University Feminism threatened by TAs

[0ffredgotaway]

I'm depressed daily by the erasing of women by TAs but this feels like a new low in the madness that is TA. My university's feminism society was informed by the leader of the Trans society (pronouns 'they' and 'them' if you please) that the use of the word FEMALE in the society's description was 'trans exclusionary' and to remove it.

A member voiced her disagreement and reminded 'them' that the society is inclusive to all, and that women obviously do identify as female in the FEMINISM SOCIETY, and was shouted down for being a transphobe. This same person posts articles about watching out for the threats from TERFS on her society's page. Nice slur.

What to even do about this? There's a male student in a dress marching around campus demanding all gender neutral toilets (we already have some in the main building but apparently not good enough). Lecturers are being told to use gender neutral pronouns in all lectures/seminars for fear of misgendering the snowflakes. It's apparently the new super cool bandwagon to jump on so obviously everyone is a) super supportive of your transition journey, FOLKS (because guys is now on the list of trans exclusionary fucking words), and b) questioning whether they might want to jazz up their own lives by identifying as something a bit more exciting than their own born sex, just to be able to join the party.

It makes me want to scream into a pillow and not stop. It's actually on my fucking doorstep and everyone's walking around like 'this is cool and normal' while I just look around wondering what the fuck sort of glue are you all actually on?

And HOW is any of this any different from Rachel fucking Dolezal??!

Surely women who observe their religion strictly and choose not to unveil around men are now barred from those spaces?

Yes, but its not a choice, its a fundamental tenet that is strictly enforced. There are several groups and races affected, and those women don't have a voice.
It contravenes the Equality Act on grounds of race and religion.

Give them a history lesson on liberal values. Quote Hannah Arendt and Thomas Jefferson. State how liberal values rely on the ability to think and discuss critically.

State that liberalism should only be intolerant of intolerance and ask what is intolerant about discussing discrimination against women from biological points of voice and why this is important.

Ask how using trans activist language isn't necessary liberal but can be authoritarian and can be about imposing control over women is it is not used with integrity and with care. Over use of words, like transphobe can render it meaningless and indeed manipulate it to be abusive in its own right, by making women fearful of expressing their needs.

State why a women might have conflicts of interests with a trans woman in some circumstances and why those differences are important when it comes to discrimination against women and why making it about trans women and women together has the potential to be a problem even though there is much common ground.

Ask why it is simply a case of being with trans or against trans and it's that a bit simplistic for a university. This is a propaganda technique and the argument should be strong enough to stand alone without so many manipulative propaganda techniques. Ask why the university is supporting a cause with so much propaganda and and isn't supporting critical thinking.

Democracy is not about listening to the person making the most noise but also listening to those who don't voice things as forcefully, often because they are more vulnerable or less able to. Women often are conditioned not to be confrontational, are conditioned not to put themselves first because they have responsibilities to others and because they face abuse when they do try and assert themselves. State how this trans agenda being deliberately so divisive in its language and strategy is working directly again women and their interests in some areas.

I tend to find that if i am uncomfortable with the current occupants of a single sex space I either turn around and come back later, stay put behind the curtain or door or pack up and get out as quick as possible.

I don't find that all spaces are permanently closed to me, just not always desirable to use, and to be honest its far more likely to be the sanitary conditions i find objectionable than the clientele, but the same principle applies.

It might not always been convenient or my number one choice, but that is just one of the compromises that have to be made when using public facilities, no matter your religion, or if male, female, trans or cis, public spaces are just that.

"Scurry about, women, because never forget you're only allowed into public places on suffrance.

Remember always that penis bearers are the real citizens and as such the only ones truly entitled to access every square inch of "public" space and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

Oh and btw, I choose not to acknowledge cis as a supposedly neutral descriptor as I believe it promotes a hateful ideology. So please don't call me cis.

It might not always been convenient or my number one choice, but that is just one of the compromises that have to be made when using public facilities, no matter your religion, or if male, female, trans or cis, public spaces are just that.

I really don't think a compromise female people make when using a female space should be that there may be males there. Thats ridiculous. Its a female space. Males are not female.

And before 'male cleaners' is brought up, thats fieerent as when they are there signs are up to let you know and such.

fieerent - different

My last University is too far gone with this. I went with the intention of joining the feminist society, and out of interest followed them on Facebook first. Within a month they had changed their name to the anti-sexism society and their posts were either trans pandering or intersectional feminism (which they don’t understand).

It’s like putting a hood over young women’s heads, while they have the ability to share their voices and reach so many people. The society seemed to just teach women their voices weren’t important, that the only viewpoint that matters is trans.

As I’ve said before, the feminism lecture on the female penis pushed me to peak trans. In fact that whole class was horrific, and every feminist reading given out was almost something we were encouraged to feel embarrassed about.

I graduated two years ago. My university pushed me to start questioning the trans ideology and pushed me to peak trans.

Solidarity sister.

One of my sons graduated in the last couple of years. We've talked about this stuff on campus a few times and his response has always gone along the lines of...

"We just stayed out of their way as much as possible. All wankers. Ruin everything they touch and spoil any good time anyone is ever having."

But he isn't the political type, so I don't think it ever bothered him too much. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to be a female student who wants to do some actual feminist organising these days. You have my sympathies, OP.

I tend to find that if i am uncomfortable with the current occupants of a single sex space I either turn around and come back later, stay put behind the curtain or door or pack up and get out as quick as possible.

I don't find that all spaces are permanently closed to me, just not always desirable to use, and to be honest its far more likely to be the sanitary conditions i find objectionable than the clientele, but the same principle applies.

It might not always been convenient or my number one choice, but that is just one of the compromises that have to be made when using public facilities, no matter your religion, or if male, female, trans or cis, public spaces are just that.

I would like to answer that with one word.
Bollocks.

Under law, if you are in hospital that is legally defined as 'private'.space not 'public' despite it being publically run and owned.

This is because if you are in hospital you do not have the ability to just shuffle off if you want. The same goes for certain other spaces that are deemed public. You are supposed to enjoy the same privacy you would enjoy at home. If someone is making you feel uncomfortable, hospitals have a duty of care to respect that because sex is protected characteristic. There is a caveat about care givers, but this is based on need. Since other patients are not in anyway connected to this then they fall outside that caveat. If gender suddenly trumps this current protection then that is a removal of current rights and is unacceptable.

Even in places which do not have the same legal definition, there is a right for women to know this because of things like religious beliefs. If a woman shares a space with a man she could be discriminated against in certain circumstances which could put her at risk.

If women are not being given an alternative they are being discriminated against.

The ability to know if you are being discriminated against, also rests on you being given information. If this information is withheld you are being discriminated against by an institution.

Under law public toilets still are 'private' in respect of sexual indecency. If you allow self identification you make it more difficult to define and therefore bring a successful prosecution if it did happen. It therefore weakens the law and protects for women in a very real way because gate keeping which enshrined safe guarding by the mere process is removed.

So yes it matters. And this idea of just 'getting on with it' even if we don't like it, rather misses the point about why current protects are in place and why women are concerned about how people could exploit intended proposals to their detriment.

The fact that women are not being allowed to debate this or feel too intimidated to stand up to trans activists, is an erosion of women's power to express their discrimination.

It’s male privilege using gender to appropriate sex and then make all kinds of claims from that point on which threaten those who are of that appropriated sex. And who have suffered the burdens of their sex and gender being used against them. And who are only, pitifully reasonably, just trying to hold on to the very few concessions or protections they already have available to them as a less advantaged sex via sex segregation.

I can’t understand all this supposedly right thinking complacency. I thought appropriation from a less advantaged group by an advantaged group was a really bad thing from an intersectional viewpoint?

That’s a critique in all kinds of scenarios of race, class, economic disparity etc etc, but apparently not sex. That’s what Rachel Dolezal was chucked out of her post for.

Somehow sex is a totally different issue apparently and now we seem to be electing those who doing the appropriation and seeking to exploit it INTO explicitly sex-segregated reserved posts. WTAF?

The same goes for certain other spaces that are deemed public. You are supposed to enjoy the same privacy you would enjoy at home.

Err No your not.

I wonder if there is any university in the country where women students or lecturers are standing up to this? What has happened to us? With no-platforming at universities of amazing campaigning women like Linda Bellos because of the trans cult and fat cat vice principals on £800,000 a year, it seems British academia has lost its moral compass

Check out posts on academics' corner from time-to-time. Academics are scared of losing their jobs if they dare question.

Nothing useful to add Offred but just wanted to send solidarity - it sounds maddening and I too would want to scream. Xx

It sounds infuriating and ridiculous.
I work in a profession that by its nature only deals in women (actual women) and by this nature almost all my colleagues and all of my bosses and managers are actual women too. The trans issue just doesn't come up because it's irrelevant 99% of the time. Our services are obviously open to TIFs.

I realise by these posts on MN that I'm living in a sheltered feminist bubble and realise these infringements of rights are probably just a stone through away. Scary stuff

If you don't like cis, i saw on the website terf is a slur The term uterus possessing person- or something to that affect. I cannot fathom how they think reducing women down to their reproductive anatomy is acceptable. Furthermore I don't understand by their own logic how this is not "triggering" due to being a stark reminder of their absence of a uterus?
This has to stop, we must all reject the narrative

It depends to some extent on the demographics. My previous university was very working class and had a comparatively high percentage of Muslim students. There was no gender-identity nonsense, and when a lecturer on my particular course tried to start a debate about no-platforming, he was surprised that it was almost unanimously agreed to be a very bad idea.

My current university is very white and middle-class and very concerned with all these issues. I didn't even bother trying to join the feminist society there. I looked at their website, where they have a recommended feminist reading list. Someone has left a message complaining that there weren't enough transwomen mentioned, and they got a profusely grovelling apology and a 'transfeminists' category added to the list. Their trans rep is a 'non-binary' person, who as far as I can see is a very feminine-presenting woman with unusually coloured hair who likes to be referred to as 'they.'

I cope by ignoring all of it, but I'm aware that this does nothing to actually solve the problem. I wouldn't be able to keep quiet if someone called me 'cis,' though.

Astraia was your first University in the UK? I guess for my undergrad the conversation never came up, we were all from such diverse backgrounds we had more important things to talk about. However, my last Uni really prides itself in being multicultural but at the same time shutting up dissenting ideas.

OP I hope you can stay strong, I couldn’t and I didn’t speak, in fact I left because I couldn’t cope with the while situation. It’s something I will regret until I go back to finish the course and speak up, which I will.