Man Friday hits the news!

[NotAWhacktivist]

This doesn't seem to have been posted yet. Hats off to this women (she has posted here about her efforts)

Topless swimmer wades into trans row
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/9a8e437c-2a35-11e8-8cd0-05c64066237c

I disagree. It was the most effective action so far, going by the press reaction.

Discussion of #ManFriday at Hampstead Heath men-only pool:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3261705-Turns-out-Hampstead-swimming-ponds-are-single-SEX-after-all

Daily Mail article:
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5780623/Female-protesters-break-men-lido-leap-pool.html#comments

#ManFriday website: manfridayuk.org/take-part/

Invading men's spaces is absolutely the right thing to do. They seem to have trouble getting abstract concepts and need a real-life example to get them going. I'm really pleased that men at the pool were annoyed and called the cops. Also commented on the MoS piece but mentioned the word 'penis' not sure if that is allowed. But it's odd how many comments there were on there saying 'if men went into women's spaces there'd be a riot' when that is exactly what is NOT happening when they come in to our places. They are there already and we are expected to accept it.

Northernparent68
Invading men's spaces is the only way to get the message across. There have been so many comments from men along the lines of 'how would you like it if men were allowed in the women's spaces?', not realising that this whole protest started because men were being allowed in the women's spaces.

Hampstead ladies' pond is now open to anyone who says they are a woman:

In a statement, the KLPA said it was committed “to helping to create at the Ladies’ Pond an inclusive environment for all women, including transgender women, which is free from discrimination, harassment or victimisation”.

“Although it is tempting to assume someone’s gender simply by their appearance, it’s important to try to avoid doing so and to be aware of the needs of genuinely transgender women.

www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/09/debate-over-inclusion-of-trans-women-in-women-only-spaces-intensifies

I see your point but had this stunt not occurred the men would have been sympathetic This stunt has made enemies when it could have made allies. The fact some of the men did nt get the point illustrates the tactic was ineffective

Northern until we did this "stunt" men didn't know, or didn't care. If we had protested outside a parliamentary office nobody would notice, and nobody would care. We have written, we have sought meetings, we have lobbied and guess what? Nobody notices and nobody cares, and we are ignored. We have got this issue into the press and people are talking. Yes, we've made some enemies, but we have made far more allies.

Your comment about enemies is interesting, actually. Why should we care? It's just a play on "women, be nice" or telling us to behave. Well thank you, but no. If the powers that be and the trans lobby had played fair and let us speak then we wouldn't have been pushed to direct action. Direct action that gets noticed and means people start talking so it's clearly a positive thing.

The mainstream media is covering this in a fairly sympathetic way. I would argue that this is an indication of it being pretty bloody effective.

If only doing something "nice" would have had the same effect

Not true. Both #manfriday and its spinoff male counterpart #womanwednesday have done sterling work in getting this issue and the wider ones into the media and debated. Three cheers.

Sorry that was to northernparent.

The mainstream media is covering this in a fairly sympathetic way. I would argue that this is an indication of it being pretty bloody effective.

Absolutely!

Northernparent what this 'stunt' demonstrates very plainly is that men want single sex spaces ... just because, really. They don't have to justify it in any way, or provide facts and figures to show that some women may be a risk factor to men. No, all they have to do is just say they don't want women in their pool or their changing rooms and voila! the police are called to remove those women.
Why on earth can't women be granted the same courtesy?

Absolutely agree and support you with this work.
Its definitely the best action so far. Its made the headlines and even better its half term so lots more people might be reading news and listening to radio programmes.
Bloody brilliant all of you.

Your comment about enemies is interesting, actually. Why should we care? It's just a play on "women, be nice" or telling us to behave. Well thank you, but no. If the powers that be and the trans lobby had played fair and let us speak then we wouldn't have been pushed to direct action. Direct action that gets noticed and means people start talking so it's clearly a positive thing.

YY

Enemies are always made whenever women stand up for themselves or do anything for themselves or other women that doesn't involve pleasing or serving men. This is no different.

Shameful behaviour. Not sure what this witch hunt of the transgender community is about. I have a transgender daughter and this does nothing for her self esteem or sense of belonging. It really is pathetic to take this up as a cause. I am a feminist and I am shocked and ashamed by these women who protest about the new gender legislation. Get a life and stand up for something worth standing up for instead of demonising the minorities of this world!

I dont have a problem with trans people. I doubt anyone on this thread has. This is about self ID

I don't have a problem with trans people, I just don't want penis' in my spaces so will fight self ID with all I have.

Affluent misogynist white dudes aren't an oppressed minority and it is their interests being represented by trans ideology and trans activism. Supporting affluent misogynist white dudes is not feminist. I think it is shameful supporting that male supremacist movement and collaborating in the silencing and persecution of women. And I couldn't give less of a fuck about the self esteem of any male who prioritises his 'sense of belonging' over the fundamental rights of women and girls to be safe, to be able to think and speak for ourselves, to set our own boundaries, and to meet and organise with other women.

If you want to throw yourself under the bus you go ahead @m1randa1, but you have no right to pull the rest of us under too.

Who has ever heard of a man trying to get into female toilets by dressing up as a woman. And what is he going to do there - break down the cubicle to attack her? It's a joke. What isn't a joke, is that Transgender women can't use mens toilets often because sometimes they get spat at and jeered at, so what are they supposed to do? They feel like a woman. They don't choose to be transgender, it isn't a choice. And maybe this campaign isn't against transgender women, but it feels like it.

Typical Daily Mail hate story

I don't agree that gender recognition is madness. I think attacking gender recognition is madness.

m1randa1
Attacking sex based protections and not the reason they are needed is wrong.

Transgender women can't use mens toilets often because sometimes they get spat at and jeered at, so what are they supposed to do?
Why has this got anything to do with women? Men being violent to other men is a problem, but it's not up to women to solve it.

Where is your evidence of men spitting and jeering at other men in men's toilets because of how those men identify?

Where is your evidence that being transgender is not a choice? Where is your evidence that transgender is anything more than a subculture filled with narcissists and fetishists? Transgender doesn't mean dysphoria or medical need, it literally means anyone who says they are transgender*, including occasional cross dressers, drag queens, 'feminine men' and 'masculine women', and anything else under the ever expanding umbrella.

It means Stefonknee and Alex Drummond and Philip Bunce and Danielle Muscato. Show me evidence that these male people are actually 'female inside'. Anything at all. Show me evidence that they differ in any way from men who don't identify as trans.

The joke here is your pretense to knowing enough about this topic to judge anyone else's actions and opinions. So far you've shown zero awareness of what transgender means but a whole lot of willingness to berate and insult women more educated than you when they prioritise female lives over male demands.

(*except when trans activists find it inconvenient, they're quick to abandon self definition when it doesn't work in their favour)

What this 'stunt' demonstrates very plainly is that men want single sex spaces ... just because, really. They don't have to justify it in any way, or provide facts and figures to show that some women may be a risk factor to men. No, all they have to do is just say they don't want women in their pool or their changing rooms and voila! the police are called to remove those women.
Why on earth can't women be granted the same courtesy?

YY to this^^
Women are expected to budge up, ask no questions, or if they dare to ask questions then they are a disgusting TERF and a transphobe... whereas men just call the police and get taken seriously because it makes them feel uncomfortable having women in men’s spaces.

I think having a transgender daughter has given me a good insight into this topic, actually. They are not spitting at other men. They are spitting in the face of a transgender woman. What is incredibly sad is that so many men and women make judgements about others that they know so little about. Still, throughout history people like to find a scapegoat for all their problems. This is the latest.