.

The sperm and ovum is great.

Oh I just can't.

It's just bold as brass woman hating.

Whenever I get called a terf I'm just going to reply 'Your mum's a terf' because she probably is and I'm childish like that.

It's about the level of their debate anyway!!

@jellyfrizz

I did this on twitter, asked what gender was their mum. Got quite an angry reaction to say the least.

Wow that's great sentimental lentil. I am good at drawing, just wondering if i have time to illustrate that. Quite busy at the moment.

I like all those.

FactsAreNotMean cartoon about the parallel universe is good too.

The end result of Alex/Alexa could see the trans-woman permanently sterile, no sex life, and on lifelong medication. Although I'm not sure how you could translate that into a drawing.

Alex could be happy, grown-up, fulfilled, family (?).

Lily Maynard (at the meeting last week) does a series of satirical ladybird book covers.

Her daughter came out as trans but with her support and determination, has now detransitioned and is a happy feminist lesbian.

They both wrote a searingly powerful article about their individual experience of the issue.

Link to Lily's book covers.

www.google.co.uk/search?q=lily+maynard+books&rlz=1CDGOYI_enGB682GB682&hl=en-GB&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwin-4bJhbHWAhUBElAKHWWpDu4Q_AUIESgB&biw=320&bih=492#imgrc=hcftNb3tcjemKM:

'Mrs Mouse is an evil Terf'

I'm howling!!

They're brilliant

Alex vs alexa

Alexa could grow up to be a lesbian, cartoon of her dating, then marrying a woman, maybe having a child

Alex could be shown trying to date lesbians - caption of I'm sorry but I'm a lesbian I don't do penis?- maybe show Alex sitting at home on Twitter typing TERF surrounded by boxes of hormones?

You could also do a version the other way round, boy transitioned young, shoe conversation with docs about not being able to create a satisfactory vulva, being sterile etc. Flip side could be that the non transed version is just a more feminine straight guy, maybe doing a typically female seeming job.

The Fawcett Society is a feminist organisation campaigning for gender equality. I am a member but I'm a bit disappointed so far in their lack of critique. Here's their latest statement on gender:
www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/fawcetts-position-on-gender-identity

I keep meaning to write and say I'd like them to speak out on some of the issues like rapists in women's prisons, women's sports etc. Perhaps it would help for more of us to do that.

ButteryMuffin - this is exactly what I was suggesting. If you are member contact them with information about what happened before, during and after the meeting last week, including screenshots of messages that imply or threaten violence against women. You may want to simply say you are bringing it their attention or you may want to ask them what their position is. I think we should all do the same with respect to each and every women's organisation / service we can find. I also think we need to strike whilst the iron is still hot and this issue is still fresh.

Loving the cartoon ideas! How about:

Male-bodied TRAs centre stage. Excerpts from tweets about punching/killing terfs posted in speech bubbles coming from their mouths. TRAs surrounded by circle of seated women in handmaid outfits who are singing 'It's all about you, it's all about you baby' to them. Caption: 'Say no to misogyny. Say no to violence against women'.

I like that a lot Blanchefleur

Is it worth trying to come up with some very simple and concise ideas around the things that people have said made them hit peaktrans? For a lot of people there were quite distinct things that made them go "hang the fuck on"...maybe if we can get those out there?

A few things which come to mind (please feel free to add to the list!)
-a grown woman will be refused sterilisation in case she changes her mind/meets a man who wants children/because she's too young; but we will give puberty blockers to children followed by significant surgery in their late teens
-female penis
-Born in the wrong body; if you don't believe in souls this makes no sense
-the very small proportion who actually have full 'bottom' surgery (most people really are not aware of this)
-green party referring to "non-males"
-the hyde park incident
-'L'Ian Huntley
-Rapists in women's prisons
-Some examples of the reasons women get called terf, and what is said about them by TRAs
-The cotton ceiling

Is there any evidence of the Ian Huntley thing besides The fucking Sun?

I can't find any and it really doesn't help to be repeating shit when the only source is that fucking rag.

Quick google search shows that the telegraph and guardian both carried the story, amongst others. Whether they were all copying each other, who knows.

Facts

If you read The Telegraph one it just quotes The Sun. I can't find The Guardian one, my search only brings up articles that refer to it and that, again, only source The Sun.

Guardian references the Mirror, which references the Daily Star. Fairly sure it was also on the sky news discussion the other night without reference to the Sun.

I'm not saying it's true, because journalists are fairly lazy these days, but there's no need to accuse me of repeating shit from a fucking rag when it has been very widely reported and I've not read the Sun in decades.

Sorry Facts I was talking generally, I honestly didn't mean it to be directed at you and I apologise for my poor choice of words.

You are far from the only person I have seen saying this, I probably have myself.

The point is we should stop saying it and encourage others not to (although in a much better way than I did). We have facts on our side.

I'm sure we could replace Ian with another provable abusive violent male who has gone down this path - the name of the recent rapist escapes me. But the point is what are the things that make people really sit up and take notice that this isn't just about being nice to people?