The misogyny continues in Manchester's Gay Village

[WeSeeYou]

This summer we had one of the presenters at Manchester Pride threatening to drag lesbians off "by their saggy old tits" for protesting against the cotton ceiling:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3350481-Homophobic-attack-against-lesbians-at-Manchester-Pride

Then we had posters going up across venues around the Village stating "no terfs on our turf" (with terf of course including any lesbian who won't have sex with someone with a penis who identifies as a woman):

twitter.com/elletorrito/status/1051534044624822272

And now as a festive Christmas event for the LGBT community they are showing Tangerine:

www.facebook.com/events/532052457263927/

This is the film, billed as a "transgender revenge movie" that was protested by Lesbian Nation on its release for its violent misogyny. (Natal) women are referred to as "fish" and "bitches" throughout and are beaten and abused by transwomen for laughs:

<a class="break-all" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170718170356/gendertrender.wordpress.com/2015/11/15/tangerine-london-film-premiere-hit-by-lesbian-nation-protest/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">web.archive.org/web/20170718170356/gendertrender.wordpress.com/2015/11/15/tangerine-london-film-premiere-hit-by-lesbian-nation-protest/

The LGBT community has always had a massive problem with misogyny - I got used to being sidelined, mocked and subject to misogynistic comments from gay men (e,g, the ubiquitious "ew, fish" when they encountered a lesbian) but recently, with the massively expanded trans/queer contingent (beyond the transsexuals which we have always had) and especially since the London Pride protests, the tone has completely changed. It's not just dismissive and disdainful of women and in particular lesbians, it is openly, aggressive, violent hatred. I never used to feel scared going to the Village but I do now. It's the place I least feel safe as a lesbian in Manchester.

Macclesfield bar bans women but this time they fight back!

makemorenoisemanc.wixsite.com/mysite/mmnblog/women-stand-up-in-manchester-protest-at-the-five-clouds-tap-and-bottle

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3301033-Get-the-L-Out-Statement-by-the-lesbian-protesters-at-Pride-London
since the other threads on London Pride 2018 and the peaceful and non-hateful Get the L out protest seem to have been zapped

ChattyLion
I don't think they're zapped just harder to find!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3299646-Lesbians-protest-at-London-Pride-getthelout

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3337090-Get-the-L-Out-Interviewed-by-Let-a-Woman-Speak

LGBT groups should be calling for lesbians to still be able to peacefully protest for their rights at Pride, in response to this ‘upping of security’

Yes, they should. They should also tackle Pride's rewriting of history with their statement about putting transpeople at the centre of Pride in recognition of '50 Years since the first Stonewall riot'.

They are obviously gearing up extra stewards and more dancing police officers to deal with the sort of protest that happened in 2018. It will be playing into their hands to carry out the same protest from within the March.

There are more creative and effective ways of protesting at Pride - ones where stewards and police have limited control and power to intervene. I couldn't possibly discuss the options on this public forum.

It seems that groups which originally organised on the basis of shared oppression are now disintegrating into a battle over who is the most oppressed.

It seems that groups which originally organised on the basis of shared oppression are now disintegrating into a battle over who is the most oppressed.

No, women are focussed on defending Safeguarding & Women's rights against groups who are deiberately using 'oppresion hierarchies' as a means to deny these.

Rowantrees - That's what I was getting at. I mean that it is sad that a movement which was supposed to be unifying has now turned to this disgusting state of affairs with claimed special oppressed status used as justification for attacking women.

And silencing them.

Tano As many have said, its a very effective MRA movement.

R0wan thank you for the links- that’s great. We lost a Manchester Pride thread to the zapper and I was worried London Pride threads had gone the same way!

Pam I am very pleased to see there are some other options still open for peaceful protest despite the authoritarian (to put it politely) climate among some of the bigger LGBT organisations.

There will be a difference between 2018 and 2019 Pride marches.

In 2018, the numbers of protesters were small. They were characterised as extreme transphobes on the fringes - and not representative of lesbians. The plight of lesbians facing homophobia and overt rape culture was largely unknown to the general public.

I feel that the tide is turning, especially since more high-profile gay men and lesbians have become switched on to the cuckoos in the LGB nest, and the recent activities of Stonewall.

There is some groundwork to be done before the summer. There is a need to build on peak-trans-ing the people who continue to say that a man can be a lesbian. Stickers, posters, pamphlets, hoardings, boycotts of sponsors will all play their part in the run up. There will be a need for a fighting fund.

Upping security is no way to stop a burgeoning grassroots movement and an increasingly enlightened LBG. The Trans brand is tarnished and will never regain its credibility, in my view.

We lost a Manchester Pride thread to the zapper and I was worried London Pride threads had gone the same way!

relevent thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3350481-Homophobic-attack-against-lesbians-at-Manchester-Pride-Thread-title-edited-at-OPs-request

theOtherPamAyres
I'm not sure how effective that will be, really. Unless protesters block the route again.
Police will kettle protesters and that will be it.
I'd like an alternative Pride, really. Not much time to organise one. Gay Shame manage to do it. wiki
There's a trans pride in Brighton. Why not a lesbian pride somewhere?
Macclesfield? I'm sure there's a Travelodge I can crash in.
Also if it was big enough, policing would have to be light touch, because the alternative (lesbians show up to have a parade and a few beers, coppers beat them up because they said TWANW) isn't very photogenic.

Unless protesters block the route again

That is so 2018 . This is the format that the extra security will be prepared for. It's also the easier one to police swiftly and effectively, without kettling.

On the other hand, it would be a headache if protesters were embedded in the crowd, highly mobile, darting into positions along the route - not interfering with the march, directing any chants or banners at lesbian marchers only, and leaving trans marchers well alone.

That's just one example of a scenario that stewards find challenging.

I don't discount the sit-down-obstruction tactic at all.

Like the suffragettes, the publicity surrounding an arrest followed by court appearances, is not to be sniffed at.

I can't imagine that the Suffragettes' would have agreed to proceed by summons or accept a caution, if they'd existed - because the publicity and newsworthy activity was all that mattered to them. They were so brave and selfless for the cause!

Thanks R0wan for posting the surviving Manchester Pride thread. I really appreciate your posting of links.