An open letter to the organisers of the "We need to talk" tour from a group of feminists in Ireland

[BattleCuntGalactica]

An Open Letter to the Organisers of The "We Need To Talk" tour from a group of feminists in Ireland..

Pasted for the link-phobic:

We write as cisgender feminists in Ireland to the organisers of the ‘We Need To Talk’ speaking tour who plan to hold an event in Ireland in February.

The main purpose of the ‘We Need To Talk’ tour is to promote opposition to the proposed reform of the Gender Recognition Act in the UK. The reformed act would allow people to self-declare their gender (currently in the UK people are forced to go through the indignity of medical diagnosis in order to have their gender recognised). This proposed legal reform is a necessary and urgent step toward undoing the stigma, discrimination and violence that trans people in the UK currently endure. The organisers of ‘We Need to Talk’ are making a stop here in Ireland, under the guise of talking about abortion. However, their motives remain clear to us, and we write this letter to show that their exclusionary, discriminatory attitudes to trans people – in particular trans women – are not welcome here in Ireland. We will not sit in silence while the organisers of this meeting peddle ideas and opinions that are actively harmful to the well-being and safety of our comrades.

Trans women and men in Ireland have the legal right to self-declare their gender. Trans people and particularly trans women are an inextricable part of our feminist community. The needs of trans people are part of our campaigns. There is no difference between ‘feminists’ spreading transphobic and transmisogynist ideas or spreading racism or homophobia. We want no part of it, and we don’t want it here. So yes, we do need to talk.

We can see from your social media posts about your tour and its contents, that your opposition to the GRA is based on the idea that feminist organising and women’s rights will somehow be harmed through trans inclusivity and organising with our trans sisters. We know this is not true. We, the signatories of this letter, organise hand in hand with our trans sisters. Together, cis and trans, we are Irish feminism. Trans women are our sisters; their struggles are ours, our struggles theirs. They were our sisters before any state-issued certification said so and will always be no matter what any legislation says, either now or in the future.

In the south of Ireland*, trans women have been able to declare themselves women and have the state change their documentation to reflect that declaration since 2015. The sky has not fallen. Cis women have not lost anything whatsoever from this. If anything, all of Irish feminism has gained: our struggle for bodily autonomy gains in strength and momentum through this victory for our trans sisters. There are few things as feminists in Ireland we can say we have been pleased to see passed by the state. This, although flawed in its lack of recognition of trans children and non-binary people, is one.

So tell us: what is it that you know of Irish feminism that you feel entitled and authorised to come here and lecture us on? Dublin has not been part of the UK since 1921, yet you originally described ‘We Need To Talk’ as a UK tour while still including Dublin on your list of venues. This gives us some idea of how little you know about Irish realities, north or south.

We do not need you here. We have not had your support in our fight for #repealthe8th, our fight against the historical and ongoing impact of the Magdalene Laundries, our fight for taking back control of our hospitals from religious orders, our fight for justice for women and babies tortured and entombed in Mother and Baby homes.

Do you know, for example, that in the north of Ireland, legally part of the UK, women still cannot access safe and legal abortion? Have you campaigned on this in any way? If you have, why don’t we know about it? Did you strike in solidarity with us on March 8th last year? Did you even know we were striking and for what? Do you have any kind of concept of what a feminism in a country shaped by struggle against Empire looks like? Did you take even a second to consider that, in assuming you have the right to come here in any kind of position of feminist authority, you’re behaving with the arrogance of just that imperialism? We have had enough of colonialism in Ireland without needing more of it from you

We neither want nor need your lecture tour. You’re not welcome here.

Is sinnse,

Sinéad Redmond
Clare Kelly
Tracey Ryan
Linda Kavanagh
Lisa Keogh Finnegan
Antoinette Barrett Murphy
Helen Guinane
Aoife FitzGibbon O’Riordan
Rose Mullen
Maeve Fogarty
Caitríona McGrath
Janet O’Sullivan
Wendy Lyon
Eve Dove
Anne Mulhall
Sarah Clancy
Joanna Schaffalitzky
Jane D’Altuin
Fionnuala Murphy
Aislinn Wallace
Mary McAuliffe
Lora O’Brien
Nicola-Marie O’Riordan
Aisling Dolan
Sharon Nolan
Ciara Miller
Eileen Flynn
Maeve Foggy
Sinéad Dolan
Aoife Dermody
Marie McCormack
Suzy Cantrell
Annie Hoey
Stephie Lord
Linnea Dunne
Samantha Kenny
Sinéad Halpin
Siobhán Cawley
Fionnghuala Nic Roibeaird
Caoimhe Doyle
Roisin Blade
Rita Wild
Rebekka K. Steg
Niamh P. Keoghan
Pamela Rochford
Yvonne Murphy
Eileen Flynn
Jean Smith
Caoimhe Ní Néill
Paula Dennan
Jenni Owen-Thomas
Emma Allen
Erika Csibi
Sarah Ferrigan
Joanne Dennehy
Eve Campbell
Jantien Schoenmakers
Sinéad Lowry
Maria Power
Kyna Delaney
Shauna Kelly
CD Prince
Lorna O’Hara
Cat Byrne
Aislinn O’Keeffe
Jane Robb
Karen Walsh
Ania Richardson
Aoife O’Connor
Alissa Dunsky
Rose Pelham
Donnla Brighid Nic Gearailt
Sinéad Williams
Hilary Phelan
Julie Ní Mháille
Joanne Donnelly
Jen Fagan
Saorlaith Ní Shuibhne
Sarah Mc guill
Rebecca Heslin
MaryAnne Daly
Kate Antosik-Parsons
Syd Delz
Terri Lawlor
Rebecca Heslin
Rebecca Jeffers
Clara Wolfe
Michelle Byrne
Louisa Moss
Aisling Cronin
Ciara Doyle
Niamh Beirne
Shirley Somers
Ilaina Khairulzaman
Alexandra Day
Priscilla Sheehan
Claire Loughran
Betsy Cornwell Lyons
Jodie Condon
Charlot Kristensen
S. Buckley
Katherine Cochrane
Felicity Rawson
Eavan Brennan
Gyunghee Park
Jane Magnet
Karyn Shaw
Saoirse Ní Chiaragáin
Amy Ní Chaoimh
Mairead Enright
Corinne O’Neill
Catriona Finn
Francisca Ribeiro
Niamh Cullen
Niamh Doherty
Sarah Fox
Angela Coraccio
Ciara burke
Michelle McCarthy
Rosa Bronks
Joanna Doran
Roisin Pierce
Sarah Ní Riain
Bella FitzPatrick
Hayley Brabazon
Catriona O’Brien
Zoe Hughes
Clara Purcell
Aisling Hayes
Siobhán Nevin
Emma Conway
Liath James
Mo Ludwig
Alice Henehan
Elaine Crory
Alison McDonnell
Jennifer Gore
Carly Bailey
Irma Bochorishvili
Joanna Langier
Debbie O Rourke
Ellie Byrne
Emer Smith
Eimear Dunne
Kate Mehegan
Eimear O Shea
Frisha Ishak
Sinéad Ruane
Leanne Davoren
Caroline West
Marie-Jeanne Jacob
Emma Day
Jessica Lawrence
Jennifer Browne
Ruth Maxwell
Aine O’Donnell
Evelyn Fitzpatrick
Megan Gallagher
Niamh O’Brien
Siobhán NíCheallaigh
Katie Dickson
Sarah Bevan
Aisling Bolton
Jessica Conor
Nessa Fitzgerald
Melanie McArdle
Lizzy MacKenzie
Rebecca Gorman
Sarah Lyons
Ellen Gough
Grace Healy
Bridget Fitzsimons
Maggie Bent
Ayfa Twomey
Kate O’Brien
Lizzy MacKenzie
Lisa Russell
Lizzy MacKenzie
Katie Donoghue
Aoife O’Donoghue
Clare Ní Cheallaigh
Sile Ni Dhubhghaill
Aisling Crowther
Meg Beare
Jenna Clarke-Molloy
Orla Delaney
Sian Conway
Claudia Conroy
Heather Leahy
Niamh McDonald
Emma Mattingley
Elizabeth Marshall l
Kelly Earley
Aine O Flaherty
Emer McHugh
Ciara Lynch
Rhona Lonerga
Clodagh Corry
Megan Nolan
Fiona Smith
Jessica Nic Eoin
Lorien Ennis
Sarah Slattery
Catherine Byrne
Lauren O’Keeffe
Elaine Murphy
Rebek’ah McKinney-Perry
Aileen Ferris
Maria Beirne
Niamh Beirne
Orlagh McIlveen
Aine O’Connell
Yvonne Lydon
Aisling Keane
Meabh Gallagher
Amy Ní Cholgáin
Eli Olafsen
Maria Nugent
Laura Mallon
Jen Aicken
Cindy Hill
Laura Fitzpatrick
Sarah McCarthy
Elaine Edmonds
Tiegan Johnston
Niamh Byrne
Kathryn Adams
Barbara Lee
Fiona Murphy
Aisling Reina
Catherine Allen
Maria O’Neill
Aileen O’Carroll
Ericka Duffy
Sandra Duffy
Gillian Fagan
Ellen Grehan
Rosa Thompson
Emma Burns
Lisa Kennedy
Ruth Fitzpatrick
Aideen Blackwood
Sorcha Walsh
Muireann McGlynn
Kristi O’Connor
Kate Bedford
Amy Joyce
Saffron Doporto
Antje (Catherine) Karl
Fi Rooney
Jana Aleksić
Aoife Riach Kelly
Lou Walker
Rachel Ryan
Laura Brown
Nicole Wevers

(Signatories are at time of posting).

Well bloody said.

The silence is deafening. 😸

I hear ya sister !

@Truthstar to be honest, I figured this would largely fall on deaf ears, but thank you. ♥️🌹

@BattleCuntGalactica
You are receiving no replies because nobody can be bothered to read your long, boring post about why men in dresses should be allowed in women's spaces.

You lost me at ‘cis’...

@Fekko
Me too. Since when do women have to now identify as "cis women" to avoid confusion... surely it's pretty obvious already.

I figured this would largely fall on deaf ears

You are so tediously wrong. Honestly, trans identified males are not women. Never will be. Never can be.

I refuse to identify in relation to what I’m not. It’s bloody offensive.

Shall we just now call men ‘not women’ or ‘other than women’?

Have signed. Thanks for sharing.

Not liking the tone of the open letter.

Transwomen are NOT women unless they have undergone realignment IMV. All others are beardy men wearing pink or yellow dresses and size ten heels. Some of whom will invade our spaces just because they can. Those who do not want to do this and live a quiet discrimination free life can do so. But it is a politicised issue now, not an individual freedom issue anymore.

Anyway, plenty of girls name ideas there!

What makes you think speak for all the women in Ireland? There are many women who don’t agree with the law changes, but they are silenced by shouts of “bigot”. Nobody is forcing you to listen, so what gives you the right to no platform a group that others want to listen to? Btw, don’t fucking insult me with your ‘cis’ bullshit!

Amazing. Filled a terf bingo card already! 😸

Yip, how arrogant and progressive to silence women you don’t agree with - and to claim your views are the only views that count. What about irish women and feminists who want to hear this talk and discuss the issues?

Yeah, another lost at “ciswomen”

Signed, a feminist in Ireland.

Shove your cis up your LaLa

Haven't we already had a long thread on this?

The interesting thing for me from that was that Ireland have an exemption around prison and also religion.

Another Irish woman and feminist they don't speak for. How arrogant to assume they speak for all

How many self-ID transmen in Ireland can become Catholic priests I wonder?

Or is it only transwomen who are allowed open access to women’s sports, refuges and other sex segregated services?

Tbh, I'd say a lot of politicians were torn on whether to sign that, the virtue signalling is strong in Leinster house.

There are a couple of names on there that I'm disappointed but not surprised to see. One I work with. We get on well and I knew we probably had different views on this, but discussion in the office is usually very light so it's never come up. I wish I didn't know for sure.

not a feminist if you refer to women as cis . so basically no platforming then. so sad they have been brainwashed by the transcult...

Most agree with other posters for the most part, but I do agree with the signatories that wonder that a load of Brits rocking up in Dublin with the ‘need to talk’ tour, citing abortion is just unbelievably crass

Oh dear what I meant to say was turning up in Dublin with a tour so fundamentally based on UK issues hastily rebranded as ‘about abortion’ is not going to go down well at all, though I do agree with previous posters in all other regards..

c75kp0r completely agree.

Maybe I'm not understanding right but seems like a bunch of women worried that the trans cray cray will spread from uk to Ireland. I have been thinking about that too and hoping that we don't end up with the few women we have bullied out of the Dail because they've done nothing to further trans' rights --why would they, still waiting for more women's rights