Lurkers of FWR, pop in and say Hi!

[SophoclesTheFox]

I've just been reading this thread and I am utterly blown away by the number of women who say they are lurking here.

It's quite, quite wonderful to read that thread and I wanted to acknowledge it and roll out the red carpet if any of you wanted to post. I know it can feel a bit intimidating, like you have to have the right vocabulary, or some huge knowledge of feminist theory, but you don't.

Your words are valuable, and your unique view is important because together we're powerful!

We're also rude, funny, and most of all DISRESPECTFUL in all the ways that matter. Don't just lurk: join in you are very welcome.

sophocles -blimey, that Lord of the Rings image has properly moved me to tears.
Beautiful.

What's happening here is incredible.

Hi. Will now read the thread properly...

Long time lurker here too - I come on every day. I’ve learnt so much and can articulate myself much better now IRL situations. Thank you!

De-lurking to say a shy hello before I scuttle off back to the shadows. I'm terrified of being outed in real life as GC and have already had a run in with a colleague who doesn't think women are disadvantaged or not equal (bloke, natch). I work for a very 'woke' organisation who has preferred pronouns in email signatures and masses of LGBT events, posters, talks, coffee mornings etc. Never ever anything about lesbians or bi's, always about gay men and trans. I've had someone turn their back on me for saying I'm all for expansion of rights but not at the expense of women's hard-won ones. Surely that's not contentious?

Some help with the lingo would be appreciated. What is brigading? And how do you get across that one is not against the genuinely dysphoric, just can't be doing with the shouty men being vile about women?

Another lurker here. This board helps me put into words what I feel in my gut. In awe of all the women who are brave enough to speak out in public.

I joined MN specifically to post on FWR!

It took me a while to make my first post, as there was so much I didn’t even know that I didn’t know. ‘Woman of the Year’ Caitlin Jenner, who thinks that the hardest thing about being a woman is knowing what to wear, is what led me here. Finding out about Stephonknee Walsh, Danielle Muscato, Riley Dennis, self-ID, Lupron, binders....my head was spinning.

I went back into lurkdom after an incident earlier this year, but am tentatively sticking my toes back into the water.

I am a disrespectful adult human female. I am armed with FPFW leaflets and I will not be silenced!

Long time lurker too. I became far more a radical feminist since the birth of my baby daughter earlier this year. I post occasionally but am on this board every single day.

Delurking to say hi to you all and thanks so much. Have been reading here daily since earlier this year and now consider it a parental and personal duty to keep myself informed by reading FWR. I have learned so much. Someone else said that they had regained their feminist sensibilities and that’s exactly how I feel. I married a narcissist and completely lost myself with all the manipulation. I see so much of him in the TRAs. FWR has helped me to start dealing with that toxic situation and to see through the manipulation.

What a fabulous thread. Hello everyone

Lurking and learning! This is an extraordinarily valuable space...

Hello! I used to post more often, but I do pop back in now and then. Very glad to have this space to discuss. There's nowhere else like it.

I am a serial lurker on these boards, but have recently tried to push myself to post occasionally, as well as raise awareness of current issues in the real world.

Each time I read a new post I learn something else about developments in women's rights (sadly mainly the erosion of them) and how I can get involved. I was privileged to attend the London Women's Place meeting in February which I found out about on here, where my understanding of the issues was defined and I knew I had to do what I could to oppose these concerning proposals.

I am continually inspired and awed at the commitment, determination and intelligence of posters, and heartened that more and more people are raising awareness and shedding light on what's happening.

A big thank you to the regular posters here who speak plainly, argue logically and take time to campaign and stand up for women.

I used to post a lot, but not now.

I agree with everyone that there's always someone that writes things better. I can clarify a lot of my feelings by reading what's here. It's a very useful resource.

It can be a scary place when you don't agree though (for example, I agreed with some things GG said recently and I WOULD NOT DARE bring that here!) Anyway, that's got worse now the threads are 75% based on trans issues.

I'm really worried that men can pretend to be women and access women's spaces. I'm concerned that opportunities that women fought hard for might now become limited again as they have to make room for people that weren't born, raised and socialised as women.

But I also think that there are genuine reasons for society as a whole to need to find space and ways of protecting those that... (you know, this is half the problem: I don't even know how to use terminology that doesn't offend someone and have them wither and sarcasm me to death.) are trans and maybe we all have to make some space because it has to be society as a whole and some things just are 'zero-sum'.

Anyway, I learned to learn from the things that I agreed with and keep my mouth shut on the things I didn't agree with. I only post this because women and feminism have many enemies and I can see that those enemies are using GC feminists more extreme comments and viewpoints against feminism as a whole.

(I'm re-reading this and finding it confused and wordy. Sorry. I guess that's why I don't post much.)

I haven't been on FWR much but was so incensed by the ocado/poster incident that I read all about it on these boards before taking my own action and posting that I'd cancelled my ten year account (complete with freebies as a super-reviewer).
Discussed it with my DH and he sent me the sky news clip of Brendan O'Neill. I went to post it on the thread, and turned out that's where he got it from And I told my DM about it and she's now reading too... so that's three newbies in a week for you

Ps as this feels like a nice thread, could one of you wiser women advise if there's a summary thread on WPUK's current position on self-ID? I'm a member but I've seen a few things alluding to the party leader being on the fence. I'm not always the most intuitive or best at interpreting things beyond their face value. TIA.

Hi LaPufalina - WPUK is Women's Place UK and not a political party. Do you mean WEP? Women's Equality Party and Sophie Walker?

Hello fellow lurkers :-) I usually lurk but have posted a few times over the last few days. I will try and keep it up. Behind the scenes I've been submitting a few consultations - and expressing outrage to people it's "safe" to talk to. I need to be bolder in real life so will keep reading and occasionally contributing.
& to all the many women who regularly post and are also blazing the trail IRL.

sorry arranfan I've a newborn and a toddler so a bit sleep-deprived! Yes, women's equality party!

Long term lurker, love this board and the strength of you wonderful posters.
I've been using the invaluable information on these threads to support any discussions I'm part of. Having opened DH's eyes to what's happening with Self ID, he now spots articles in the papers before I do
Dd is unfortunately utterly woke and we've had to agree we have differing viewpoints, Dses are much more open to thinking this through.

I've been reading this board for months and have been pleased to find so many others who share the same opinions on certain subjects, but I've never posted here before.

After many weeks of saying I'm going to write to my MP about the GRA consultation, I'm finally actually writing an email to him after seeing his Facebook post encouraging people to read the Stonewall advice and respond to the consultation accordingly, to further "trans equality".

LaPufalina - :) There's so much going on that it's tricky to keep the acronyms straight.

Here's one thread about Sophie W and WEP, there's another link within there about WEP and members who are joining it with a view to ensuring that GC feminists have a greater role in shaping policy.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3379736-Sophie-walker-seems-to-be-peaking-a-bit

I've been here every day for about a year or more, and went through a spate of posting a few months back, but I RE-lurked when it became obvious that you all get along just fine without my contribution! I think I'm too sensitive for Mumsnet: I can see that a lot posts here don't get a direct response, but I feel like I'm doing something wrong when mine don't get acknowledged I have a tendency to redraft my posts over and over, then only realise I've lost the crux of what I really meant to say after I've posted, so I just think, what's the point?!

But I'm very glad this board is here and I can feel a part of something, even if only from the edges. So hi to you all, especially my fellow lurkers.

I have been on MN for well over a decade but have only posted a handful of times. The FWR posts have really helped me to make sense of what I'd witnessed and felt, but had not been able to articulate, over the years.

In my 20's I believed women had pretty much achieved equality but the older I got, and especially after having children, the more I've realised how much still needs to be done. The self ID issues and the implications absolutely horrifies me, but so many people still have no idea what is going on. It's great to have somewhere I know I can go to and read common sense comments about these matters.

I lurk and have posted a little but threads often move on at such a pace I can’t keep up the with conversation, my thinking and keyboard skills aren’t up to it.

My advice is just to concentrate on a couple of threads - the ones that interest you most. That way, you can get a relationship with other posters going.

I've been lurking and reading for ages. Can't do anything to help myself, other than adding my name to the list, but I'm cheering on you wonderful articulate lot from afar.