Fawcett Society Live stream from 5.30pm 'Courage Calls, Ask her to stand'

[R0wantrees]

www.equality-and-diversity.co.uk/live-stream-courage-calls-ask-stand/1025

Includes a Q&A session with:

Penny Mordant
Maria Miller
Dawn Butler
Sal Brinton
Sophie Walker
Amelia Womack
Alison Thewliss

I agree with you. Men with money, determined to end feminism and retain power.

So thoughtful for them to have held it on an Wednesday

Isn't it

How much I love thee. Right - transcript below. It's from 1:16:40 at the link above, I can't guarantee this is perfect:

Audience member
Hello, I’m , my question is about the all women shortlists. Most of the all women shortlists are open to anyone who identifies as a woman. So in theory, taking this to this ultimate theorisable end, all women shortlists could be composed of all transwomen, which means parliament could see 50% male representatives, MPs and 50% transwomen MPs. Would everyone be happy with that as fair representation?

SB:
...On the issue about would I be happy with 50% transwomen. Absolutely. A transwoman is a woman. And in my party [lib dems] the issue about identification has been self-identification, it is not as has been whispered by some, something you can change your mind and do ten minutes beforehand [much nodding from Alison Thewliss of SNP] we all know who our transwomen are and we support them

AW: on the point of transwomen – I absolutely believe that transwomen are women as well, and if we begin our movement as women with eliminating and trying to sideline women as part of the movement then I don’t understand how we can enforce the systems that we ourselves have been victim to for so long on another group. Because when I work with trans women, when we work with women on an intersectional basis , we all have different experiences of what it is to be a women – a woman, and transwomen are just one section of the different experiences that every single one of us have , because none of us have experienced being a woman in this world in the same way, whether that’s because of our intersectional aspects of being working class or being disabled or being a woman of colour, we all experience the patriacrchy, we’ve all experienced these issues in very different ways, and that’s why it’s important that every single aspect of engaging women is intersectional and engages trans women as well.

Maria Miller: …. In terms of all women shortlists, and transwomen: it’s not about a belief that a transwoman is a woman, it is the law. And it’s been that way for ten years. Transwomen are women and in my party they are treated that way. They are a group who endure some of the worst discrimination , some of the most despicable discrimination, that we ever see, and as a woman who has seen a little of that, they will always get my enduring support, and we will need more transwomen to think about standing for parliament;

Parliament needs a transwomen MP actually, and for the parliament to look like the country that we represent, there;s a deficit, so hey ho, live with it.

…

It's just wonderful to see you all here and thanks very much indeed for coming . I just want to make it completely clear that 50::50 parliament support all women, and some women, like transwomen, face multiple hurdles, so we want to help all women…

I think this demonstrates the 'consultation' is a done deal, and women's spaces are toast along with women's rights.

I could not loathe the Tories more than I do right now. First Brexit, now this.

My feelings exactly. I am a swing voter.

The video of the event is still up btw, at the link in the OP and at vimeo.com/280569809

The event starts at around 35 mins into the video

Many thanks Anlaf it's always useful to know the enemy.

God reading that is so depressing. I just feel defeated. And really fucking angry. Those women are a bunch of Uncle Toms, selling us down the river like that.

The event was marvellous and i highly recommend listening to this and the other videos - but this was genuinely the only issue that was treated in this way: we must toe the party line, it seemed.

I'm horrified. The next generation is going to have no sex based protections, are they?

I still feel relatively hopeful! It's interesting that Maria Miller is so wedded to A) an incorrect understanding of the law and b) refusing to see the other point of view, given the challenge she's had on this from press (e.g. from Janice Turner in the Times) and public.

If she'd said "I think it is compassionate to treat transwomen as women, I want to fight the despicable discrimination against transpeople, and there are some circumstances where we should maintain sex based protections", it would be like she's listened to anything that's been said over the last year or so....

My MP got her job through being on an all women short list. I think I'll contact her and ask her is she believes TWAW why doesn't she give up her seat to a TW ?

“Courage calls: Ask her to stand”

Where is your courage
Penny Mordant
Maria Miller
Dawn Butler
Sal Brinton
Sophie Walker
Amelia Womack
Alison Thewliss

I see nothing but cowardice and hypocrisy amongst the speeches.

You are selling women down the
river - fuck every single last one of you.

So at an event named after Fawcett, merely 100 years on from women getting the vote and having a political voice they have the temerity to state that a parliament comprised of 100% of people born male would be a great thing and so progressive for women.

Fucking hell. I used to think these people were stupid now I just think they are evil.

Underhereye

Absolutely 👏👏👏👏

Not a scrap of bravery there. Not a scrap of integrity. No respect for women's rights or the legacy of the suffragettes. They should be ashamed, but they aren't principled enough. Just venal pathetic careerism.

I was going to mention name and say how awesome I thought she was, but thinking about it, I agree. thank you for being the most honest person to speak.

Thank you UpstartCrow

I heard Sal Brintons nonsense and then thankfully my battery ran out and I didn't bother to catch up on the other affirmations of cultspeak.

"Ask her to stand, then tell her it's for the best that a woman identified male person wins".

Eresh: yes, there is no courage in those women. My daughter has more courage than they do.

Think of all the ordinary women up and down the UK fighting this battle, risking their jobs, their livelihoods, their professional reputations, my God these politicians and every man who supports them by staying silent is spitting on them. Ruth Serwotka has courage, Venice Allen has courage, Kathleen Stock has courage, the lesbians at Pride - think of the courage. These politicians and the Fawcett Society,
cowards all.

thefederalist.com/2018/02/20/rich-white-men-institutionalizing-transgender-ideology/

Follow the money.

Sal Brinton "we all know who our transwomen are and we support them"

I think this is a significant comment. There is often a very strong protective response from LibDems which seems likely driven by long term relationships with trans women including Sarah Brown and partner, Zoe O'Connell

Context is important
cf Guardian article 2013: 'Voices from the trans community: 'There will always be prejudice'

"Sarah Brown an openly trans Lib Dem councillor in Cambridge, was a man when she married Sylvia in 2001. They stayed together through Brown's transition, which began in 2005. Brown wanted to be recognised as a woman in law and she and Sylvia convinced themselves that annulling their marriage and becoming civil partners would "just be a bureaucratic exercise that didn't mean anything". When they got their decree of nullity, however, "We realised we had been wrong. We left the court holding hands, in tears," says Brown. Far from being healing, the words of their civil partnership a few weeks later were "a kick in the teeth". Even their marriage certificate was confiscated. The proposed marriage equality legislation will not allow people such as Brown to have her original marriage recognised again.

This is a source of personal heartache, but Brown is convinced that trans people's biggest single problem is access to decent healthcare. Within 24 hours of her creating the hashtag #transdocfail, she had been inundated with 2,000 tweets of trans people's negative experiences at the hands of medical professionals. "It revealed a massive level of abuse. If it was happening to any other minority it would be on the national news," says Brown. Another ongoing battle for trans people is to revise the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases (ICD) so that transsexuality is not listed as a mental illness. (Ironically, this was added to the ICD around the time homosexuality was removed; campaigners such as Burns say it is useful to be in the ICD to help trans people access healthcare but it should be "less stigmatising".)

When they finally gain access to transition procedures, most trans people are positive about their hormone treatment or surgery. More of their complaints, however, concern everyday health problems and ordinary care from GPs. Many trans people feel "absolute terror" when faced with revealing their medical history for an orthodox operation or treatment, says Brown, and believe doctors then treat them differently. "It's not just the NHS that is institutionally transphobic, it's the whole medical establishment," says Brown. "This attitude that you're not treating the person, you're treating a condition. The moment people realise you're trans, it seems they can't see anything else."
www.theguardian.com/society/2013/jan/22/voices-from-trans-community-prejudice

(picture of the LibDem women at yesterday's 50:50 event incl Sal Brinton & Zoe O'Connell)

Agreed R0wan, I suspect (not a mind reader) Sal will be addressing her points directly to Zoe (who was at the event) and other transwomen chums, and extrapolating from those individuals who I am sure she likes.

So of of course it's not a conservative ideology pushed by rich white men, that's harmful to sex based protections, to Sal, because Sal (I imagine) will be thinking warmly of her colleagues and would recognise none of that in them.

So these types of arguments won't work with Sal (or women like them).

You can tell the male even in the thumbnail.

Sarah Brown was an instigator of policy change by stealth: deliberately replacing sex with gender at h** local authority.

Maria Miller's comment:

In terms of all women shortlists, and transwomen: it’s not about a belief that a transwoman is a woman, it is the law. And it’s been that way for ten years.

This is misleading.

Fairplay for Women Equality Act information on AWS: fairplayforwomen.com/equality-act-2010_womens-rights/#jump8

ministerial code?