Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

"After some very moving contributions, TUC unanimously supports gender self-declaration"

238 replies

R0wantrees · 11/09/2018 14:45

Comment by Ian Murch, Treasurer at National Union Of Teachers section of National Education Union

twitter.com/ianmurch/status/1039470003920293888

Lucy Masood:
"Proud of the FBU and PaulEmbery for ensuring that we did not vote to support the GRA Self ID resolution at the TUC today. The FBU cares and listens to its female members"

twitter.com/luluchops1/status/1039475527139164160

OP posts:
WrongOnTInternet · 11/09/2018 22:16

Someone upthread talked about setting up an entirely separate parallel infrastructure. In terms of law, justice, and political organisation, I think that that is the only way we’ll ever get equality. We need a collective voice as loud as the men.

TheLastMermaid · 11/09/2018 22:20

I knew nothing about this and UCU send me loads of stuff.

Just when I think I've imagined every possible nightmare scenario, the very organisation I'd need to support me in the event of my career being under threat because I speak the truth to my stdents, comes out in support of my potential accusers.

It was bad enough when I realised there wasn't a single political party left to vote for but now this too.

A gender critical union? I'm looking for a new home for my UCU subs...

Starkstaring · 11/09/2018 22:21

Congress looks forward to the introduction of a social rather than medical model of gender recognition that will help challenge repressive gender stereotypes in the workplace and in society.

Huh? The only thing it will do is solidify gender stereotypes, not challenge them.

woman11017 · 11/09/2018 22:23

A union for our unwaged women workers is needed too. There are precedents.

NothingOnTellyAgain · 11/09/2018 22:25

Woman11017 that is an excellent idea.

Properly excellent

WrongOnTInternet · 11/09/2018 22:28

Set up our own women’s police / security force, to secure our own women’s meetings to discuss setting up our own women’s courts and law. To focus particularly on family and employment law where it impinges on women, and of course sex crimes.

Hey it happens in fantasy books. It also happens for religions in Britain - Sharia law exists here.

WarmWishes · 11/09/2018 22:31

Sporadic that's correct nearly all unions of not all, consulted solely with lgbt members. Clearly not recognising the impact on women regardless of sexual orientation.

woman11017 · 11/09/2018 22:39

Women have succeeded in women only strikes of paid and unpaid labour in Liberia, Poland and Germany. Here we've had the Ford women of the 1960s Grunwick women, Cleaners' strike in London recently( although that was mixed sex I think,).

WIthdrawal of unpaid labour would definitely be noticed too. We've had threads before about it. £bs are not paid for our work.

Ensuring the safety of us and our daughters seems a fair enough demand.

This action of the TUC just proves what most of us women union members have known about trades unions for ages.

arranfan · 11/09/2018 22:48

women’s police / security force, to secure our own women’s meetings to discuss setting up our own women’s courts and law

Going back a century again to the time of the Suffragettes, arise Bartitisu and Elizabeth Margaret. Garrud who established her own dojo (school) in London and trained members of the militant Suffragette movement, including the clandestine "Bodyguard" unit of the Women's Social and Political Union in Bartitsu and the defensive use of Indian clubs.

The WSPU responded by establishing a thirty-member, all-woman protection unit referred to as "the Bodyguard", the "Jiujitsuffragettes" and the "Amazons", to protect fugitive suffragettes from re-arrest. Edith Garrud became the very first trainer of the Bodyguard and taught them jujutsu and the use of Indian clubs as defensive weapons. Their lessons took place in a succession of secret locations to avoid the attention of the police. The Bodyguard fought a number of well-publicised hand-to-hand combats with police officers who were attempting to arrest their leaders.

On several occasions they were also able to stage successful escapes and rescues, making use of tactics such as disguise and the use of decoys to confuse the police

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Margaret_Garrud

Turph · 11/09/2018 22:55

Sorry, I'm not into female separatism, with police forces and laws etc etc.
The TUC have voted to accept that transgender men are women because they say they are. I'm on an LGBT list and got no info on this. Regardless, pp mentioned only LGBT people in her union were consulted.
This is utter madness, the ordinary members do not agree with it and is has been presented as a fait accompli. This needs to be challenged.

HawkeyeInConfusion · 11/09/2018 22:56

My union is was Unite. I will also be saving on my subs in future. I am beyond angry that they have sold me out on this.

Can we reform the WSPU?

Turph · 11/09/2018 23:01

arranfan sorting security is irrelevant. We're not seceding from the UK, we want accountability about a serious issue dealt with undemocratically by a major organisation.
I don't mean to be rude but this fantasy about separatism isn't helpful and will put people off.
Likewise unions for the unwaged. People who are technically unemployed can join many Unions at a reduced rate.
Is nobody else going to challenge their branch?

silentcrow · 11/09/2018 23:04

I do like the idea of a women's union.

Practically speaking for those of us in the NEU - is there a national woman's officer we can lobby? I did have a look through the website the other day when I heard Stephanie from Transgender Trend say they'd sold out, but couldn't find anything relevant. I was ATL previously so not familiar with the new structure/NUT bods.

The other thing we need is to get this in the papers and NOT let it be brushed under the carpet. Can anyone ping any of our sympathetic journos and make sure they know women and children have been sold down the river again?

Tanith · 11/09/2018 23:05

So Ian Murch's response to the concerned members protesting about this is to goad and sneer.

How unprofessional!

anonymouseagain · 11/09/2018 23:05

I've just come back from a super-sekrit women-only meeting where I found out about this. I'm furious and I'm about to resign from Unite. If they won't help me survive the workplace fallout from challenging the biggest structural threat to my rights in my life to date, they can fuck off.

We need the following:

  • a women's union, to help defend our workplace rights...
  • with an associated women's legal defence fund, to help refuges and rape crisis services fight TRA strategic lawsuits and fund strategic lawsuits of our own to challenge anti-women practices...
  • and an associated women's political campaign to defend and strengthen our civil rights in the statute books.
arranfan · 11/09/2018 23:06

Turph wrote: arranfan sorting security is irrelevant. We're not seceding from the UK, we want accountability about a serious issue dealt with undemocratically by a major organisation.

I've written several times about accountability in this thread.

However, I did omit the sentence that I was mentioning the above as a historical note that is effectively a follow-up that a century on, we have women wondering if we need a women's political party and union - and parallel concerns about security.

It's the historical parallels that strike me in this centenary year. It's unfortunate if a reader construed it another way.

Carrrotsandcauliflower · 11/09/2018 23:25

Women’s seperatism like this though makes me feel that we are being pushed out instead of pushing back in.

Turph · 11/09/2018 23:26

arranfan
Right, I'm with you now.

Turph · 11/09/2018 23:28

Carrrotsandcauliflower yes I'm keen to avoid it generally.
It smacks of "I'm taking my ball and I'm going home" and people don't respond well to it, no matter what the initial provocation was. It's not a good way to build support.
I'm going to challenge through my branch, I'll report back when I hear anything.

Carrrotsandcauliflower · 12/09/2018 00:10

Turph- yes- it lets them off the hook- I don’t want to live in a parallel world that’s not equality.

Terrifiedandregretful · 12/09/2018 06:55

@silentcrow Kirk Tunks is NUT president and is actively and openly gender critical. She isinovolbed in WPUK. She also seems to be an entirely lone voice and the union voted to support self is at conference. I wonder if we could form a gender critical group within the NUT? I am going to contact Kiri on Twitter to ask her about the state of play (I don’t know her but have metheronce and discussed this issue. She is a brilliant woman).

woman11017 · 12/09/2018 07:28

We are being forced into this, as our own GC reps are being removed from posts in unions and labour.
I don’t want to live in a parallel world that’s not equality
Which is what we have now.

But we are still the majority.

We're 52% of population.
Do 70-80% of unpaid work.
Get paid 25% at least less of the paid work?
Seems simple: withdraw labour: it is ours to withdraw.

We need a Women's Union.

Carrrotsandcauliflower · 12/09/2018 07:44

I got what your saying about withdrawing labour- but if it’s unpaid labour you mean I’m not sure how that would impact.
I need an MP list to contact along with my own MP to get views across and gather their views on all this.

woman11017 · 12/09/2018 08:24

With 'brexit' there's a massive labour shortage mainly of women workers. 100 000 down in NHS? We know that schools are desperate for staff. This is a live issue for us.

Union men aren't that daft. Are they? Grin

if it’s unpaid labour you mean I’m not sure how that would impact
I'm not sure either. It's worked elsewhere though.

OhBuggerandArse · 12/09/2018 08:31

I am UCU member and we have a general meeting today at our university. I would like to raise the issue of the vote, and lack of consultation with the membership, but am afraid to. I am not known for being shy to speak; this is a very peculiar situation to find myself in.

Swipe left for the next trending thread