Deborah Frances-White and trans-women in sport

[RitaFairclough]

I think DFW is marvellous and I love the Guilty Feminist. But I just read her comment on Twitter about the sport debate and I am wondering how any feminist can really support that position.

I am too scaredy cat to comment on twitter because I use it for work stuff, but I would like to present the following scenarios...

You are a 12-year-old girl and you are really fast at running. You win medals and you dream of being at the Olympics one day. You can even beat the boys - for now. When you are 13, or 14, a trans-girl arrives in your races. She is much taller than you and she runs faster. She wins the medals, and the sponsorship. You know however hard you train you will never beat her. You give up running.

Or

You are a 12-year-old boy and you’re good at running. But by the time you’re 14, your times are slipping and you’re not winning any more. Your coach suggests you say you’re a girl and try your luck in those races. You’re not keen but your parents are pushy and your coach is too, and once you’ve done it once and won a medal easily you start to see the benefits...

I just can’t see any way in which girls or women don’t lose here.

She's saying that it's ok for a boy to self-ID as a girl and beat them in races (although you couldn't beat other boys) and that no one should complain that this is unfair on the girls.

And she is misquoting Martina.

It’s a bit chicken shit to just delete, I would have liked her to comment on how she thinks children (or anyone) can change sex.

I would have liked her to comment on how she thinks children (or anyone) can change sex.

Thinks? Nah.

That tweet confused me. I thought she meant the 12 year old girl was really a 12 year old girl. Turns out they are really a boy? Really?

Why didn't she call her a transgirl in that case? People really need to distinguish between the two.

Why didn't she call her a transgirl in that case?

Because trans activists always want to hide what they're up to. It's all about misleading people by misrepresentation.

I've never come across this woman before. But she's clearly an idiot, isn't she? Her "argument" is irrational and relies entirely on an appeal to emotion. It's the sort of thing that women have always been accused of in the past. If she wants to feel guilty about anything, she should feel guilty about that.

This. This is also the first time I've heard of this person, and I'm not interested in hearing a word more from her. How can you prioritise males and call yourself a feminist.
Yes, she needs to feel guilty. Think about what she says. Listen to other voices, to women who put girls and women first. THAT'S a feminist.

Just read more of her Twitter and found the following nugget:

#NowForNI #AbortionIsNotACrime please RT for Northern Ireland. Women and other people who can get pregnant are convicted there for services we receive free on the NHS. PLEASE STAND WITH @AmnestyUK on this & tell @NIOgov how you feel today.

My bold. Yes. She means pregnant "men".

Trouble is the message she is trying to get across is important. It is crazy that abortion is a crime in Northern Ireland. The law should be changed and she is doing a good job publicising that. She just ties herself in knots because she doesn't want to offend any one, and in doing so actually offends a lot of her target audience.

I loved the series DFW rolls the dice, tales absolutely it her childhood with the Jehova's witness, her adoption and her quest to find her biological family. It really made me laugh. But the guilty feminist hasn't quite hit the spot for me. And she can fuck right off with her "other people who can get pregnant".

major proofreading fail absence of "tales absolutely it her childhood" i think that was meant to read "tales of her childhood"

It’s a bit chicken shit to just delete

Not only is it chicken shit, but I doubt the TRAs will appreciate her deleting it, so it's stupid as well.

'I've never come across this woman before. But she's clearly an idiot, isn't she? '

She's wrong on the trans issue.

I don't know if she's an idiot though or that we should completely write her off and not listen to anything that she says.

I don't think everyone on earth can be split into two categories: 'idiots' and 'people who know everything and are never, ever wrong'.

I think there is probably at least a third category of 'reasonably intelligent, well-meaning and trying your best, but sometimes (or even a lot of the time) getting it wrong'. I think that was the initial aim of the guilty feminist podcast, although I agree it's lost its way a bit!

I hope she's taken down that tweet because she's had/is having a good think about it and will address her mistakes.

No I don't agree. I think she's an idiot you can be a person who is not an idiot but doesn't know too much about what's going on (like most of us at some point).
But this woman apparently talks about sexual politics for a living!
She knows all the arguments, she just seems to be unable to engage her brain.

I hope she's taken down that tweet because she's had/is having a good think about it and will address her mistakes.

I certainly hope so. I think she's a victim of that female disease of wanting to be good, nice, charitable, and so on. I really hope that reading the reasonable replies to her silly tweet made her pause, and then take it down. I think it's a good sign that she didn't argue or try to defend her statement.

'But this woman apparently talks about sexual politics for a living!'

But not in the role of expert or lecturer! She hosts a podcast as a comedian and interested-to-learn feminist, it's a forum for different people to air their views/discuss things.

I think it's shortsighted to dismiss her as an idiot never to be listened to again because she's made a mistake. We shouldn't limit the people allowed to discuss feminism/sexual politics publicly, to experts - know everything or shut up! That's not a good idea. I think what she says/does next will be telling. I believe she is genuinely trying her best and does some good stuff. She has got caught up trying to never offend anyone though.

I'm not a massive DFW fan btw! Although I quite like her sometimes.

I just think it's counter productive to dismiss, ignore, ridicule anyone who says anything a bit stupid. Better to engage when someone is genuine, but misguided.

I think there is probably at least a third category of 'reasonably intelligent, well-meaning and trying your best, but sometimes (or even a lot of the time) getting it wrong'. I think that was the initial aim of the guilty feminist podcast, although I agree it's lost its way a bit!

When you're talking about a woman who is willing to sell other women, and especially to sell girls, down the river because she stands to gain from being seen to support an ideology, the term "idiot" is extremely generous.

I don't think that's the case. I don't think she's doing it deliberately for personal gain. I think she's genuine.

But I don't know her, so maybe I'm wrong and you're right. I guess time will tell!

Wanting to be seen as a cool girl to make sure the bad people choose to "do it to Julia" is personal gain.

She has got caught up trying to never offend anyone though.

I don't think that's what she's doing. She's decided that male transpeople need her protection. Which is fine, she's entitled to prioritize who ever she wants.

She's not even thinking of the 12 year old girls she's telling to budge up in that tweet. She's celebrating the idea that a boy can be whatever he wants to be and be anywhere he wants to be. And shut up anyone who says otherwise.

I hope she reflects on why she chose to target 12 year girls in this way.

I used to love TGF but stopped listening when she had a TW, and a woman who had been a victim of FGM on as guests. She paused conversation with the woman who’d been a victim of FGM to ask the TW if she was offended by the “F” in FGM, as it implied a penis wasn’t female genitalia.

I was done at that point.

Seriously Medium??? Dear god, how ridiculously offensive. Perfect example of having a mind so open that your brain falls out

I've just spotted this. Deborah Frances-White has never been a feminist and why so many women fall for The Guilty Feminist I don't know. She just uses populist lib-feminism lite as a marketing hook on which to hang her broadcasting career.

Reubs Walsh said on that program that FGM should be referred to a Misogynist Genital Mutilation.