WEP statement from Sophie Walker

[SturdyEarmuffs]

She's tabled an emergency motion re the GRA debate at conference

May 2018 Gaby Hinsliff GUardian article,
'The Gender Recognition Act is controversial – can a path to common ground be found?
In early 2016, the government proposed changes to the law regarding self-identification – there has been furious debate ever since. But could a more nuanced conversation between gender-critical feminists and trans activists now be starting?'

(extract)
“There is a difference between social media debate and the conversations going on elsewhere,” says Sophie Walker, leader of the Women’s Equality Party, who was torn apart over her party’s trans-inclusive stance in one notable Mumsnet webchat, but is now more optimistic about the chances of reaching some consensus. “I am encouraged by the number of women who have contacted me privately to say they want to find common ground.” Both Woman’s Place and trans activists led by Stonewall have given well-received briefings to Labour MPs in recent months." (continues)

www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/10/the-gender-recognition-act-is-controversial-can-a-path-to-common-ground-be-found

There WAS a debate, dosen't Sophie remember? She was there and said fuck all when women said it was perfectlt acceptable to have 100% male representation in Parliament

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3310443-Fawcett-Society-Live-stream-from-5-30pm-Courage-Calls-Ask-her-to-stand?messages=100&pg=1

Article by Jo Bartosch:
'Turning off the Fawcett — Why I Won’t Stand'
(extract)
"Mention of Maria Miller’s name sent the flicker of a sneer across my face; that must have been what tipped her off. After about five minutes of tentative conversational fishing we established that we were both gender apostates, the new non-believers who are not to be tolerated in respectable company. As women with different political allegiances living at either end of the UK, we expressed mutual anger, frustration and disappointment at the abandonment of feminist analysis in favour of the sophist soundbite ‘transwomen are women.’ We shared our annoyance about feeling politically homeless and joked that we needed a secret sign.

When we shuffled in for the opening plenary we went our separate ways. The large circular hall in Westminster Church House is impressive, seating several hundred people. When questions were put to the floor one brave woman asked the inevitable ‘if all-women short-lists are open to transwomen, how would you feel if half of those on all women-shortlists were men?’ The organisers winced, and I could see some young women in the row opposite shift uncomfortably in their seats, seemingly squeamish about the embarrassing ignorance of not understanding that anyone who identifies as a woman is.

Listening first to Sal Brinton (Liberal Democrat), Dawn Butler (Labour), Maria Miller (Conservative), then Amelia Womack (Green Party) parrot the nonsensical mantra ‘transwomen are women’ I thought of the woman I met when I first arrived. I noted Sophie Walker of WEP and Sam Smethers, the CEO of Fawcett, stayed tight-lipped; I understand their reticence to engage but at an event held under the banner ‘courage calls to courage’ their silence was shameful. This on the day that it was reported four women had been sexually assaulted by a man who identifies as a woman and was housed in a women’s prison." (continues)

medium.com/@josephinebartosch/turning-off-the-fawcett-why-i-wont-stand-396eaf38b81e

(Thanks to *R0wan)

I joined WEP at the outset because, no matter what I thought of some of the leaders and senior post-holders, the UK is in dire need of more women in politics and I was treating it as the equivalent of EMILY (Early Money Is Like Yeast).

However, I've never felt that they have the back of non-privileged women. Perhaps wrongly, I feel that WEP should be making a lot of noise about: the impact of austerity; the underfunding of childcare; Universal Credit; the unworkable juxtaposition of the Children's Act with the impact of austerity; the closure of women's shelters; the complete lack of appropriate support for carers; the devastation of local services as councils are degrading and at the point of collapse over lack of money. If you had a list, these outrank permitting fathers to remain on labour wards - and I'm not content that other women's choices and sense of safety is being respected with the implementation.

WEP's treatment of HBE along with other woke handmaid behaviour was the point that decided me that, for its favoured daughters, it's just another career step and bit of glitter on the CV en route to the after-dinner speaking circuit for plutocrats.

Yes - I'm feeling duped and bitter.

Good post Arranfan

However, I've never felt that they have the back of non-privileged women. Perhaps wrongly, I feel that WEP should be making a lot of noise about: the impact of austerity; the underfunding of childcare; Universal Credit; the unworkable juxtaposition of the Children's Act with the impact of austerity; the closure of women's shelters; the complete lack of appropriate support for carers; the devastation of local services as councils are degrading and at the point of collapse over lack of money.

This, this, this.

One of the many things the ongoing saga of WEP demonstrates is that you can never, ever underestimate how important class is in British politics.

Overestimate, rather. The people running WEP seem to have no awareness whatsoever of the way they're alienating working class women.

yes yes to the class issue.

these people just don't understand the lives of ordinary citizens, regardless of their sex actually.

If you tried to explain why austerity is a women's issue they'd probably look at you blankly, like you were speaking an alien language.

It is disappointingly late and small but at the moment, it’s all we have. It must have taken a good bit of courage to release it after all that’s gone before.

It reminds me of Francis 'keep some fuel in your garage' Maude, during the 2012 fuel crisis.

advice that was shortly followed by someone suffering from serious burns caused by messing about with petrol in their flat, because of course they had no garage. turns out not everyone does Francis.

whenever he's said something relatively sensible ever since I always think back to that comment.

Reluctant Camper - re: Francis Maude.

My version of that is that I have a very clear memory of reading an interview with an aristocrat (?) and opinion-former during which she was asked about the plight of families during the Miners Strike. Her reply was along the lines of, "It's very upsetting but there are times when families must reconcile themselves to selling the Fabergé Egg".

I can see the photograph in my mind so clearly - well, you do recall the time when your jaw drops to the point of dislocation just because you're reading something. But, I've never been able to find it - it must be buried in a newspaper archive.

Same planet. Different universes.

Great post arranfan

Middle class shitshow masquerading as a serious political party about sums up this farce.

I honestly think Rees-Mogg is less of a danger to women and children than Sophie and the handmaidens. And I cannot believe I just typed that.

Their men on maternity wards stance has always enraged me, it’s like ‘we’re pregnant’ makes my fucking teeth itch.

If you tried to explain why austerity is a women's issue they'd probably look at you blankly, like you were speaking an alien language.

Yep.

we're middle class, pretty affluent, but it's a combination of helpful parents, luck and work that's got us here. and actually it's a worryingly precarious position. as long as

• neither of us gets ill
• we stay married
• we don't have a disabled child

we'll probably be OK. But if something like that happens our lives (well let's be honest here, mostly my life, explain that Sophie) will change dramatically.

it's why, despite everything I'm still a member of the labour party. they're the only party who are at least supposed to get it.

i remember Andrew Marr saying 'the NHS delivered the british people from worry'. and it did. but not having a faberge egg to sell means there's always other worries.

My favourite twitter comment so far. I assume you’re on here

Link to the Fawcett Society recent event including video discussed in article by Jo Bartosch above:

www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/Event/courage-calls-ask-her-to-stand

Sophie Walker was panelist. final question raised possibility of th 50/50 being men / trans woman.

Threads:
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/3311428-Why-are-Fawcett-staying-so-silent-Are-they-afraid

Love that Lurkacus

There's a good summary of the Simone de Beauvoir quotation and its implications here. It strikes me that trying to retrofit it into equivalence with the trans experience is a gross misinterpretation of de Beauvoir's actual intention.

Thought that was really interesting, BoF.

"Sartre observed that whatever we perceive, including other people, is rendered as an ‘object’ to our gaze and is defined by us. De Beauvoir takes up this idea and applies it to men’s perception of women. The very concept of ‘woman’, de Beauvoir argues, is a male concept: woman is always ‘other’ because the male is the ‘seer’: he is the subject and she the object – the meaning of what it is to be a woman is given by men".

...

"De Beauvoir argues that as a girl’s bodily development occurs, each new stage is experienced as traumatic and demarcates her more and more sharply from the opposite sex. As the girl ’s body matures, society reacts in an increasingly hostile and threatening manner. De Beauvoir talks about the process of ‘becoming flesh’, which is the process whereby one comes to experience oneself as a sexual, bodily being exposed to another ’s gaze. This does not have to be a bad thing; but unfortunately, young girls are often forced to become flesh against their will".

Particularly in the light of the news this week that 1 out of 5 14 year-olds self harm.

It is a mark of the dire state of politics for women today that I'm even willing to hear Sophie out on this.

I'm that desperate.

Meanwhile, on Twitter:

Sophie has just replied to a tweet from Lily Madigan.

Lily accuses Sophie of 'debating' the rights of full representation for Trans-Women, as women, and over-asserting the rights of cis-women.

Sophie has sub-tweeted Lily's tweet, and replied that the debate is not to silence the reality of Trans-women but to discuss and represent women's reality in all it's rich diversity.

Women are replying to Sophie that they can't see Lily's tweet because - of course - they're blocked.

Honestly.

What a mess.

And meanwhile, the Green Party looks like an illegal dog fight.

I would love for WEP to sort the problem out but I think they lost the battle before they even knew it existed.

Should I be warming to Sophie? Is she finally starting to stand up for women? Or is she just politically astute enough to realise we’re now fast approaching a tipping point and that women who have supported this are about to be thrown under a bus by right wing men to enable them to seize power?

Sophie Walker will be effective in her coterie of privileged women and develop a fabulous speaking career from this.

It may cross her mind that she's achieved little for non-privileged women and, at some point in the future, she might be troubled that it seems as if she's thrown women's rights under the bus she might comfort herself that she will prove to have been on the right side of history.

I doubt any consequences for women will turn her from her chosen career trajectory.