AIBU GoFundMe addiction

[DistaffSide]

I've recently become addicted to a Gofundme campaign. Every time I press refresh the total raised has jumped up and I don't seem to be able to stop.

I'm trying to stay within Mumsnet rules here, so obviously I can't link or promote it.

Does anyone else have this enjoyable problem?

The analogy with parenthood above really made me think.

Yes there is a legal inclusion of people who are not biological parents being parents, as in legally named and recognised as parents. There is a social inclusion of people who are not biological parents but act every day as parents and its their lived reality. We still have a separate definition and term for biological parents, and there are specific rights and the name identifying those biological parents. We certainly say that adoptive parents ARE parents - but no one thinks it's appropriate to shout 'adoptive parents ARE parents' meaning they are the biological parents (and here's a lot of tenuous faux science blurb to confuse the issue).

I am perfectly happy for men to be able to take a legal identity as a woman, through the gate keeping process of GRC although it needs reform. I am perfectly happy for men to have a social identity as women if they live and act that reality. It does not make them biological women and there still need to be some reserved spaces around sex equality, privacy, dignity, issues specific to women biology and intimate care that cannot be surrendered for no better reason than men disliking biological women being permitted boundaries.

I get so annoyed with the 'but its so hard for them' argument. How oppressed a group is has absolutely no bearing on facts or the legal rights of another group. It's an appeal to pity - give up your boundaries for the poor little sausages, your legal rights come second to hurt feelings - and it would only be expected to work on women. Misogyny in action.

twitter.com/MarkACollett/status/953523145394327552

This is what the non-Labour, non-TRA world thinks of transwomen on Labour's AWS.

More than a thousand likes and more than a thousand retweets in half a day. The replies, from the account's largely right-leaning followers, range from sensible women worried for their daughters to actual transphobia, rather than the desire to protect women's rights being branded as transphobia.

Of course, most of these people don't like radical feminism any more than they like transactivism and probably don't think AWS are a good idea at all. But it makes me realise what idiots transactivists are, directing their abuse at women, who could, if their rights were respected, be the best allies trans people could hope for.

If they could only see that if they want solidarity they must reciprocate.

Very well said, Soap

The whole thing makes me sad. Women are women. Trans women are trans women. Neither is more important or more deserving of rights and protections than the other but they are not the same. And why should they have to be? We'd all be more productive as allies, equal but different, fighting each other's corners against the patriarchy.

But since Cloud Cuckoo Land is a long way off we just have to stand up for ourselves and try not to get walked over. All very depressing.

We certainly say that adoptive parents ARE parents - but no one thinks it's appropriate to shout 'adoptive parents ARE parents' meaning they are the biological parents (and here's a lot of tenuous faux science blurb to confuse the issue).

I was thinking about this today from a different perspective - that of an adopted adult. From my perspective there was a lot of pretence and fiction around adoption in the 1960s - pretending that women weren't having sex and babies outside of wedlock or that a child did not have an unalienable right to know his parents' identity. And it was largely a construct that benefited the patriarchy - there were no unmarried fathers in those homes.

But when I go to the doctor and she asks me my medical history, I don't give the medical history of my mum and dad - my adoptive parents. That would be just silly and dangerous. The legal fiction only goes so far.

That makes so much sense Pallisers . The adoptive parents I know feel it's so important for their children to know that they value their biological parents and don't want to erase them, modern thinking is moving more towards not concealing the facts, that it doesn't help children, that no matter how biological parents may have acted they are always going to have a primal bond with their children, and will always have that separate, unique role in their life.

As usual the trans activist ideology is regressive and separate from all other developed schools of modern thought. Safeguarding included.

Thanks for posting that Langcleg.
It just reinforces that Labour making itself a laughing stock to people on the street.
People in my community would look at this candidate who was presented to them as a woman, and think Labour had completely lost the plot, as they can see with their own eyes that it is a man.
There's a post on there that is simple yet quite powerful,
'Labour tells us this is a woman, how can we believe anything they say'
It's obvious the Government or Labour has not thought through the actual implications of self id outside of a cosmopolitan City.
I dread to think of a transactivist gobbing off in a working mans club, here in my very working class community.

As someone mentioned it, I’m an adopter. I’m so worried about the day social services introduce some vulnerable, traumatised kid to its new mum-with-an-Adam’s-Apple. And no-ones allowed to say anything to explain this to the kid because we all have to pretend we haven’t noticed.

(For the record, and because everything must be qualified and caveated, I have no problem whatsoever with gay adoption. I hate that I feel I need to state that explicitly.)

Someone mentioned the other day this looks like ending with people made to sign a legal declaration 'trans women are women' to be allowed to do anything involving a public role or public facilitated role.

The last time this happened it was down to a King on the throne who was insane with syphilis and dissenters were hung or beheaded.

£15,732

Can the next person who donates pllleeeease add on an extra £3 to get rid of that weird £2 (now £7), it's bugging me

LangCleg that's a fascinating read. It doesn't make for pleasant reading in some ways but it does demonstrate how most men will look at a transwoman and free from all concern about receiving death and rape threats, will simply go, 'ner.' They just don't buy it. The 'woman' in that video looks absolutely nothing like one. And I can see them going out knocking on doors and certain older people being flipping terrified and not remotely understanding what a transperson is. They're hardly likely to switch their support to Labour if they don't already vote that way.

And I thought this photo on that twitter feed was pertinent

Incidentally, just browsing through my photos, this is one of my favourite feminist photographs. It's Emmeline Pankhurst, I believe. The difference between her and the policeman arresting her is so stark. She couldn't identify out of being female to vote and her biology is clearly why she's a member of an oppressed class. She's tiny. The man looks as if he could literally pick her up with one hand. She had no chance against him.

It makes me laugh that the TAs think that by opening up the crowd funder to the daylight of wider public awareness they'll get loads of support. They won't. They'll be laughed at, in a considerably crueller way than we do it.

We can call this the Ralf Little effect.

Love the user name :)

Ah Eddie Izzard. I heard him on radio 4 yesterday saying how amazing he is for coming out as transgender 30 odd years. His re-writing of history and jump on the bandwagon had passed me by until then.

I thought he was just a man wearing what he wanted despite the constraints of society's expectations. That was always his schtick wasn't it?

£15,813

I hope I still remember the "ralf little effect" when it next happens, that's genius. I doubt it will be long to wait though so I should be okay...

I really hope Ralf Little feels like a right plonker after his Tweets over the last couple of days.

There was a brilliant poster - Daisy Daisy xx I think, who brilliantly sent him a series of tweets succinctly setting out the issues. I really hope he read them.

I love seeing donations which are £7, £6 or similar and not ending with a 5 or 0, I assume they are from people on a seriously tight budget and contributing whatever they can afford. I find that even more impressive than the larger donations, although I would love to see some more of those. And if people can't afford to donate anything it is just as valuable to support and understand the issues and how they effect women. I am interested to see it rise as many people get their long awaiting end of January payday.

Oh, just seen his twitter. Apparently he has 'learnt a lot' and 'listened to different viewpoints' but stands by his original view. So he can pretend that he has carefully thought about everything and still come to his 'right on' conclusion and then swiftly move on. Phew!

I wonder if he is one of the 'trans exclusionary in the sheets' brocialists?

I shouldn't think lads mag fave Ralf will be snogging stubble any time soon. But he totally thinks transwomen are women. Deeply. Bigly.

Well, that is disappointing. I thought he was a bit of a coward, the way he back tracked and ran. I still think so.

£15,923 of £30,000 goal
Raised by 947 people in 5 days, including Laurel Hubbard and Momentum!

That picture of the policeman picking her up like that - well it's a letphor for what we all go through everyday isn't it? Men can just pick us up and put us where they want us. We're right there when they need us - not anywhere to be seen when we need them.

Of course we should just make way for male born transwomen (with penises) on our AWS, of course we should let them into our spaces - toilets, wards, refuges, changing rooms, prisons.... of course we should have rape counsellors with functioning penises, and nurses with stubble and penises doing our smear test/breast exams.

Hey - Ralf Little - just erase us - you won't notice anyway.