Politics is not for women

[RedToothBrush]

In 2018, this is how I feel.

Its a feeling that isn't going away.

Women are political, women do politics well. The political scene is man shaped. It can be reshaped. Uphill struggle.

I wish I believed you.

I don't.

I’d go even further red, I think politics in 2018 is not only ‘for’ women (in either sense of the word) but actively against them.

I agree, I feel the same. I feel defeated, depressed and disenfranchised here in 2018. I felt much more optimistic 20 years ago (some of that is probably having had children in the interrim and being more aware of issues around pregnancy and childcare but not all).

Me too

I know how you feel...I feel more and more that nobody actually cares about women and that my vote doesn’t matter. All the optimism I had even 10 years ago has vanished.

Hang in there Red. Its starting to be discussed in the MSM, it's being discussed here more strongly than ever before and the posters on the FWR are far, far larger in number than even a year ago. It's not over yet.

I know this wont be a popular opinion, but I'm also angry about the number of women who have enabled this.
IMO, not judging women forced into prostitution was quickly co-opted into promoting porn and prostitution. That has helped dehumanise, objectify and commodify women and brought us to this point.

I don’t think anything is for women anymore. We can’t even go out in public without being abused in some way. I mean, that’s a pretty basic thing to do.

Bit melodramatic red. Maybe you need need a and a break from the politics.

Everyone except the political elite thinks politics isn't for them at some point. Working class men, women, people of colour, etc.

KOKO.

It is for us. We shall make it be for us. That's the beauty of a free press and democracy.

Its not just about the trans subject. It doesn't matter if that subject is discussed in main stream media either. Parties have decided its a hill they are prepared to die on, and any questioning makes you a right wing bigot. This speaks volumes. Why? Because they know damn well the right doesn't represent women. So they put you in a position where you either vote against your interests as a woman or you vote against your interests as a woman or you don't have a voice at all. They just want to tell women what they should do. Women in politics are, in the vast majority of cases, stooges for men. They don't dare do anything else because of the abuse or deselection. Or both. Its not even because they are worried that women won't vote for them. Metoo has achieved precisely nothing but a 'butmen' and an attitude that women have already achieved equality because they can make that much noise (without anything changing). Then there is the economics. Labour prattle on about the poor. And yet their manifesto was not the best for the poor. Labour are only interested in punishing the rich. And there's the point: punishing those who disagree with them. The Cons policy on immigration hurts women and children most too, because its largely centred on money. And their general economic policy and the rape clause is all about women not men.

The things I care about, I can't talk about because sex no longer exists and gender has replaced it in law and in political language. There is nothing left. With care child issues few can do much more than write letters or speak on the internet.

I think its too late to stop what is coming here now.

None of them care. NONE OF THEM.

I think for some women there is a belief that they have already won the war. A belief that they are equal and without actually saying it believe women oppressed in the UK have an element of choice. Personally in my 20s and early 30s I did probably have an element of “if I can do it”. I also too often excused misogyny and tried too hard to be one of the lads and not prove them right that women were weak by complaining. I unfortunately believe critical thinking in general is becoming weaker.

RedToothBrush - I feel you.

Critical thinking always dies first when liberty falters.

Critical thinking only causes you pain when you feel powerless. Best to go along with it.

Oh please dont give up Red. I was so thrilled when i discovered mn the other day. We will ensure change comes. People are listening. The tables are turning. Look how Stephen who is an advisor to government got involved. This is because they are worried.

Holy shit red.

Is it not just the case that there was always limited critical thinking but now t'internet has all uncritical thinking out there visible to the naked eye? There is so much noise now it burns the brain. Surely learning is improved by increased access to information. I know there is lots of very dubious shit around.

My kids think equality is done. I didn't really see really what inequality meant until I had been out in the world in my 20s.

Vested interests are the problem. Single issue lobbyists. We have to do that. It's unbelievable how much shouting down women get right now but you know, shout away fellas. I'm not backing down.

No. Its more than that. Journalism has a long tradition in critical thinking and exposing issues. Local journalism is all but dead in most places in the country. National journalism has turned to click bait for revenue rather than holding power to account.

Coupled with an anti-intellectual movement, i'm extremely worried.

Nil desperandum

National journalism has turned to click bait for revenue rather than holding power to account.

Definitely agree with that.

For you RedToothBrush

(I had never seen the Addicted to Love parody -fantastic stuff)

It has always been three steps forward two steps back for women in politics because men control the narrative. That one out of three forward steps matter, one hell of a lot.

National journalism has turned to click bait for revenue rather than holding power to account.

It has. And 24 hour rolling news was the start of creating a news cycle where saying anything regardless of fact checking overrides content and facts.
You then add in the rise of ‘fake news’ and you create an environment where people feelings and opinions are given precedence over any kind of objective truth.

That feeds into all this odd millennial attitude that my feelings are more important than observation of reality. And we know where that leads.

I agree with thebewilderness that it is one step forward, two steps back. The power hierarchies are generally created by and benefit men, wherever you look in history, certainly in the West, that has been the case.

At the same time, women have achieved an awful lot, often at grassroots level, often for other women. But it’s the difference between exercising agency (within structures of power) and changing the structures of power. It is very difficult to change the structures of power - and if something changes, then the power structures shape-shift.

So, women fought for equal pay and child care in the 1970s, against domestic violence and rape in marriage in the 1980s - by the 1990s the means of control had shape-shifted to sex positive, sexualised femininity and impossible yummy mummy ideals, pink and blue for girls and boys etc.

Whatever women achieve can be turned against them - so access to free abortion means it is possible for the government to introduce a cap on children paid benefit for (poverty or an abortion is the invidious choice); it means women can be pressured to have an abortion by partners who see it as contraception of the last resort and so on; and it is the means of female feticide in some countries.

Does that mean women’s gains are not worth having? I don’t think so. But the pattern of progress and then backlash has a longer history and gains can and have been eroded, because power hierarchies shape-shift. It’s a long fight, and no-one person or group can continually be at the forefront. The agency and opposition women create needs to shape shift too.

For me, some times my opposition to inequality is public and vocal, and sometimes (now) it is saying no to my own oppression and opening up avenues of possibility for others to follow. And sometimes, it is a case of just coping with your own life as best you can and building up your resources, mental and physical, for a bit.

Fantastic women have supported me and I will support others going forward, but I don’t think we will ever reach a point where women’s gains are not being challenged and eroded.

Look I'm a Conservative and I'm betting the political opposite of you, but one principle I value more than conservative values is the principles of democracy itself. Don't bow out and take yourself out of the conversation. Whatever we may disagree on it's vital we are all heard!

As a friendly suggestion for the sake of your own sanity rather than dig into the details of every single way women are disadvantaged, or every single horrific thing that happens to a woman pick one and make that your specialist subject.

Part of what makes the modern media (both traditional and social) so dehabilitating to read is there is so much darkness and unpleasantness in the world it makes it a functional impossiblity to tackle it all, and actually that is part of how they get you. Take some words of Nietzsche:

"..if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

You spend too long staring at the worst of humanity you start to become blind to some of the best of it and once set upon a parth of nihilistic malaise you may miss crucial opportunities where you CAN make a difference.

I'm not advocating being blind to issues, but to focus on the one that seems most significant to you, and fill the rest of your life and attention on some positivity it's not as if women aren't achieving fantastic things each and every day. I know it may seems like a betrayal of other significant issues, but that isn't the point, if you don't come up for some air once in awhile and revel in some of the positives you will sink, and drown. Then you are of no use to anyone.

Best of luck, and I hope this passes.