Artistic Director of Queer Up North speaks out on trans activism, Stonewall and women's rights

[SanctimoniousMorph]

medium.com/@JonnnyBest/the-story-of-my-first-brush-with-trans-activism-and-what-i-learned-3ef13e31fd37

Sarah Brown & her partner Zoe O'Connell are both active and influencial members of the LibDems.

Threads:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3277182-Brian-Paddick-isbeing-investigated-for-wrongthink

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3226849-Lord-Paddick-resigns-the-LGBT-LD-executive

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3310443-Fawcett-Society-Live-stream-from-5-30pm-Courage-Calls-Ask-her-to-stand

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3207415-Just-when-you-thought-the-LibDems-couldnt-out-crazy-Labour

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3270936-Liberal-Democrats-why-are-transphobes-protesting-Because-they-are-thick

Zoe O'Connell is a current Cambridge City councillor & also a partner of Sarah Brown.
democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=1348

2013 Guardian interview with Zoe O'Connell, Sarah Brown and Sylvia Knight:
(extract)
"Living in Cambridge, they rarely experience discrimination or abuse. Sarah is not the city's first openly trans councillor, and when they pop down to their local real-ale pub: "No one bats an eyelid. We're probably some of the less 'out there' people," says Zoe."
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/20/greatest-sexual-taboo-polyamorous-transgender

Zoe O'Connell's IPSO complaint against The Sunday Times reporting of Fairplay for Women's statistics about trans inmates & prison estates was not upheld. Date complaint received: 19/11/2017
Date decision issued: 26/03/2018

Details:
www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=20177-17

Complaint against David Davies' hosting at Westminster Venice Allen's 'We Need to Talk' also not upheld.

Thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3263172-Andrew-Gilligan-Latest-bullying-transgender-complaint-swiftly-rejected-by-parliamentary-standards-committee

attached pics from Layla Moran MP's FB, recent thread in response PN article & her support for Sarah Brown's attempt to gain the seat vacated by Ann Sinnottt's resignation from Cambridge City Council

Thank you Rowan. A lot to get through there. Today's reading. 🙂

Wonderful. Thanks Jonny.

Just read that on FB. Brilliant.

Great article, well written. Are there any other prominent gay men whose consciences are pricking them?

Come out, come out, wherever you are!

.

Thank you Jonny. Love the mentipn of stonewall"so role in this. Hopefully more gay men will speak out

thanks for sharing! i hope more gay men speak out. i know many in the arts are very aware of this issue but prevented from speaking out because their jobs are never secure and are reliant on constant funding applications and networking.

Excellent piece

Its a shame, but it IS going to take more men speaking out about this to stop this. of course it shouldn't be that way but women can shout as much as they like and are ignored, where once men start saying no, its listened to it seems.

Fantastic article.

Thanks for posting, and thanks Johnny for writing!
Some good comments too. Narry a gnashing of teeth to be seen!

I loved the way that JB wrote this article. The tone of it. The balance. The reasonableness. The humanity.

I admired the way he unwrapped the arrogance and defensiveness of a once admired organisation. (Stonewall only replies to mainstream media now? Do me a favour!)

That no-one can argue with the final paragraph: a conclusion to which the writer has steered us skilfully and defly - well, that's an achievement. Beautiful, thoughtful and thought-provoking.

Hats off to you, JB.

Yes excellent article. The comments are interesting, too.

One commentator said that women are oppressed on the basis of their biology, but also their gender expression or gender identity.

I've seen this lack of understanding before.

It means that if men express femininity, they can claim they are now oppressed on that basis.

Quite failing to grasp that the gender stereotypes relating to femininity are the means by which women are oppressed, not the basis of it.

They see only too well the disadvantage of gender stereotyping for women. They see it. It's right there.

But then decide that it's innate, rather than imposed.

And therefore, if they display the same gender stereotype in, it is also innate, and that's why they are oppressed.

They are directly responsible for perpetrating the oppression of women. Using their bloody gender stereotyping as a tool.

It's infuriating to see such idiocy in action.

Excellent

Thank you Johnny Best. A great, balanced article.

What a brilliant thoughtful article - which deserves a much wider readership!

So wish it had been published in mainstream press.....

Thank you for this thread. It was well worth reading.

This thread has cheered me up. And great points Datun

Very well written essay. Thank you OP for posting this.

Great article, thanks OP.

Really good read and the comments are interesting too. Thank you for speaking up Jonny.

Re Sarah Brown's blog, there's an interesting pack of alternative truths about the Tara Wood case here.

Excellent. I love that he rubbishes the link that is always made between trans rights and s 28. They are nowhere near the same. Fair enough if women were calling trans people disgusting and calling for their prosecution, I would get it. We are simply asking to be allowed to have separate spaces, legal protection for our sex-based needs, and the ability to share our experiences and define ourselves as a group.
Imagine if I demanded that able-bodied people should be allowed blue badges if they identified as disabled. Or that a black student group were being prejudiced by not letting white students who identified as black in. Hopefully I would be told to get to fuck.

Claire Fox (Academy of Ideas, Radio 4's Moral Maze etc)