A pleasant surprise

[APleasantSurprise]

NC for this as very outing.

I came across a number of Tweets from a user whose profile described him as a serving officer with the Met. This is the complaint I sent yesterday:

Jon Killen, a emergency response officer in the MPS and LGBT+ officer, is issuing Tweets that I consider misogynist. His Twitter account (@LDNResponseCop) clearly identifies him professionally, so he cannot argue that he's only offering personal opinions. I cannot think his social media presence is doing anything good for the Met. It seems highly unprofessional. Certainly I would have less confidence were I involved in an incident and had to deal with Jon Killen than I would in a generic officer. Please look at what he's saying - and the response from many LGBT Twitter users who find his Tweets offensive. The police must be seen to be impartial.

I got a call from an inspector this morning. He'd gone through the officer's Tweets and agreed with me. He said it wasn't a disciplinary matter as there were no personally offensive Tweets but that the Tweets definitely overstepped the bounds of what a serving police officer should be saying on social media. A conversation was in order and he would be talking to the officer soon.

Only a small step, but I was pleased the Met seems to have taken it seriously.

Being socialised male actually gives transwomen a very unique and useful insight into feminist issues, they have very illuminating perspectives that are particularly good for making men understand women’s experiences. A valuable asset!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

In your heart of hearts, though, you know they don’t pass.
I treat all people equally and with respect, you’ll be very pleased to know. Whilst retaining an awareness of basic biology. An androgynous look.....meh, been there, got all the t shirts, boots etc........ Claiming you are biologically Male on the other hand - that’s your internal mental gymnastics and I’m under no obligation to buy into it. Cos Biology.

There is such a thing as overplaying one's hand, I feel.

(Now duly cheered up for an afternoon of shitty work ahead.)

It’s fine for people to have seriously misguided views

The earth is flat
The royal family are lizards
Chemtrails
Men can become women because of something in their brain

Crack on

The issue is when people with these views get to shape policy

I guess the point I’m making is the ones to really engage with are the policy makers, not the holders of the crack pot views (apart of course from when they’re both)

*claiming to be biologically female, that should have said. My keyboard is struggling under the yoke of the patriarchy obviously.

Anyway it’s been a bit of a wake up call to me how mainstream the intense transphobia is. All the more reason to push for progress!

It’s been depressing. Now I know why I have seen MN referred to as “4chan but for housewives”! (Not my personal words/accusation but interesting comparison).

Facts are transphobic. Dogs are transphobic. Everything's transphobic. Mother nature - what a bloody transphobe.

That damn mainstream Basic Biology! Grrrrr!

Yeah cos no woman on here has a job or career. It's not like any of us are doctors, lawyers, scientists etc...If you think that you are sadly mistaken.

Clearly you think we should stick to talking about prams and knitting.

Anyway it’s been a bit of a wake up call to me how mainstream the intense transphobia is. All the more reason to push for progress!

You are deluded if you think this is just a forum for 'housewives'. This forum acts as a meeting place for people from all walks of life and profession, as well as for mothers and home-makers.

What is 'mainstream' is the ever increasing realisation of the full scope of what is going on in the name of trans rights. Bring it on! The more the merrier. Trans ideology cannot survive with proper scrutiny - because it is based on essential untruths and its foundations are inherently insecure.

I'm not a fucking housewife. I do housework, but I actually also run things manage people, and earn a shedload of money.

As do many MNetters. Who also run households, families, and manage all sorts of stuff which should never be reduced to that misogynist term "housewife."

Your misogyny is showing ...

I did make it clear that those were not my words. Assuming everyone on Mumsnet is a housewife is indeed misogynist and not my view.

The 4chan comparison however...

The most feminist place on MN is the relationships board Zoe. Smashing the patriarchy one shitty marriage at a time

Go and read some threads there and see if your smug, complacent view of MNers still stands

Not a housewife either. An academic. And none of my colleagues, whether male or female, lecturer or professor, all of them left-wing progressive types bar one, believe that trans women are anything other than male.

And it may surprise you to know, Zoe, that your university tutors are alternating between throwing their hands up in despair and laughing at how silly students like you are.

I haven’t been a student for maaaany years!

But happy to report than my university (KCL) had some rather more detailed, informed and respectful discussions about such issues.

And it’s worth knowing that many of the women on the relationship board, doing hours of dedicated, unpaid feminist labour counselling women to help them to understand that they do not have to accept the way their partners treat them, are also here, giving a resounding WTF to trans ideology

I did make it clear that those were not my words. Assuming everyone on Mumsnet is a housewife is indeed misogynist and not my view.

Except you happily repeated it though. We are all quite familiar with that meme that has done the rounds on social media for some time.

As you point out it is misogynistic and was created of course by male transactivists (some who id as women).

If you are a young woman (as your posts have suggested) perhaps you can have a think about why you are putting so much energy into propping up men who think so little of women they assume that everyone on a parenting board must be defined as a housewife.

God it's so frustrating seeing the same bullshit over and over and no goddamn answers except for "you're mean, be nice".

Such is life I suppose.

You have no evidence as to who says that or repeats it! Could be anyone of any gender. “4chan but for mums” would make it harder to obfuscate 🤔.

I’ll take the assumption about my age as the same kind of compliment as getting IDed (what can I say I have a young quirky dress sense on my own time and am also 5’1...)

And “be nice to people” isn’t a terrible baseline for human behaviour really, is it. I wish it was a bit more widespread!

The people who make the 4chan comparison are, from my experience of twitter, the same ones who threaten women with violence for not accepting TWAW. It's funny that. Or maybe not.

Ironically, 4channers were actually involved in the hacking of Mumsnet a couple of years ago - so they want to shut the women as much as the TRAs. They all find women with opinions and fact-based knowledge so frightening.

And “be nice to people” isn’t a terrible baseline for human behaviour really, is it. I wish it was a bit more widespread!

It's not the worst baseline but it tends to be a one way street, especially on this subject. People rarely tell men to be nice and men in general sense aren't socialised to worry about being nice all the time.

When 'being nice' involves denying basic fact, scientific fact and having your hard-won rights subjugated by men - then no, it's not a good baseline.

When "being nice" involves changing the definition of woman, not talking about periods, breastfeeding, pregnancy as women's issues because "that's transphobic" - then, no.

If "being nice" means watching young males declare themselves women, taking women's roles in politics, and then campaigning to silence women and have them expelled from their political parties - then thanks - but I'll pass.