Women - divided and conquered?

[youkiddingme]

archive.is/yx7Ku

sorry should have said, it's an aritcle in spiked that just made me sad, because the 2 lesbians being assaulted made me sad and now the whole divisive way of looking at it makes me despair.

I agree with the article.

It is ‘open season’, she says, on ‘people of colour, indigenous people, transgender people, disabled people, queer people, poor people, women and migrants’.

Indigenous people? Of London.

I agree with the article too.

I don't think the title of the thread is accurate.

It's more divide the world into ranting, shouty, smug, lefty, Novara media type social justice activists (none of whom are actually much good for, or at, anything beyond self- publicity and a remarkable talent for filling in successful grant applications forms for studying and researching pomo nonsense or getting paid seats on quangos) and those who aren't.

I think it was just a reflection of how defeated I feel lately, and this article was just one more straw.

Apologies. I wasn't getting at you- clearly Brendan O'Neill feels the same way.

^We’ve reached peak identitarian bollocks.
The woman in question, who goes only by the name ‘Chris’, has written a piece for the Guardian. Natch. The intro lets us know what we’re in for: ‘The photo of me and my date went viral – but only as we’re white, feminine and cisgender.’ Translation: you racist, transphobic idiots wouldn’t have cared half as much if this had been two bloodied and bruised black women or trans women^

Oh my God this doesn't make me feel despairing or disappointed at all!

youkiddingme
Did you actually read the (Guardian) article that this was in reaction to?

I completely agree with every word of this reply. The article in the Guardian was awful. The woman apologised for being white. Apologised for being "pretty". She referred to herself as cisgendered and said we should all basically think far more about transwomen and non-white women, and forget about your basic misogynistic violence.

Peak identity politics. Peak Guardian.

High Five this author.

I read that earlier. Yes, agree with it (even though Brendan can on occasion be a tosser).

How ridiculous to argue that we only feel sorry for them because they're white and cis. (And yes, the indigenous peoples of London is a gem, isn't it?)

Chris sounds a bit unwell to me. I hope she has good healthy constructive support around her to counteract the cloud of overwhelming negative esteem damaging rot she seems immersed in. I have to say I cannot begin to imagine how distraught I would be if I had been a victim of a brutal crime like that, pretty sure my head would be all over the place.

I am sorry there is an overwhelming need (for the press and other self serving bandwagon jumpers) to ascribe messages and meanings (political or otherwise) to what is obviously just a sexist attack. A horrible attack by a bunch of chumps who need caught and punished so they think twice in future.

Honestly Chris if you read this please talk to someone, get some help to work through this. A shitty shitty thing happened, it shouldn't have and it did. You did nothing wrong, they did. You might never know why, that's part of it and it isn't fair. Of course you are angry, be angry at the males who hurt you, use it to make sure they are dealt with by the courts. Don't let this overwhelm you, don't get caught up and used at a vulnerable time by people with agendas that aren't looking after you first and foremost. Whatever your beliefs, a terrible thing happened to you and people are horrified and shocked and sympathetic because it was a horrible attack, they would feel the same whoever was the victim, empathy is blind.

No I hadn't read the Guardian article DpWm hence I was to shocked to hear of it in this - and it isn't this article per se that makes me despair it's the state of affairs that led to it.
Sorry I'm so much less articulate than many of you.
And I think I need a wee break from bad news. The last few days seem to have been off the scale of whatthefuckery.

And no apology needed whatsoever LassOfFyvie - I totally see where you are coming from.

I actually feel sorry for the author of the Guardian article. What sort of a number in terms of brainwashing has to have been done on you that your response to being the victim of a horrible homophobic, sexist attack is immediately to don sackcloth and ashes and write an article about how male bodied individuals who happen to like wearing dresses have it so much worse than you?

It's like watching a woman in an abusive marriage who has totally internalised the message that it's all her fault.

It's like watching a woman in an abusive marriage who has totally internalised the message that it's all her fault

Yes!
And the other excruciating message from her article was that somehow she deserved it for being "so privileged".

it isn't this article per se that makes me despair it's the state of affairs that led to it

Misogyny, male violence and homophobia. One of them had possessions stolen, so it was a mugging too. Who knows exactly what the primary motivation was. No one deserves that.
We all know the perpetrators were male.
Male violence was the cause of it.

Yes exactly DPwm and the internalised idea that the victim wasn't 'victim enough' for want of a better phrase.

They were assaulted because they were lesbians. They are now apologising mightily for not being assaulted enough? Being in the press too much? Being too pretty, too white, too rich, too educated, too able-bodied, just too much of everything.

First you get the misogyny and homophobia of the males who assaulted them, then you get the misogyny and homophobia of the woke that they have internalised.

My mind boggles when a lesbian, who, against her will and without any input from her, was chosen by males as someone to be assaulted, who then not only gets assaulted, but also apologises for being the wrong sort of victim..............For not being worthy enough to be a victim...............

It's all male violence against women, and a double whammy if the woke dudebros manage to get you to feel guilty about the fact that you're not a good enough victim, that others victims are so much more worthy of sympathy than you are...........

I wouldn't necessarily say that Chris' article is purely about identity politics.

Anyone who knows anything about trauma knows that the "other people have it worse" narrative is strong and part of a denial/minimisation defence mechanism that protects the psyche from accepting the harm that has been dealt to it.

Totally agree with his v important point about solidarity. It's the most fundamental consequence of identity politics, and because of it, the whole socialist ideal crumbles. That's why I will always resist identity politics on the Left.