Slogans!

[xxyzz]

This thread is about slogans, and the need for them.

I've commented previously that one of the great strengths the TRAs currently possess is that they have had several years to frame the debate on their own terms, before most feminists were even aware that there was an issue, and in particular, to devise and propagate widely used and certain easy-to-remember slogans.

As others have pointed out, TWAW is extremely effective at ending discusssion. It pithily expresses an easy-to-understand point, but requires dense and not-easy-to-follow text to argue against.

Given that most social media interactions are brief, people are busy, and not necessarily particularly bright, and given that TWAW has been out there as a 'truth' for years, GC feminists are facing an uphill struggle to explain in similarly pithy, simple language why it is wrong.

Which brings me to SLOGANS.

GC feminists need to be redefining the debate with our own, equally, or more effective slogans. These need to explain our key points using simple words that everyone understands, and they need to be repeated relentlessly- as TWAW has been. The success of 'Get Brexit done' as a slogan - and the Tories religiously on-message use of it throughout the election campaign- was a big part of their recent success. Just as 'Take Back Control'was a hugely effective slogan before the referendum in 2016.

The importance of slogans should not be under-estimated.

FWIW, I don't think 'Women are Adult Human Females' is a successful slogan at all. Because:

a) It sounds utterly batshit to anyone not already following the debate - of course women are adult human females!
b) It allows TRAs to continue to frame the debate in terms of a discussion over who is a woman. When actually, this is something that has been known for thousands of years and even a toddler could tell you. We should not be arguing primarily on their territory. It does us no favours.
c) Most importantly, it ignores women's main issues with TRA claims. We are not arguing over terminology, we are arguing over women's and children's SAFETY and RIGHTS.The terminology matters only insofar as it is being used to undermine that safety and those rights. But by putting the cart before the horse, we have lost most of our audience, who don't follow us long enough past the batshitttery to find out WHY we care about the terminology.

So I think we need slogans that go back to basics.

We need slogans that fight on our own territory and frame the debate through our own eyes, not through the eyes of those intent on dismantling women's rights.

I would suggest that what we need are slogans that simply and clearly point out and go on the offensive over misogyny and attacks on women's rights - as feminists have always done.

Please suggest your effective slogans below. Sure that we can crowdsourced some better slogans than we have currently.

Over to you...

Standing for women

Ah! Of course.

They know how to use apostrophes properly too!

One more idea from me don’t think I have seen it mentioned yet - reclaiming the t word such that you have a hashtag like #proudtobet where t* has been rebranded to something like Tackling Equal Rights for Females (or some better words!!)

No offence OP but I'm inclined to agree with the pp's that have believe a slogan would not be effective.

Who gives us slogans? Politicians and advertisers, two entities that frankly really don't have the public trust.

Plain simple truth and reality is actually enough. Slogan's (imo) aren't the problem, raising the general publics awareness of what's happening is. Every time someone with a platform or following makes a benign comment that draws the outrage captures more of the public attention, and it seems to be happening with far more frequency.

Child Protection Without Exception

If you can’t see sex, you can’t see sexism

Love those. Thanks lurking friend of last poster

Clothes don’t make a woman. Apologies to Mark Twain there.

Female not feminine. Can’t find the does not equal symbol on my phone keyboard.

Feelings aren’t gendered.
Boys do cry
Girls do fight

'Child Protection Without Exception

If you can’t see sex, you can’t see sexism'

Both excellent. Specially the first as everyone cares about kids but only us loony feminists care about sexism.

Safety, Security, Dignity, Respect - Protect Women's Spaces

Repurpose Let kids be kids with a hashtag against the transing of gnc children and young people.

People might think that #proudtobet is promoting gambling?

Pick on someone your own size.

Chicks Without Dicks

Recent events, Brexit (Take Back Control), General Election (Get Brexit Done) and Scottish Independent Ref (Yes - slogan) have all shown how powerful positive central message, however you feel about the politics. It stays with people and they associate it with the underlying message.
Look at the trending Maya F and This Is Not A Drill # business over the last few days, and how powerful this has been. Hate to say it, but common sense and WTF reactions are not enough.

GRA self ID info and awareness is not widespread out in the real world. How do you spread that info with the best effect? Hate to say it but reasoned argument and hope common sense prevails is not enough against the well organised, tech savy, soundbite wokey mcwokeface.

As read on FWR: ‘Keep your penis out of the Ladies’

‘Keep your penis out of the Ladies, not your penis out IN the Ladies'

(thinking about all those reports of men in gender neutral bogs getting it out before they've even gone in the cubicle and coming out without having zipped up...)

"TWHW" - trans women hate women.

"Unisex loos take the P out of privacy".

"Pee in privacy - a woman's right"

"Single Sex Spaces [Are] Not AGP Bases"

"WO TOILETS - Taking men out of women's loos"

"Facts Before Feelings"

"'Women's changing rooms' are rooms in which women may change clothes, not rooms in which men can change into women".

On doors of safe spaces - "This is a female ONLY facility. My daughter doesn't want to see your dick/Nan doesn't want to see your knob/Mum doesn't want to see your manhood/Niece doesn't want to see your knackers/Aunt doesn't want to see your hairy arse/ etc"

"If trans women were women they wouldn't be trans!"

A man’s a man for a’that.

Aimed at Scottish Government. I know, 18th century could be thought to include men and women but in reality it was about inequality of men.

One body, one life.

Let Kids be Kids has a lot of potential. Making kids make adult decisions about healthcare is not letting kids be kids. Gendering kids pre birth onwards is not letting kids be kids. Teaching ideology as fact and having to believe in something you know is a lie is grooming.

I like ‘Boundaries aren’t bigotry’.

It doesn’t cover every aspect of the issue, but it does make the claim that everyone, including women and children, are allowed to have boundaries.

And in a safeguarding, especially safeguarding of children, context, it should be hard to argue against.

The worst of it is the pressure on children and teenagers. The grief all this junk-think is causing them right now, and the appalling results if they get medicated or mutilated. How can we make it cool to feel ok about yourself as you are?

I liked the title of a 1970s feminist health book, Our Bodies Ourselves. Has anyone come up witha snappy way of saying “You can’t be born in the wrong body. You are your body”?

Also, when did that Billy Elliot freedom disappear? Boys feeling good about liking ballet?
I want to say thatgentle artistic boys are of course male, tough daring girls are of course female. We need clear simple statements. But I agree with xxyzz, we need slogans too.

Some great thought-provoking slogans have appeared on this thread while i was struggling to write on a moving train!
“Boundaries aren’t bigotry” is my new watchword.

I like “Boundaries aren’t bigotry” too.

Also LangCleg's lurking friend's ideas.

Re whether slogans are a good idea or not, shedquarters gives many good examples. It's helpful to have something simple to focus on and that can be understood by the time poor (which is most of us) and those with no prior understanding of the issue.

Slogans in this case aren't intended to be instead of reasoned argument but as well as it. Where we differ from those promoting slogans like TWAW or Get Brexit Done is that we can then go on to explain more detail what we actually mean - because our slogans are backed up by facts and our argument by logic and unarguable biology.

But to disdain quick soundbites because the issues are complex is a) not true - I don't think men not being women is actually that complex and b) ensures that our message will not get heard by those who don't have time to read lengthy blogs/threads/articles etc.

And yes, Thinkingabout1t - a film like Billy Elliot would never get made now, two decades on, because it would end up with Billy having to be called Bella and being put on hormones.

Large amounts of literature/theatre/music with GNC characters/stars would now not get made, or make a very different point. George in the Famous Five would be a trans boy, obviously, and the plot would involve her joyously getting 'top surgery' and telling Uncle Quentin off for forgetting to use the correct pronouns.

My life isn’t your validation

TW are TW
Cis my Arse
We're all non-binary
Born in a body

"Don't Revive Gender Stereotypes"

I think this one has potential but needs to be more basic e.g.
"Against Gender Stereotyping"

I don't accept I have a gender identity because I'm against gender stereotypes.

A lot of the excellent suggestions on this thread are more suitable for a march where everyone already knows there is an issue. But they can be made more basic.

Safeguarding is now optional
(followed by a bullet point list of how that applies)

Parents no longer need to know:
(followed by situations in schools, girl guides etc where parents are kept in the dark / have no say)

Hard hitting statistics
There is always a quoted suicide statistic in relation to gender issues so perhaps we could find some suicide statistics in relation to victims of CSA and rape etc.

I’d also like to see those statistics in context. 50% sounds like a large number but half of zero is still zero so a side by side comparison of real numbers would make people think.

To have one child feel accepted we have to put X children in danger. Common sense must rule.