I came across this article by Attwood today. It is a year old, and addressing schisms among generations of feminists. What I found really interesting about it, is this quote:
“This structure – guilty because accused – has applied in many more episodes in human history than Salem. It tends to kick in during the "Terror and Virtue" phase of revolutions – something has gone wrong, and there must be a purge, as in the French Revolution, Stalin's purges in the USSR, the Red Guard period in China, the reign of the Generals in Argentina and the early days of the Iranian Revolution. The list is long and Left and Right have both indulged. Before "Terror and Virtue" is over, a great many have fallen by the wayside. Note that I am not saying that there are no traitors or whatever the target group may be; simply that in such times, the usual rules of evidence are bypassed.
Such things are always done in the name of ushering in a better world. Sometimes they do usher one in, for a time anyway. Sometimes they are used as an excuse for new forms of oppression. ”
It seems an astute observation that can be used to describe, on a smaller scale, the dynamics playing out among trans ideologues themselves, e.g. the purging of people arguing ‘true’ trans are those with gender dysphoria, but also most recently among gender critical people.
The whole ‘distancing from’ palaver going on regarding Posie et al. atm seems to be following a typical pattern.
It made me think that this makes the individuals rushing to condemn Posie, Venice and Julia are almost irrelevant, and their haste to judge without full possession of the facts seems to have been predicted already.
I also think it is extraordinary that the most astute and best considered analyses of the situation took place, not among academics or politicians, but here, among women of MN.
It is perhaps close to inevitable that, as movements mature, such attempted purges will happen. So it is not a tragedy per se, that they do, but we do have to be aware that this happens, and will almost certainly happen again.
On here we seem very, very good at concluding that ideological purity is undesirable.
I think that is a point we should emphasise repeatedly, and possibly be the first to not repeat these unhealthy patterns.
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/am-i-a-bad-feminist/article37591823/