Julie Burchill on Brighton transpride and nonbinary affectation

[2rebecca]

Will post link below as can't remember how to do it when starting threads. I heard she was at the recent Women's Place event in Brighton, she mentions it but wrote this before the event. Would be interesting to hear what she thought of that too. I love a bit of Julie Burchill. Totally agree with her.

I bet nobody has made JB feel ashamed of her sexuality...

She's a bisexual woman who has made no secret of the fact she has had lots of sex

If you think no one has tried to make her feel ashamed of her sexuality we're living on different planets

ReluctantCamper is she bisexual? I've never heard her say that.

I thought she was a straight woman who liked to experiment.

She left her husband for a woman, so I'd say yes....

But god knows let's spare JBs feelings if that's not how she identifies

Let's call her a woman who sometimes likes to have sex with women

Ah, but in pomo land you can't be something unless you declare it loudly using the correct terminology. So, a woman who had a long term relationship with another woman is "straight" unless she says "I identify as bisexual, and apologize for not calling myself pansexual instead".

Which Julie would never say, thus "straight".

Exactly. So it's a bit rich for someone who does not identify as gay or bisexual to have a go at gay and bisexual people for celebrating their queerness at Pride.

Well not quite but nearly

What you identify as is more important than what you do

I've heard it all now

Do we need a sarcasm font?

But it's what she does. You don't hire Julie Burchill because you want an even-handed consideration of the issues. Her whole schtick is writing provocative pieces with a strong dollop of exaggeration, accompanied by lashings of humour, malice and caricature. There isn't much point trying to argue with any of it.

It's about of being Proud of who you are - still don't see why there's reason to have beef with that. Sleeping with a woman doesn't give her authority to shit all over Pride.

FloralBunting JB has no beef with lesbians that's why we're not discussing it.

I don't think any one or anything should be given National Treasure status and considered above criticism or debate. Pride has become a corporate money making exercise in many people's eyes.
Just because you shouldn't be ashamed of something it doesn't follow that you should be proud of it.

Are you gay or bisexual OP?

You don't hire Julie Burchill because you want an even-handed consideration of the issues. Her whole schtick is writing provocative pieces with a strong dollop of exaggeration, accompanied by lashings of humour, malice and caricature. There isn't much point trying to argue with any of it.

Well, quite. And some of us seem able to differentiate it from some sort of hate speech.

jasmine, as I said, not saying there's anything in that. Just happened to notice, and given that the scant support lesbians get these days (particularly the actual lesbians) it seemed a thing to notice.

I do like the phrase 'has beef with'. It's so riduculous.

Sadly people often have beef with LGBT for who they are and not what they do.

In particular, trans people are judged on what people perceive they will do rather than what they actually do. Therefore they are being judged on who they are.

Pride is more important than ever imo.

So we are imagining all the rape and death threats and the assault in Hyde Park? Was that a hologram of Tara Wood punching a woman?

Why can't people be judged as individuals?

I'm a woman but wouldn't like to be compared to Rose West and Myra Hindley just because they are also women.

When you find significant numbers of women saying Rose West and Myra Hindley either weren't really women or that what they did was a response to provocation then the comparison might work.

are you gay or bisexual?

I've had sex with a man wearing women's underwear and have just decided to identify as pansexual so by your argument above I'm now a fully fledged member of the queer community

Since what you identify as is more important than what you do

I'm a woman but wouldn't like to be compared to Rose West and Myra Hindley just because they are also women

Depends what the comparison is. If someone said that Myra hind let us a woman and I am a woman that would be completely true and accurate

It's then totally reasonable to look at the things that are the same among people in the group 'women' ( being of the sex class that produces eggs, being subjected to FGM in some cultures and so on)

Is it wrong that I quite want some beef now?

Not only have I had sex with men who wear eye makeup, I've put the makeup on them myself in some cases. So that makes me mega-queer, right? Far more so than shagging women did...

Ok. I tried to read this and keep a straight face. I failed.