TRAs planning a protest against A Woman's Place meeting on July 10th

[NotTerfNorCis]

The theme of the WPUK meeting is Why female sport matters, and why we must protect it. Effectively the TRAs are protesting against fairness in women's sports.

Details of their protest are below. Protesters are advised not to be violent, to carry offensive banners, or to try and physically stop the meeting from going ahead. 'This is a response, not an attack.'

www.facebook.com/events/2255386031382613/

Women's place UK are a transphobic hate group that work towards the rolling back of trans rights. Their meetings are recruitment drives where they peddle transphobia and their endless justifications for transphobia.

This is happening in our town. Where we live. We need to show them that we won't let hatred towards our trans brothers, sisters and everyone else stand without a response. A fun, musical, party response.

The protest itself will not be taking place at the National Gallery. That is only the meeting place due to it being a large area next to several decent transport routes. Women's Place UK don't release the venue until several hours before the event, so we will move there as soon as we know the location.

Cis allies are encouraged to attend. Allies are needed. Trans people cannot do this alone.

Some ground rules.

1. DO NOT ENGAGE WITH ANY ATTENDEES OR WOMEN'S PLACE UK MEMBERS/SPEAKERS DIRECTLY.

Stay away if you cannot keep it together. Do not directly engage, even if you are baited. If anyone does bait you and you cannot ignore them, walk away.

2. WE ARE NOT ATTEMPTING TO STOP OR INVADE THE MEETING.

This is not the goal. This is a response, not an attack.

2. THIS IS A NON VIOLENT PROTEST.

If anyone is suspected of having any violent intentions, you will be asked to leave.

3. BRING BANNERS THAT WOULDN'T UPSET YOUR MOTHER

We want this to be a family friendly protest. Please avoid swears on your banners.

4. BRING A GUITAR

Singing is fun.

5. DO YOU DO CIRCUS THINGS? BRING CIRCUS THINGS

Every protest needs a juggler.

Hopefully the potential to make money will cause men to consider women's sport.

Nike apparently sold more US women's football shirts than they have sold any other football shirt....ever. I understand that after Chelsea's dismal failure to allow their women to play the European Cup semi-final this spring anywhere but the dismal low capacity Kings Meadow (with the BBC only deciding late on to televise it) they will allow the women to play at Stamford Bridge for their first match of the season. Makes lots of sense. Think of all the dads and girls they can get through the club shop to buy overpriced Chelsea tat. (OK I have an AFC Bournemouth gnome - not tat!)

Men will understand that a team full of Rachel McKinnon's won't sell stuff. Given how much European Clubs have started investing in the woman's game, they won't want to kill it just as it is starting to take off.

Think of the scope to sell bikes and kit to women cyclists.

And do we remember any women swimmer's from the East German era or from Ma's army? Again for the Olympics to make money we need our women heros.

Money will talk.

Thanks Empress and Ovahere

Mhairi is just a human turkey. Total idiot, but also all puffed up and full of misplaced confidence. It's a bad combo.

Anyone who reads Cycling Weakly because they made an exception to their usual rule of limited women's coverage to give McKinnon a double page spread. As I learned last night!

I loved the collective gasp from the audience when Victoria said that. Until I heard her speak I had no idea that things were so bad in women's cycling - I'd naively assumed we'd moved into an era when women's sports were treated much more equitably than in the past. How wrong I was.

Hunter is an irrelevance. Unthinking, goggle eyed handmaiden.

McKinnon is just taking their echo chamber on the road. I wouldn't pay to go but I'd stand outside distributing scientific facts.

In other news, I appear to be banned from twitter

I think it's down - I thought the same but seems there's been a interruption of service type of thing.

Twitter is massively playing up. Have you had an email?

No, and I've just seen the outage message. Panic over!

Oh phew, I also assumed I'd been banned

I thought I had too! I then decided to delete and reinstall my accounts only to find I couldn't remember which emails and passwords I'd used and freaking out about my work account

Isn't it awful that we all assumed the same?

I'm sure other twitter users just assumed it was down

Thanks XXcstatic I'll look out for them.

Re cycling; I happened to notice an add for cancer research UK for a big cycle ride to raise money. Out of many clips of men cycling over hills and valleys there was a brief shot of a women, looked like she was cycling through a town.

@Needmoresleep I'm planning to attend the McKinnon event. Let me know if you spot any cheap tickets.

Awake if you are willing to put yourself through that, I feel I should contribute to the price of your ticket. I wonder if RM is trying to become a celebrity activist rather than working in a university.

I will also happily chuck some cash in for the ticket - bad enough one of us has to sit through it, without having to pay for it as well.

I'm planning to attend the McKinnon event. Let me know if you spot any cheap tickets.

It's one of those things were if I'm already in London the overheads aren't ludicrous but if I had to travel plus pay for that ticket then I'd feel that I was paying to punch my own brain, eyes and ears, IYSWIM. And that's before the early bird tickets deadline.

If Dr Fond of Beetles or others are minded to attend, I'd happily chip in to cover their costs.

Awakecantsleep - we would be easy to spot if we look anything like our usernames - though mine dates back to the time when I was working full time, had teenage children, one who needed ferrying to all sorts of sports training, and was looking after a dying father and a mother with dementia. Sleep is less of an unknown territory now.

Cheap tickets normally come through a couple of weeks in advance, so it depends on whether you think it is worth taking he risk that it might sell out. These events usually happen when someone has a book to flog. Didn't RMcK suggest she was being criticised at her University because her output was populist rather than academic. This autumn would be the perfect time to issue a book which would have genuine relevance during a pre-Olympic period when the debate is bound to hot up.

What did you say @RhymesWithOrange?

I've just had a look and you're still showing as active.

Sorry. Just realised that was from yesterday

Fond of Beetles and I are talking about it...

Being an academic, I can charge the ticket price to my expenses account as "research", so I might do that and leave cheap last-minute tickets to those who can't afford. London overheads are £££, but I might be able to combine it with something else.

@Needmoresleep I don't even have any children, I'm just a talented insomniac

It's just the thought of lining RM's pockets, and making RM seem popular, that I am uncomfortable with.

Plus the hope that the event would be cancelled if no one books tickets. We would hardly want to prevent that would we...

That said I can afford a ticket, and it might be an "interesting" experience, so if anyone wanted company I would be happy to join them.

lining RM's pockets, and making RM seem popular, that I am uncomfortable with.

It is a conflict. That said, I should think that RM is intending to parlay this into some media interviews that will place RM as the talking head on the topic in the run-up to the Olympics and publicise the promised book.

Whether the lecture makes money for RM or not it's a risk that is working taking for the potential value in AEU (advertising equivalence units) - particularly if RM is given the imprimatur of respectability by being interviewed by the 'broadsheets' or recognised TV programmes.

Some news coverage from the event

morningstaronline.co.uk/article/self-id-will-stop-women-competing-equal-playing-field#.XS0VbcKK_8I.twitter

It's good.