Jean Hatchet, new blog post

[SugarPlumFairy99]

jeanhatchet.blogspot.com/2019/01/why-i-wont-be-standing-up-for-women.html

This blog post from Jean is eye-opening. Working alongside anti-abortion, hard right groups undermines decades of feminism.

Shame on Posie. I agree with Jean, I will also be sitting down for women.

So perhaps it's a good thing you got out of your bubble?

If I've been in a bubble at all - it has certainly not been one defined by twitter. That's my point, really. So much of what seems to pass on here is related to who said what on twitter, and who has just been banned or blocked. Quite a small and specific world.

I contribute, in the main, to just one other forum - and that is an almost completely male urbanism and architecture forum. I think I'll stick to mainly surfing this one for info and to keep abreast of the Mumsphere...

Forums aren't everyone's cup of tea, which is fine. No one expects you should be into it so there's no need to tell everyone that it's not for you. Maybe tell your Resisters comrade who recommended it instead?

So much of what seems to pass on here is related to who said what on twitter, and who has just been banned or blocked. Quite a small and specific world

Maybe try reading a few more threads then? Do what you want love, no one's making you use MN.

A lot of "specific actions" originated here. Man Friday for example.

There has been a significant amount of promoting of FairPlayforWomen and A Women's Place through mumsnet.

Other spin off real life groups started here.

You are experiencing "recency", and assuming your experience of coming here because of on the ground movement is the only direction of travel. The flow of action - discussion - action has been running many/all ways for years now.

This is not a little bubble. Try to engage brain before patronising people.

Just

Yes a lot of real life action is what helps bring traffic. Also when a famous person gets called out for transphobia. At least the Rose McGowan saga was what drew me. People wonder what is going on and do a quick google. News stories are well and good, but , I’ve always enjoyed reading others discussions and interpretations about what happened.

Forums and chat rooms are often cliquey, always have been always will be. It’s just the nature of the beast. We probably all should try and remember that what’s written doesn’t have the nuance and tone of the spoken word. Jokes fall flat, something gets misinterpreted. It happens. Hell, try keeping up with all this when you’re on a completely different time zone.

If glad you found some real life women you can take action with. I hope you share your activism adventures with us.

ReSisters is doing good work, and if one of their members is a bit patronizing I'm not going to hold that against them.

I'm going to contact my horrid, pro hunt, Cons MP and try to turn him GC

I doubt you’ll have to try hard. He’s likely to be an ally, I doubt he wants women (or even transwomen) in his Masonic lodge and he most certainly will not want random penises near his wife/mother/daughter!

I do see this all taking place in a little bubble. Mumsnet and Twitter.

The point of the #womenstandup week of action is to encourage more people to do something, however small: speak to people, write to your MP, hand out leaflets, wear a T.Shirt etc.

All of these actions count and together they add up.

Jean Hatchet, Posie Parker, Venice Allen, Meghan Murphy, the women in US groups and many others have been publically doing so much.

(In my opinion understanding what is happening is also part of doing )

This was exactly the point Jean Hatchet was making in the tweet I shared (sadly reported and deleted) her actions will involve riding for murdered women as she has been doing for a long time alongside all her other work standing up for women.

24/9/2018 Feminist Current article: INTERVIEW: The irrepressible Venice Allan on her fight against changes to the UK Gender Recognition Act
Julie Moss speaks with Venice Allan, the organizer of We Need to Talk — a series of events aimed at discussing proposed changes to the UK Gender Recognition Act'

(extract)
"One good thing is that the general public is behind us — the average person thinks this all is wrong. A YouGov poll sponsored by PinkNews found that only 18 per cent of people are in favour of allowing individuals to change their legal sex through self-identification. Nobody goes along with this shit.

I think we’ve proved our point with the meetings. Now, I think direct action is what we need to be doing. What lesbians did at London Pride is a good example — all types of people were talking about that. The UK government deliberately chose to start the public consultation about proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act during Pride week, but those women brought it back to lesbians.

It’s inspiring that just eight women can reach that many people. The “lesbian = female homosexual” message really shows the trans agenda for what it is. Trans activists forget that the general public doesn’t buy the notion that a penis is a female organ.

“Lesbian = Female Homosexual” is a great slogan. You’d have to be mad to disagree with that. We’re not just talking about young lesbians being pressured to have sex with men who claim to be women, but it’s become unacceptable (and possibly illegal, in the future) to have female-only meetings, book clubs, or festivals without including men who identify as women. Young lesbians are being told by society and the state that they are actually men born in the wrong body. Look at the 4000 per cent increase in young women and girls being referred to gender clinics for assessment.

I don’t think the average person actually understands that all lesbian and female-only spaces are under threat. That can engage quite a lot of people. We all have to keep fighting. The Consultation period for amendments to the GRA ends on October 19th, but we must continue fighting after that whatever the outcome.

JM: Do you have a message for Feminist Current readers?

VA: My message has always been that I’m just an ordinary concerned mother and woman. I haven’t really done anything and everyone needs to stand up — this is not the time to be worrying about our reputations and what people think of us. It’s now or never, and if these laws go through, we’re fucked. You don’t have to be an expert. Not everyone likes organizing events, but anyone can do something, and the more of us that stand up, the less they can attack us."
www.feministcurrent.com/2018/09/24/interview-irrepressible-venice-allan-fight-changes-uk-gender-recognition-act/

And Twitter a small and specific world? There are feminists protesting outside of twitter at the moment as it is now actively discriminating against women. A major comms channel, which is trivial to you so therefore trivial by definition. It's not trivial when a global tech platform discriminates. Maybe at 50 you don't understand modern comms?

Try not to assume the "mumsphere" is trivial. Your sexism is showing.

If I've been in a bubble at all - it has certainly not been one defined by twitter. That's my point, really. So much of what seems to pass on here is related to who said what on twitter, and who has just been banned or blocked. Quite a small and specific world.

Twitter is influential (that it shouldn't be doesn't deny its relevence)
Recognising and understanding how power there is used and abused is important just as it is relevent to recognise where this is happening.

Maybe at 50 you don't understand modern comms?

Now now - the people who invented and created modern comms are all now over 50!

I was Twitter wasn't so important, but politicians pay attention to it so it is.

I just wish everything wasn't turned into some kind of hierarchy. Everyone's got something to offer. No one woman is better than another. We put in what we can and we take out what we need. Some of us have specific knowledge we can share - be it on science, safeguarding, feminist theory, whatever. Some of us have time we can commit to Real World activism. Some of us can use our real names because our jobs don't depend on it. Some of us have disposable income so can finance others.

That's what feminist activism is. Women sharing of themselves and sustaining other women by doing it.

It's neither better nor worse to be a ReSister than a Mumsnetter or a VAWG campaigner or or or. It's all the same. It's women, pulling, pulling, pulling, together however they can. If would be best for everyone if we all stopped denigrating others for making a different contribution to the one we ourselves are making.

Indeed.

As for actions this week. All I have committed to so far is wearing my definition of women garb every day.. i'd be up for hearing what others plan to do. I would like inspiration.

I hope they are welcoming on that architecture forum

That's what feminist activism is. Women sharing of themselves and sustaining other women by doing it.

It's neither better nor worse to be a ReSister than a Mumsnetter or a VAWG campaigner or or or. It's all the same. It's women, pulling, pulling, pulling, together however they can. If would be best for everyone if we all stopped denigrating others for making a different contribution to the one we ourselves are making.

exactly this ^^

Now now - the people who invented and created modern comms are all now over 50!

I know, I was taking the piss. I'm well over 50. "Mumsphere" mums TAUGHT KIDS HOW TO USE TECH. Amazing huh.

*I just wish everything wasn't turned into some kind of hierarchy. Everyone's got something to offer. No one woman is better than another. We put in what we can and we take out what we need. Some of us have specific knowledge we can share - be it on science, safeguarding, feminist theory, whatever. Some of us have time we can commit to Real World activism. Some of us can use our real names because our jobs don't depend on it. Some of us have disposable income so can finance others.

That's what feminist activism is. Women sharing of themselves and sustaining other women by doing it.

It's neither better nor worse to be a ReSister than a Mumsnetter or a VAWG campaigner or or or. It's all the same. It's women, pulling, pulling, pulling, together however they can. If would be best for everyone if we all stopped denigrating others for making a different contribution to the one we ourselves are making.*

Awesome post (as always)

I know, I was taking the piss. I'm well over 50.
Phew Bubonic I was a bit slow on the uptake there.

You are experiencing "recency", and assuming your experience of coming here because of on the ground movement is the only direction of travel. The flow of action - discussion - action has been running many/all ways for years now.

This.

I think I'll stick to my local Re-sisters group for comradeship and actual action.

Not all women are in good health. Many have extensive caring responsibilities. Some are on a tight budget. But through FWR I've seen many, myself included, write to their MP, fill out government consultations, sign petitions, donate to fundraisers when they can. It allows women from all different circumstances to get involved, it all matters and it all counts.

Repeal
Yes probably won't be to hard to get him to agree, I guess getting him to speak out and support us is what we need!

That's a very important point Bluestitch MN was an absolute lifeline when the kids were small. I can easily forget how much I needed it when I was pretty much confined to the home and only had random snatches of time to think about wider issues.

Actually I kind of agree about Twitter and I too have sometimes wondered whether we spend too much tine talking about what some knobhead, who nobody in the real world, has heard of has said on it.
But it’s good for finding out stuff that never makes / is kept out of the news. I probably woukdn’t have known about the plans to reform the GRA if it hadn’t been for Twitter and FWR.

I suspect a lot of posters on here are ‘old’ bewilderness was 70’s wasn’t she? This board is a great way for women who are no longer physically able to go out and be protest to impart their knowledge and life experience to younger women who can go out and put it to good use.

This will be won be women from all walks of life’s taking tiny little actions, day in, day out. There was a thread running here once ‘what have you done for women today’ can be anything, smiled at a mother in the supermarket and told her she’s doing a good job, donated to Woman’s aid, signed a petition, met with an MP, challenged an organisation on removing ‘sex’ as a protected characteristic from their policies, called out misogynistic language in conversation, travelled to America to protest outside twitter, passed a FPFW leaflet on to the next women it all adds up