I'm 42. Do you think I can attend?

[CoddledAsAMommet]

Facebook post advertising a local event. I'm sure it will be well thought-out and that the organisers have worked very hard. But can I attend do you think? I'm 42 but identify as a young woman between 14-16 so surely I'd be welcomed in?
It does sound like a great event, I'm not knocking it, but why the 'identify as one?' are young women aged 14-16 not enough? Not good enough as a group so they need to be supplemented? Surely this event is now open to 'people'?

If you are a young woman (or identify as one) and aged 14 -16, with an interest in equal rights and creativity, join us for a free afternoon workshop. Explore your creative activist side through a guided hands-on craftivism session (crafting in the service of social, political or environmental change) alongside playful discussion with a small group of your peers.

Presented by artist Alinah Azadeh, this session will explore and discuss what barriers still exist for young women today 100 years after suffrage, and ways they can be addressed through art and craft practices. It will also give you tools to take away in dealing with specific issues such as sexism in school and beyond.

The workshop will also act as tour of art and craftivist work inspired by the pioneering, creative campaigns of the Suffragettes and many other, lesser known campaigns nationally and internationally which use individual or collective creativity to speak out and act on social - and other forms - of justice.

I think this language is ok:

“If you are a young woman (or identify as one) and aged 14 -16, with an interest in equal rights and creativity, join us for a free afternoon workshop.”

It is open to both types of people but does not conflate them.

I'm 42. I identify as 16 so I'd like to go please.

If they say 'identify as' then thats fine, and if they object say they're being transage-phobic but in more dignified terms than a man would.

But they don't say 'and age 14-16' (or identify as that age)

As the bracket is after the woman but before the age they are only letting identifying women in not identifying teenagers.

The whole thing sounds dire to me.

14-16 year olds aren't women, surely?

Seems to me it means boys of that age group who think they're girls.

Yes Coddled I think if they are embracing the ridiculous concept of self-ID then you are just dandy to go along and identify as 14-16.

If the organisers demur, point out that they don't seem too worried about male teenagers taking girls' places.

The identify as is in brackets before the “and”. It is not suggesting you can attend if you identify as 14-16.

Of course, sweetie, but make sure you’re home by 10 or you’re grounded next weekend

They have bungled it totally

Open to young women or anyone who identifies as female = v good

" issues such as sexism in school and beyond" NO NO NO sexism references SEX which as we all know is irrelevant and possible doesn't exist. Should read " issues such as femme-phoba in school and beyond. "

Second bungle:

"what barriers still exist for young women today 100 years after suffrage" This EXPLICITLY links "woman" a gendered term ONLY and suffrage which was about cunty people. This needs rework. It's hard to think how to reference suffrage which was inherently transphobic as were the rules around voting, separating people out by their genitals and applying different rules, seems v gynaecentric and gentially fixated. Maybe just remove that problematic reference, it's old hat and historical. Maybe "what barriers still exist for young femmes today 100 years after 100 years ago"

2/10 for organisers. It's great that they have made this female only workshop open to everyone, but their thinking is outdated restricted phobic and hangs on bad science.