The "left wing/ right wing" problem for GC Feminists

[GeordieTerf]

One of the most common accusations thrown at GC feminists is that they are "right-wing". Pink News often associates GC feminists with the Christian right in America, for example. It seems clear to me that these accusations (which are easily disproven with 30 seconds of research) upset quite a lot of British feminists. From my observations, a lot of GC people go out of their way to demonstrate that they're left-wing.

I'm a feminist. I care about the rights, welfare, and empowerment of ALL women. Feminism doesn't belong to the left wing anymore than it belongs to the right wing. It is for the benefit of all women. The loss of single-sex spaces will affect all of us.

I used to be left wing, until I "peak-transed" 5 years ago. This issue opened me up to the undercurrent of misogyny in the left wing. My local Lib Dem candidate told me not to vote for her. She told me that she didn't want my vote, so I didn't give it to her. This experience is mild compared to what the left wing has done to other GC feminists. Basically, the left wing has thrown women under the bus over this issue. I will no longer stand alongside them. I am now a politically-homeless centrist.

I'm not saying that the right are any better. In the long run, they are probably worse for women. However, I do think that right wing women matter just as much as left wing women, and they have just as much right to speak out about this issue.

This is something I've been thinking about for a while now and wondered if anyone fancies having a chat about it? Hence the thread.

I'm definitely left-wing, but I'm happy that collaborate with moderate right-wing women over specific feminist issues. I'm never going to vote against the interests of most ordinary people though, so even if I'd collaborated with Tory women for the purposes of a particular campaign, they would never get my electoral support.

*happy to, obviously. I HATE my autocorrect- it takes me an age to write a post.

Since I think that often what separates left from right wing is less about the end goal and more about how you achieve it ( social vs individual solutions to prevent unemployment for example ) I have no problem in working with people of differing political opinion.

I'm like you OP. I'm a Lib Dem voter and at one point I was a member, but I cancelled my membership as a direct result of the GC issue (letting them know why I was cancelling) and did not vote for them at the last election. (I voted Labour.)

I think it's often assumed that GC feminists are right wing because (as a massive generalisation) people think that homophobic people are more likely to be right wing. But being homophobic and being GC are completely different.

Honestly I think they throw around the right wing accusation to try and get the majority left wing GC feminists to back away

They care nothing about our opinions they have no reasons to care about our politics

Feminism doesn't belong to the left wing anymore than it belongs to the right wing. It is for the benefit of all women. The loss of single-sex spaces will affect all of us

Great post GeordieTerf! I think this sectarian political stuff is just another tactic to silence debate, demonise dissenters and use control words to dismiss anyone who questions any part of the new orthodoxy. It's so tiresome. But I think that exasperation with this tactic is increasing. It's possible to come from different political perspectives, but agree on certain issues. It's possible to vote Conservative, but not be the embodiment of evil. It's possible to be extremely left wing and not be a paragon of virtue. And it's possible to be sick of political cliches and conformity. I love this forum because many of its members embody that willingness to transcend different political views because of what we share. Lang was eloquent on this and she is so much missed.

I'm utterly tired of left/right wing divides. I don't even think they mean what they used to mean. There's not a party out there that I'm happy about voting for (I do, but it's never wholehearted support.)

One of the most common accusations thrown at GC feminists is that they are "right-wing

I think there comes a point where calling lifelong left wing feminists 'right wing' and Conservative voters 'fascists' just results in a kind of bored indifference. It is the end result of relentless, politically illiterate hyperbole.....

I don't even think they mean what they used to mean. There's not a party out there that I'm happy about voting for

I absolutely agree Scrimshaw, well said.

Thoroughly agree with NotAGirl on the attempt at division and intimidation. Left wing and right wing are completely irrelevant here. Feminism is for all women, every woman and only women. Are we going to ask women to fill in a questionnaire before they can vote, go to an equal pay tribunal or access safe abortion now? If someone thinks women should be left out because of their political affiliations then they aren't feminist. The left wing doesn't own feminism and every single time the men (it's almost always men) chucking about the right wing claptrap have extremely questionable politics themselves.

As scrimp and Bovary point out it's all meaningless nonsense.

I'm ex-Green and there's no one for me to vote for. I would never vote Tory but I am relieved we have Liz Truss and I fear that as Boris and Co make such a hash of everything we're going through right now I'm worried we might actually be left with Labour government in 4 years but then I doubt they could make such a come back in that amount of time.

I wish we could burn it down to the ground and start again.

Being called a transphobic bigot or a T*RF doesn't really have the impact it used to. I think that's why the TRAs are a bit worried. No one is scared of them anymore.

Being called a transphobic bigot or a T*RF doesn't really have the impact it used to. I think that's why the TRAs are a bit worried. No one is scared of them anymore

I really think this is true. So much of this is a linguistic battle. The same tactics are used again and again. There is an immediate accusation of bigotry which is hurled like a hand grenade. It is a deliberate, manipulative attempt to silence any dissent. But it is being used in such a disingenuous and fabricated way, that it no longer has the power to paralyse.

It's very interesting that GC feminists are accused of being right wing Christians like it such a terrible thing.
Being British, what's actually wrong with being a right wing Christian? Like David Cameron, y'know, who passed the gay marriage law?

I suppose in America it's a different thing entirely where right wing Christians it seems, support racist ideology and big capitalism, and flat-earth/creationist theory. Etc.

What I personally think is that gender ideology benefits the right wing way more than anyone is prepared to admit. Capitalism thrives on disruption, being able to medicalise normal personality traits must be a wet dream come true for big pharma. Being able to "make gay people straight" is a wet dream come true for right wing homophobes. Being able to abuse women for wanting women only spaces is another dream come true for misogynists. But these are obviously not limited to the right.

The political left/right debate is over how best to position the boot on women's neck. Are we private property or public property? Do women even exist separate from men's imagination? Are women human?
Hard to believe we are still subjected to the same degradation as our great grandmothers.

I think the gender issue has been an excellent reminder for those who needed it that feminism is about women. Even the ones who you don't agree with about other stuff, even the ones you don't particularly want to go to the pub with. If you're coveting praise from a lefty bloke who wants to throw women to the wolves and at the same time refusing to work with a right wing woman who you disagree with on other issues but who's absolutely rock solid in her commitment to the wellbeing of women and children then there are many words to describe what you're doing but "feminism" is not one of them.

Also, most of the people screeching about right wing Christians in America don't actually believe what they're saying, they're just flinging shit at the wall and hoping it will stick. Their words only have power over you if you let them.

I still consider myself left wing but I've completely lost my tribalism.

Maybe I'm just not reading the room but I don't see that the accusation of being in bed with right wing Christians has the same bite over here as it would do in the US. Christians aren't really seen as a menacing force against social progress in the UK, at least not that I'm aware of.

It tends to come from a certain kind of person who lives on Twitter 24/7 and uses a lot of Americanisms. The kind of people who think the biggest issue in terms of cultural appropriate is sombreros, in the UK where there are hardly any Mexican people.

Appropriation.

Fairly conservative woman here (fiscally conservative, prefer smaller state on balance, socially libertarian, supports freedom of speech). Feminist.

Hah yes, and they use the acronym BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) even though it makes no sense in the UK where the indigenous population is white.

I tend to think the 'right wing' accusation is made precisely because most feminists in the UK are left wing. Diversionary smearing - then we feel we have to prove our leftie credentials, which handily detracts from the fact that people are actively trying to dismantle rights women fought very hard to gain. It's an easy, lazy accusation that mobilises a whole mob before you can say 'political purity'.

(Apologies to those here who lean to the right. I appreciate this argument casts right wing views as undesirable - it's not a narrative I ascribe to these days. I have no personal beef with conservatives, especially since I see so much petty, tribal nastiness from my friends on the left who should supposedly know better. But for large sections of the populace, accusing someone of 'being a Tory' is putting them beyond the pale.)

Agree that much of this manufactured argument has been imported from the US. Land of the plastic surgeon and the free.

And the guns, never forget the guns. Funny how those show up in a lot of TRA rants too.

Great opening post and thread GeordieTerf.
I am a political orphan at the moment, something which was compounded by our chump of a PM today. I have a lot of left wing views, particularly around the NHS/social care/worker's rights, but I am solidly gender critical and highly critical of creeping, powerful, infiltration of our education system and obfuscation surrounding the 2010 equality act, much to the detriment of girls and women. The Labour Party has been overrun by "champagne socialists", social justice warriors, who have nothing in common with the working class. The LibDems and Greens are just shocking. The Conservatives have proved totally inept, at a time when we need strong, decisive leadership.
I feel that the UK is in a political wilderness.