Cracker of an essay by Tom Farr

[DancelikeEmmaGoldman]

I had a quick look and couldn’t see that this had been posted. Apologies if it has. Long, but well worth reading.

medium.com/@tom_farr/the-wolf-of-masculinity-is-dressed-up-in-the-sheeps-clothing-of-gender-ideology-progressiveness-10ef8399ca6e

Sorry. Clicky one.
medium.com/@tom_farr/the-wolf-of-masculinity-is-dressed-up-in-the-sheeps-clothing-of-gender-ideology-progressiveness-10ef8399ca6e

Thank you for posting this, it is an excellent essay. I have read some of Tom’s other stuff on Medium, in fact I joined Medium as a paid member to get access their excellent essays on feminist and trans issues, just as I bought a subscription to The TImes.

It’s great to have a man call other men out and pull a lot of the worst offenders together in one article.

He also makes it so clear how hard they are working at ripping into the meaning of words and trying to destroy the boundaries of what “woman” “female” and “lesbian” mean, in all cases they are trying to include men into the definition.

Reminder that @TomFarr1 is involved with the CEASE event in November that has a very interesting programme and panels within it:

Making the Connections: the Dark Shadow of the Commercial Sex Industry (Julie Bindel)

“Stripping the Illusion”: Behind the Legal challenge to Sheffield’s Strip Clubs (Dr. Sasha Rakoff and survivor, Liz)

Panel: A Tale of Two Cities: comparing the different models set up to manage prostitution in the cities of Leeds and Ipswich (Alan Caton, Fiona Broadfoot, Liz Harsant and Jalna Hanmer)

Panel Discussion: Helping Victims of Sexual Exploitation (Fiona Broadfoot, Karen Ingala Smith and representatives from the Sophie Hayes Foundation and Women at the Well)

The inadequacies of the Modern Slavery Act (Anna Fisher)

“Organised Sexual Exploitation in England and Wales”: exploring the findings of the APPG report (MPs including Sarah Champion)

The Murky Underworld of Human Trafficking (Amanda Jones and Julian Norman)

Pornography: its links to Sexual Entitlement, Violence and Exploitation (Tom Farr)

Strategies for Reducing Vulnerability to Grooming and Exploitation (Liz Hall and Nat Graham from the S.L.A.V.E. Project)

Challenging Commercial Sexual Exploitation from within your Own Context (Jacci Stoyle)

After Sarah Champion's recent mis-steps it will be a useful exercise to put that aside and attend to this item:

“Organised Sexual Exploitation in England and Wales”: exploring the findings of the APPG report (MPs including Sarah Champion)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3362366-CEASE-Centre-to-End-All-Sexual-Exploitation-Conference-Weds-14th-November

arranfan, where is the CEASE event? I can't find it by Googling.

Very good essay that brings together different strands of this debate in a very thoughtful way. Thank you Tom.

arranfan, where is the CEASE event?

Westminster Central Hall, London

CEASE UK, 2018 is about exposing links between all forms of sexual exploitation in the UK, with topics ranging from prostitution and pornography to child sexual exploitation and sex trafficking.

It will present an overview of the latest developments, challenges and opportunities in these areas, with diverse speakers including academics, journalists, MPs, lawyers and charity workers giving unique insight into various facets of the movement.

We believe that we will never see an end to sex trafficking, CSE and violence against women until we see an end to the vast commercial sex industry that profits from women’s sexual exploitation and upholds a culture that reduces women to sex objects.

And we believe that we will only see laws, culture and social attitudes shift if we stand together, armed with the broad knowledge and perspective to engage in the fight with strategic intelligence and a tireless passion for change.

If you believe in the dignity, humanity and worth of every person; if you think that no one should be bought, sold or rented out by the hour, that no one should be prostituted, sexually abused, trafficked and exploited, this conference is for you.

Gain insight into different aspects of sexual exploitation
Broaden your perspective through learning how the different forms of sexual exploitation are interconnected
Get practical insight into bringing about positive change
Stand with others: learn, share and collaborate
Form long-term strategic objectives that will ultimately see an end to all sexual exploitation.

ceaseuk.org

Thanks OP. Great essay. I remember the days when this kind of commentary would make it to the Guardian or the writer would be interviewed on R4 or appear on The BBC in a civilised debate.

Thank you for posting this.

I’ve just lurked on these threads up to now; partly because I’m not very articulate and furiously typing ‘cunting bollocks’ in caps lock, whilst ironic, doesn’t serve anyone well. And partly because my teen DD with borderline personality disorder tells me she’s a trans man and I’m struggling to be cool headed about that.

Anyway, thank you, this article has calmed my spirit this morning, I feel like a tree with roots again.

I enjoyed that. Thanks for posting it.

(Oh, and Velvetbee - if you felt like writing nothing but ‘cunting bollocks’ on every thread on this topic, I, for one, would be very understanding. Hope your daughter makes it through xx)

Thank you arranfan.

Really good thank you. Can't believe he's only 27?

💐 for velvetbee. I have no where near your experience and I struggle not to shout cuntybollocks regularly.

MyEyesAreNotDeceivingMe, that's so true. There's Hadley Freeman, but other than her it seems that Guardian has adopted a nodebate line, hardly progressive! Tom Farr's essay is excellent, and I'd also recommend Kay Brown's essay The Invisible Transsexual at transkids.us.

All this fake news that we’re swimming in. People making bald statements and others just regurgitating them. What ever happened to critical thinking and Socratic questioning.

There has been such an absence of experts sharing their knowledge, their research, their views. One of my many peak-trans moments was watching a video link studio debate between an experienced professor, I forget his name, Canadian perhaps, and a young, skinny, aggressive, shrill, inarticulate trans person with badly applied eyeliner. I think the professor guy got sacked.

OK I’m going off on a tangent here, but how many people irl realise that a trans woman is a man and not a woman. I’m surprised by the number of people aged 35+ I’ve spoken to who think a trans woman is a woman identifying as a man and not a man identifying as a woman. So in their view, yes, a tanswoman is a woman. Is this common I wonder.

Thank you all for the kind words and for reading the piece. As mentioned above, the CEASE event is happening on 14th November at Central Hall Westminster, a full day conference looking at the landscape of sexual exploitation throughout the UK. We have early bird tickets available until end of Oct, and concessionary tickets available for those that require them: www.ceaseuk.org

It would be great to see as many people there as possible, and I hope to meet some of you in person! Thanks again.

Tom, thanks for coming onto the thread! And for the info re Cease I'll definitely look into going thanks for all your work.

Tom my thanks also for coming on the thread and writing your very thoughtful essay! I am sharing it widely!

Tom thanks for your well researched and very well written articles, very much appreciated. It's great to just hear lucid points of view that point out the inconsistencies in many of these trans activist claims.

OK I’m going off on a tangent here, but how many people irl realise that a trans woman is a man and not a woman. I’m surprised by the number of people aged 35+ I’ve spoken to who think a trans woman is a woman identifying as a man and not a man identifying as a woman. So in their view, yes, a tanswoman is a woman. Is this common I wonder.

MyEye very interesting point. Which is a great reason to say "women don't have penises".

myeyes
I used to think that was what it meant myself. It's a very confusing term, and no doubt if someone believes that "trans woman" means FTM, then when they hear people say TWAW this must just confirm them in that mistaken belief.
At any rate TW is a clever term because it makes them sound like a sunset of women.

Sorry, a subset.

Nice to see the author on this thread, so I can add my fulsome thanks for an excellent piece.

I went to see what your Twitter timeline was like, because obviously it would be completely on fire with the TRA hate and accusations and abuse, right....?

twitter.com/uracontra_/status/1048156477637238784

Funny that.

He is such a good writer and clear thinker. How dare he be so young!