Meh. I liked the previous article because it was clear. I didn’t understand this one.
So I thought Suzanne Moore was saying that Judith Butler’s quote on ‘the construct called ‘sex’ (ie how we construe sex) and the Winterson quote, that both don’t hold up against the reality of sex.. I’d agree with that (though from that quote, Butler possibly would too)
Then Moore says ‘My body is ageing and gender dissipates slightly at menopause because you are free. I want it to be true that sex is as fluid a category as gender, but that hasn’t been my experience‘
Eh? What does she mean you are ‘free’ from ‘gender’ as you age? IME the gender trap comes down very hard on older women in a way it absolutely doesn’t for older men. Older women are expected to care for everyone else all the time as if to justify their own existence, they are seen as no longer fuckable so therefore as totally worthless by some men. Even in less belligerent circumstances they are seen as less than and not taken seriously.
Then Moore quotes is Julia Serano on the ‘fight to be feminine’ then back to calling for women to keep on telling their stories - which felt like can’t everyone just be nicer to each other and we can talk it out.
I mean, she’s really not wrong, niceness would be nicer to deal with. But as women on here often say, sometimes it’s more important (for the good of everyone) to tell the truth, than it is to be kind. We are absolutely not dealing with two sides at equal fault who just each misunderstand each other.