Interesting twitter thread - if you ever wondered what Stephen Whittle took from exchanges here...

[PlayYouLikeAShark]

https://twitter.com/sarahstuartxx/status/1132355559406088193?s=21

Well worth a read (and it's still getting added to so worth watching).

Whittle suggesting the government do what the city of London has done and disregard 50k responses...

Whittle, having opted into male privilege, seems determined to ensure that women are kept firmly in their place
I thought J Bindle was a sensible feminist. Am I wrong? Has the lure of money and power changed her

I am skeptical of Whittle's Bindel claim.

That is very very funny.

But seriously, in all the gathering of evidence of how super mean mumsnetters are, did he never think to briefly glance at our actual opinions? After years of campaigning and media attention, how can he still claim to not understand that this does effect women and not just trans people? How can anyone be so wilfully obtuse? Utterly utterly baffling.

That is a HUGELY informative twitter thread.

Why do some trans people feel themselves compelled to be permanently in misrepresentation mode?

She's onto the bit now about non binary titles on forms, which I actually don't mind as I hate having to pick a title that makes a statement about my marital status, but the HSBC example has like a zillion possible titles. Wouldn't it be easier to just get rid of titles altogether? They serve literally no purpose except to help people make judgements on you based on which category your in. It's just another example of "I don't like either of these boxes so instead of getting rid of the boxes I'll create 20 new ones". Enough with the pissing boxes already!

From the twitter thread Whittle gave an example of transwoman who had been put through the mill because obtaining a GRC would mean having to admit to their husband they weren't born a female.

Do these people believe what their mates told them behind the bike sheds?

It’s like they have no sexual literacy at all.

Stephen Whittle has posted on MN

Stephen Whittle started this thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3212371-Where-are-all-the-trans-men-An-Answer

SW joined this one where women were highlighting his irresponsible use of suicide in a Guardian article. Having had the concerns clearly outlined, Stephen Whittle returned and acknowledged his error saying Samaritans guidelines never crossed his mind & asked the Guardian to edit his comments in line with well-established safeguards.
(He also said on the thread that TRAs knew they had Labour behind gender self-id so would just have to get them elected)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3397010-Guardian-article-on-MPs-concern-with-GRA

see also:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3436955-Stephen-Whittle

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3398127-Stephen-Whittle-influential-TRA-asserts-We-know-we-have-Labour-behind-this-one-so-will-simply-do-our-best-to-get-them-elected-Corbyn-seems-to-confirm-this-at-Pink-News

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3249035-Stephen-Whittle-s-blog-on-Genderquake-with-a-detailed-briefing-for-panelists

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3397127-Stephen-Whittle-Press-for-Change-irresponsible-use-of-likely-suicides-follows-Helen-Belchers-Trans-Media-Watch

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3463920-Lets-go-back-to-2007

Whittle gave an example of transwoman who had been put through the mill because obtaining a GRC would mean having to admit to their husband they weren't born a female.

Because marriages based on lies always work out well.

Because marriages based on lies always work out well.

Exactly so .. read the two threads written by the Trans Widows to see the damage done to children and women:

1 www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3101834-trans-widows-escape-committee

2 www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3471122-trans-widows-escape-committee-2-the-trans-widows-strike-back

How mean of Stephen. We were so polite on Stephen's Very Special FWR thread. I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked.

Breakwind I've seen Julie bindel being fairly complementary about whittle on twitter, and he was positive about appearing on a panel with gc feminists (discussed with Rosa freedman?) so it's possible he would collaborate from their two differing perspectives. Just speculation on my part.

The most bizarre bit of that thread was the painting claimed to be nb because of a fuzzy beard.

Bloody hell I've just read the SW thread. Started strong - DV shelters should be single sex - "good stuff" I thought, "why aren't we lobbying this seemingly sane and powerful individual to restore peace?"

Theeeeeen I hit the part where SW said mixed sex sleeping arrangements weren't a big deal because Girl Guide leaders can just give them condoms or emergency contraception. And my brain exploded.

How? What? It's like engaging with people from a different planet! So now I think SW can go fuck SW-self.

Theeeeeen I hit the part where SW said mixed sex sleeping arrangements weren't a big deal because Girl Guide leaders can just give them condoms or emergency contraception. And my brain exploded.

Yep. I'll never forget that thread as long as I live. How we all managed to be so polite - what with being terfen witches forever spoiling crops an' all - I shall never know.

I honestly had to read it several times. I can't comprehend that a human being - much less an educated one with daughters - would write that down and see no problem with it. It really shows that there actually isn't any point debating them. You can't reason with someone that divorced from reality.

It only makes sense if you start with the proposition that women and girls are worthless. After that the entire trans ideology falls neatly into place.

Slightly off track, but what..... Dr Meg John Barker is Edward Lords partner right?

mobile.twitter.com/sarahstuartxx/status/1132396096771301376

Sarah Stuart @sarahstuartxx

okay, this is the final bit now, I promise.

SECOND KEYNOTE
Dr. Meg John Barker (Open University)Trans: Adventurers across Time and Space
Trans people are time travellers and shape shifters. Yep, you heard correctly.

Apparently yes, from the thread there are examples of shape shifting and time travel. I am at a loss here.

The same Dr Meg John Barker who wrote the godawful BACP guide: Gender, Sexual, and Relationship Diversity.

They've deleted and changed things after some people highlighted the batshittery contained within, but some of us downloaded the original- containing such gems as:

"Being a woman in a British cultural context often means adhering to social norms of femininity, such as being nurturing, caring, social, emotional, vulnerable, and concerned with appearance.

However, of course, not all women adhere to all these things. For example some neurodiverse women (on the autistic/aspergic/ADHD spectrums) may struggle to express emotions, or with social situations. In some northern working-class contexts femininity is associated with strength and aggression."

NBs experience injustice when they can't access the title "Mx" because it means a decision has to be made whether to comply or refuse a service. Aiden encouraged the audience (who I feel on the whole were mainly NB, as were the panel) that disruption was the best way forward.

Hmm, just like those of us who reject gender ideology experience injustice when we have to answer ‘gender’ on a form when the information really being asked for is ‘sex’? Good to know the trans lobby approves of our disruptive approach when we cross it out and write “Sex not gender” then

Lo said effectively that the City of London had 'won' the consultation

Tells you all you need to know about CoL’s attitude here..... no one wins or loses a consultation you idiots. It’s about asking people what their opinions are, and then you’re supposed to listen to them!

Christ, the sheer lunacy of these sorts of talks. It’s like a competition to see how much weapons-grade idiocy they can manage to horn in to a 10 minute slot. It’s all such total bollocks

I am skeptical of Whittle's Bindel claim.

It does sound surprising - more surprising that they’d be able to find any common ground to work from given Whittle’s expressed opinions on nasty T**Fs etc. Although in this blog whittlings.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-death-of-inclusivetolerant-trans.html?m=1 he describes her as an “academic colleague and friend” and claims “Julie has changed her views over the years, and no longer writes pieces attacking our community”. Implying she previously did attack the ‘trans community’ which is pretty backhanded IMO!

I’ve tagged Julie Bindel on Twitter to ask if it’s true anyway.

This is the whole Twitter thread on threadreader. t.co/MBZOyJRk65?amp=1 Kudos to Sarah Stuart for sitting through it with a straight face. I couldn't have.

Bob spent a full 20 minutes arguing that Bosch's depiction of a maiden saint was likely NB.

Bob came to this conclusion because he felt that Bosch had painted the saint with a "wispy beard".

LMAO. How does anyone of reasonable intelligence sit in these conferences and not think to themselves 'Oh ok, that's why people criticise this movement'?

Whittle complained that nowadays when you fill out an online application form you get offered more than the binary choice of Mr/Mrs. As a man, Whittle doesn't want to be reminded that he might fit into the non-binary/other categories.

Whittle did his "all the older lesbians are disappearing" anecdote and observed that all the new lesbians aren't arriving either.

Whilst not suggesting for a moment that whittle is a friend to women, he is an old school transsexual and clearly doesn't quite buy the full PoMo script.

There might well be common ground. I'd certainly be interested to read a book from him and Julie. I predict he'd get crucified by his own side for it.

Placemarking, because that twitter thread is gold (and Sarah is amazing). Will come back to this later!