WPUK meeting in London 20 May with Meghan Murphy, Julie Bindel, Selina Todd

[PlonitbatPlonit]

Tickets on sale now for London meeting just announced. Looks like a great meeting.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-womans-place-is-back-in-town-tickets-59993907392

I agree that Jean Hatchetts question was a deliberate wind up and unnecessary. I think it was designed to provoke and I can't be doing with that nonsense. Julia Long was sitting near me and seemed to be very cross the entire evening. This is a much bigger issue that left/right, and as a PP said, women can talk to whoever they bloody well like.

It was though, a fantastic evening. I'm still pretty new to all this and I learnt so much. Really inspirational. Pub was great too!

I was there too, upper level in a very green top about 2 rows behind Debbie Hayton.

Selina and Maya were inspirational speakers. I couldn't really hear Megan that well tbh. Julie was great too.

I think it's the first time since leaving high school that I've been around so many women and so few men, which overwhelmed me. I wish I'd gone to the pub but I got a bit shy.

The only person I really spoke with was the man sat next to me. It was his birthday but he didnt want to miss the opp to support WPUK. He was so nice, he even gave me a Woman Adult Human Female pen! So thanks P!

I thought it was an amazing event. Such a brilliant feeling of sisterhood.

I thought the question was a real shame, it would have been far better to have questions from some "ordinary" woman, not planted from well known people in the movement.

Julia Long was like a petulant teenager

I agree that it felt the ‘question’ from Jean felt a little stage managed. Also there should be supplementary questions allowed, WPUK are experienced trade unionists and speakers. I would have liked to hear their take on David Davies, or Julie’s on the Daily Mail, or whatever Julia Long, if it was her (I couldn’t see her, and wouldn’t have known who it was if someone hadn’t told me) shouted out.

This tiny moment aside, it was a fantastic evening. I can’t wait for the speeches to be released. We shouldn’t get caught up in petty squabbles, I don’t believe that any of us are that far apart.

We cannot talk about lack of respectful behaviour from MRA and then not treat each other with respect.

For what it is worth, I am deeply disappointed that WPUK chose to spoil what seemed to be a mostly interesting evening and engage in middle school playground antics last night with that question from Hatchett. I had thought better of WPUK, which is a misplaced sentiment, it seems.

Like everyone, they’re not perfect

It was a dick move, but we all make them occasionally!

I missed what happened?

It was a dick move, but we all make them occasionally!

Indeed! And it seems the original "dick move" occurred in January when certain people grossly misinterpreted the actions of three women who went to Washington DC and were deeply embarrassed by their misinterpretation when the facts of the matter became known.

No argument from me on that one Jacky

Further, if WPUK is populated with such experienced trade unionists / negotiators, perhaps some of those women can negotiate with others among them to apologise for the mistake made in January and put the matter to rest instead of facilitating the egos of some others to resurrect it.

it's highly unlikely it wasn't a strategic move too.

It's a flawed strategy then.

By all accounts 500 women sat in a church as members of an audience last evening. Does that mean that all those women are now god-worshippers?

It makes them no more god-worshippers than it makes those three women who sat in the audience at the Heritage Foundation being described as "working with the USA right wing".

A venue is a venue. Nothing more, nothing less.

I was surprised that almost all the questions read out came from people whose names I knew. It did feel a bit stage managed and that first question was divisive. It's a shame this is all taking attention away from such a great meeting.

I was in the pub briefly beforehand, couldn't stay afterwards unfortunately. Selina Todd was fantastic. She must be a wonderful teacher. Must read some of her work.

It did feel a bit stage managed and that first question was divisive.

Sadly, WPUK facilitated that division, which seems to suggest that the negotiating skills may be somewhat lacking.

What WPUK may need to do now is to issue a genuine and public apology to those women who went to Washington DC for the gross misinterpretation that arose and for the division it facilitated yesterday so as to put the matter to rest once and for all.

And, a further point:

WPUK chose a church for its venue last evening. Those three women who went to Washington DC had no influence whatsoever over the choice of the Heritage Foundation as the venue for the meeting about the harms done to children via the transgender ideology and practice.

Given that two of those three women are mothers of children why would they not attend a meeting about the harms done to children via transgender ideology and practice? Their own children are subject to indoctrination in our schools in UK to this ideology and practice imported from USA.

Agree with those who are saying that the first question was the only sour note. I do understand that there are feminists out there whose conception of feminism is of it being bound up with the Labour movement (Selina Todd explores this brilliantly) which does not match with my primary motivation for involvement here: as a parent, as a teacher, I am in this for safeguarding and I’d work with anyone to stop the damage to children that’s occurred as part of this movement.

These divisions have always existed however - as Flo says, maybe it’s inevitable; maybe it makes us stronger.

I have to say that although I enjoyed the speakers, I don’t think I would engage more fully with WPUK. I wish them well and believe women should be free to choose how they address patriarchy, I felt there was some incitement of division and also a feeling of being talked at, not so much by the speakers but by the fact that we couldn’t speak from the floor.

and also a feeling of being talked at, not so much by the speakers but by the fact that we couldn’t speak from the floor.

Yes, it's all very patriarchal isn't it?

Perhaps that is what happens when some women are entrenched in political structures that are designed by men for the benefit of men. The Unions movement is one such political structure. Political parties are another.

Feminists need to create separate and different structures perhaps?

Feminists need to create separate and different structures perhaps?

By this, I mean structures that avoid hierarchical [patriarchal] positions:

dominant V subordinate;

superior V inferior.

Patriarchal

The speeches were excellent. The atmosphere was excellent. The pub was excellent. Plenty of discussions going on there I can assure you.

Given there was nearly 500 people in that space and you'd have needed to get mics to anyone asking questions, it would have been a faff, especially upstairs. I am sincerely glad that it didn't go on, and on.

The questions were fine. I thought the panel gave different opinions so it wasn't one sided.

It was a great night, thanks WPUK for organising.

Did you go jackie?

"Maya gave me three of her 'Radicalised by Mumsnet' stickers!!"

Did you go jackie?

[Psst! It's Jacky!]

I was unable to attend eventually so asked for my ticket to be passed to someone else.

Given there was nearly 500 people in that space and you'd have needed to get mics to anyone asking questions, it would have been a faff, especially upstairs. I am sincerely glad that it didn't go on, and on.

Given that WPUK chose that venue and knew its layout, it is not beyond organisation to have been able to facilitate audience questions by having at least one microphone available on the ground floor and another in the gallery.