Hello folks,
I’ve been thinking all sorts of thoughts about the current situation over the last few weeks/days/hours, and although there isn’t going to be as much coherence to my writing as I’d want, I just wanted to post something rather than nothing.
There are going to be hard times ahead. The biggest hurdle that we face is our fear. That fear is not misplaced. Many of us have been disturbed by the news that our fellow women have had social media accounts closed, been suspended from jobs or prominent positions, or been targeted by police as a direct result of their refusal to remain quiet about their concerns. We know that we are referred to as ‘TERFS’, and that we are exhorted to ‘Die Cis Scum, Die’. Worse still, we are told that one of our sisters was assaulted for no reason other than that she attended a talk (at which trans representatives were also present and part of the presentation and discussions of the evening). This news (and the other innumerable small and larger instances of aggression) inevitably creates a climate of tension and fear. We fear sharing our views both privately and publicly for the very real possibility that there will be repercussions. We fear the repercussions for our continued education, employment, and social standing. And, for many of us, we fear the repercussions where we are most vulnerable as women: we fear the repercussions for our children. We fear not being able to put food on our children’s plates if we lose our jobs. We fear the abuse that they will surely receive if we speak out as this debate continues, and we are called upon to speak up. And as we continue to hear examples of the aggression directed towards us for speaking our truth, we may even fear for their physical safety. I am aware of the risks we face in speaking out. I feel so very scared. But I cannot remain ignorant of the risk we face by remaining silent.
I feel a deep sadness at the rift that this issue may cause between women and our trans sisters. I stand with transwomen (and transmen) in their struggle for recognition of their needs and access to services and will continue to do so. I have provided training to various organisations across the UK on trans issues and needs, and again hope to continue to do so. I have used my relative privilege as a platform to amplify the voices of those with less power. I now face the accusation of transphobia by so-called trans-rights activists when I raise the question that many of us raise: that we need to discuss how to best meet everyone’s needs without eroding the long-recognised needs of women to feel safe. I make no claim to have the answers to that question, but I am chilled at the strength of belief that we do not have the right to ask the question by the refusal to consult, no platforming, and #nodebate.
And so we need to collectively think about how to keep raising that debate, and to show our individual support of the issue. I remain in absolute admiration and awe of the incredibly brave women who have identified themselves in public to speak on our behalves. I owe them, as do many of us, an enormous debt of gratitude. Their ability to speak out despite facing the same barriers, spoken and unspoken threats, and risks faced by us all gives me heart. I am aware that many of us want to contribute, but do not know how to do this safely. (It may be that it is not possible. Possibly this is an issue that will require us to be prepared to lose everything to save something).
And so, in comradeship sisters, I ask that we dig deep. I ask that we spend some time, individually or collectively, thinking about what we can do to speak up whilst staying safe. Again, I have no answers, but a very big list of questions. I've been thinking about the amazing feminist activism of the Garneau Sisterhood (Google it). They managed to achieve so much because they had a clear identity/ 'brand' (e.g. Garneau Sisterhood), and all the activism was done without a single person having to speak up - posters and campaigning was done anonymously by the Garneau Sisterhood.
I think it would help if we had a collective term to define who we are (there’s lots of good reasons for this if we’re trying to make this an issue of public awareness). Yes, we’re ‘women’, and hell yes I’m keeping it, but so are lots of other women who are not yet on board with the cause. We need something other than TERF to show that we are women who are particularly supportive of raising this debate. Whilst we have used the term with humour in the attempt to defuse the power of a word placed on us by trans-activists, we are not TERFS. We are most of us not exclusionary. I want to fight alongside my sincere trans sisters, not with them. I want to find a good solution so that we all feel safe, and I say that it’s the men who need to budge up and make room for us all. We all fear male violence and the risks of losing safe spaces. We cannot allow the power of our righteous fury to be diluted by the same tired old divide and rule strategies of the patriarchy. And so, I propose that we cannot call ourselves TERFS (although, man, there are some BRILLIANT usernames people got out of that 😊).
Anyhow, I’m running out of time here, and I’ve already fed the smallest child all the junk food in the house to buy me time to post. I meant to be so much clearer with my thoughts. I meant, if we can find a way to make our voices both loud and safe, that would be great. Thoughts very much welcomed. Signing off, in comradeship.