Witch-hunt by witches conference

[HowManyFingers]

Speaker disinvited from Witches conference for gender critical views. #peakirony

Some critical responses to the decision, and the statement from the organisers, can be read if you scroll down a bit here

www.facebook.com/events/837097549830192/?active_tab=discussion

Ffs next thing female prisoners will be sticking up for their bepenised cellmates

Oh Lord! The irony!

I thought I couldn't be annoyed more by the new age flaky iteration of witchcraft. At least they used to centre females, even if the history was dodgy. Now what? It was the patriarchal oppression of, um, other men who wore feathers at the weekend? While the women knew their place...

Wow! That wasn't a popular decision.
I wouldn't piss off that many witches at once either.

The responses are brilliant. They have started to block people from the page, predictably enough, but there seems to be an endless flow of criticism coming there way anyway.

Max Dashu is wonderful, if you haven't come across Suppressed Histories Archives.

These young women are like the kids in the Cultural Revolution in China, erasing the past and denouncing their parents. Or any other totalitarian regime in history.

I wonder what impact it’s had on Dianic Wicca? That was always very strongly female-centred.

Her crime? To walk with women identified as "evil name beginning with t that can't be said"

This honestly beggars belief

Some of the comments on there...

WTF is with this ridiculous no platforming thing anyway? I don't get it. Someone is due to speak, often on unrelated things, but because they have gender critical views, suddenly they are horrendous and Nazi like and must be uninvited pronto. Generally women being no platformed, at the request of men. Same old, really.

Fine if you so vehemently believe trans women aren’t women, tell one that to their face. If you’re so accepting and loving, especially for those of you who say you love trans people in your life.. go tell a trans woman she’s not a woman. Go ahead and commit hate speech and bigotry in public.

I’ll punch you before they get a chance to

Much womaning. Showing us how people like them are not a threat, eh? Silly women, not wanting to be in enclosed spaces with utter delights like this person

I have a transsexual woman in my extended family, and they freely admit they are a man with gender dysphoria. So saying to her face that shes a man would certainly not result in me getting punched, like apparently telling this male person theya re man would.

Oh plot twist, this person says they are a woman. However they also say transwomen are women. So not sure if they are male or not. Either way they are a violent eejit, who needs to get a bit of a grip and accept others have differing opinions, though.

I have been watching in horror as Wiccan circles have been taken over by these men - even the Diannic traditions. I cannot imagine this has been done with anything but envy driven spite, and now they will be laughing at us and crowing at our defeat.

MoltenLasagne Then these men should be aware of the Threefold Law.

Max Dashu has done decades of research bringing women's history to light. Another articulate, prominent woman pushed aside. Wow, it's almost like a campaign....

It's not really surprising that there have been attempts to colonize the Dianic tradition, you know it's the ultimate non-sexual source of validation for those inclined to spirituality.

I admire Starhawk's optimism, but really doubt it would be productive even if TW were willing to join in.

These young women are like the kids in the Cultural Revolution in China

Oh yes

Transactivism turns everything it touches to dust

There is a backlash from women, here is one of the posts I have seen...
Quite a few others, but they all link to fb profiles so I don't want to link here in case they aren't public

(fwiw, all of the Dianic groups I am in still only allow females)

These women should be free to believe as they please.

It's so sad to see the intolerance of anothers philosophy.

Shit. This is so upsetting. I thought witches would be immune to crap like this. Just been in a totally exclusionary women's circle -exquisite, such a relief. When women are prepared to include men in our segregated spaces, I seriously think they have absolutely missed the point and just do not understand the preciousness of what they're wanting to give away. I think they don't 'get' woman.

Reminds me of what happened to Z. Budapest years ago for daring to hold a Dianic ritual for genetic women only. She was hounded and accused of 'hate speech' back in 2012.

I see a lot of comments have now been deleted from the facebook page.

I really wish things like this could be left to stand. It shows how the 2 "sides" react in stark contrast and would open quite a lot of eyes I think.

Max Dashu is a one women phenomenon when it comes to female history. No platforming her is blatant female erasure.

Here is what comment said (on the grovelling apology post). Max's "crime" is that she may have accidentally spoken to GC women at some point!!

Here is the HONEST truth, from an actual womon who was AT the San Francisco Dyke March and physically attacked on 3 separate occasions by the very "woMEN" you want to include in our safe spaces.

My partner and I carried the signs that have been deemed by this witch hunt you've ironically joined in to be "transphobic". Our signs said, "Biology is Not Bigotry"/"You Can't Silence Us With Violence ~Resist Lesbian Erasure~ and "Dangers of Puberty Blockers" (with a list of the dangers of Lupron used on children, such as increased risk of cardiovascular disease, liver disease, breast cancer, etc)/"Change Our Society Not Your Body".

The first sign was specifically about the erasure of female spaces and the policing/redefining of the very language that identifies us AS biological womyn. The second sign was aimed to educate on the dire health risks of puberty blockers administered to children. There was absolutely no hateful rhetoric spewed towards trans identifying people by us WHATSOEVER. Yet there was a whole lot of it yelled at us in addition to actual physical violence.

Max Dashu had no prior knowledge OF the signs we were to carry, except when she saw them at the BART station right before the march began. We had not even met her until that day. For the majority of the march she wasn't even marching near us. Only once did she close in and join us, which was when I was being violently attacked by trans activists. She wrapped her arms around me in a protective embrace, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

This womon is a shero who has dedicated her LIFE to documenting womyn's herstory. You should be ashamed of yourselves as witches for engaging in the very witch hunt meant to erase us all, not to mention remove our rights and safeties as natal womyn

Have you even ASKED Max what her involvement with us really was? Or are you simply repeating the vicious LIES that have been spread across the internet by the same entities aimed at vilifying and demonizing my partner and I?

I am disgusted and appalled that you would join in this libelous behavior in such a manner as this. Unbelievable.

McCarthyism, anyone?
Maybe the TREs also want to ban women from reading (signs, anything), lest they get uppity ideas?