Action Aid - no such thing as a biological female

[Apileofballyhoo]

Has this been posted already? It's from an email they sent. I saw it on Twitter so I'll be back with links.

ShinyFootball, I imagined exactly the same hierarchy, except giving the bottom a label!

Maybe not that different from today's hierarchical world, but if genders are defined by mere identity, well, then women might deserve to be on the bottom rung because anyone identifying as a woman might be assumed to agree with assertions such as "a woman is anyone who feels feminine (submissive, passive, emotional and nurturing, based on Googling)."

In other words, there might then be no rational grounds on which we could argue that we are discriminated against, because the grounds of sex have been erased.

I'm going to make another pitch for the Fistula Foundation.

If anyone has any awful information about them, please let me know!

A lot of Action Aid's supporters will know about their campaigning and education work. Most, if not all, aid agencies have campaign and education departments. It means they can fund research white papers and advocacy both in country and in the UK, and also that they can produce information booklets, etc. As for emergency funding that does change massively year on year depending on emergencies.

I don't think this TWAW will have been pushed by their marketing team. It's rubbish marketing. The messages are too mixed and it doesn't play well with their main demographics. It's much more likely to be a condition of funding from a large institutional funder either that they publicly adopt a TWAW policy or that they attend diversity training.
I agree with the PP who said:
I am beginning to think this is the biggest intentional psychological warfare campaign / psy op ever perpetrated, and frankly alongside my confusion, and mounting anger, a frisson of genuine, gut wrenching fear is brewing
This is how I feel too.

I'm going to make another pitch for the Fistula Foundation

If anyone has any awful information about them, please let me know

Well I have emailed them to ask if they know what a woman is. When ive time later today I shall try to find accounts. I did see that the important people in the charity are women. So that helps. Will let you know when they answer my email.

Just as a quick shortcut maybe we should all be finding new charities and emailing them before we set up the direct debit asking if they know what a woman is. The answer could be helpful as a shortcut way to discovering the values.

fistulafoundation.org/about/financials/

Here if someone wants to get in before me. I cant til about 3pm. Work gets in the way.

Christ alive, this has about finished me off for the day before I’ve even got up.

No such thing as a biological female? I suppose in countries with FGM they just round up groups of kids and start lopping bits off at random in case they miss some self identified girls. And when it comes time to find a child bride, you should definitely find the kids who like dolls and dresses, and you won’t go wrong.

And here was me thinking that when I had a hysterectomy they took out my uterus and ovaries, but it could just as well have been my balls and my prostate for all I know!

And no fucking mention at all of trans boys, who might reasonably be expected to be the ones affected by issues pertaining to the female body, but of course that doesn’t exist, so we’re all done here.

“Nobody is denying that biology is real”, said the Ministry of Truth, “but there’s no such thing as female biology”.

I won’t ever support them.

xiaoxiong, do you have a website for the Mvumi Trust?

Now that I have cancelled my ActionAid direct debit I'm looking for alternatives.

I have been away from MN for many months; how sad and infuriating and mind boggling to return and find we are still talking about the 'ending' of the female sex (and worrying to find how many are newly gobsmacked that it is happening). It is the emperor's new clothes all over again and very scary. Bless you all, keep fighting and educating!

@Binglebong

Wow Red that was depressing. Thank you. I know you said that you don't want a blog as it hasn't the reach but would you consider applying to The Spectator? They are apparently looking for staff and you clearly have the skills.

That reply from AA that said girls and transwomen made me wonder- do they know that trans women are male? I'm just remembering the confusion of a lot of people new to this who believe that transwomen are women who are trans - in other words females looking male. Doesn't excuse the non biological bit but would make some sense.

I have replied to their email with the following:

^I would like to ask where the mention of trans boys is? They are biologically female (even if you do deny that science) so surely need the same sex-based support that girls do? Or is it that trans ideology doesn't actually exist in the communities where you operate because the women are dealing with actual problems like FGM, rape, violence, being banished to period huts, sex trafficking etc to worry about being misgendered?

Don't let your desire to meet D&I targets to dilute the issues that real women are dealing with.^

I await their reply, although I doubt I'll get one!

Alternative to the Action Aid 'people who have periods' campaign.

Well I have emailed them to ask if they know what a woman is.

I'll guess that some of these smaller charities doing good work with minimal overheads will be puzzled by the question because it's so bloody obvious, and they don't have time to read the latest wokery.

I remember years ago when War in Want, I think, were in danger of losing charitable status because some of their activities were deemed to be political campaigning.

And now Stonewall and others make political clout a key objective.

I can see why AA members / volunteers might protest Trump: the behaviour of Western powers is key to preventing poverty in more vulnerable countries, from industry-driven climate change that causes increased flooding in Bangladesh to rapacious gobbling of land for cash crops at exploitative prices to the approach to aid and debt. Why would a concerned person sponsor a girl with no toilet in Bangladesh without looking to address wider threats to that girl as a result of Trump’s policies?

But for a charity to centre a TRA cause here at the expense of the very real issues faced by the biological females (incl Transmen) that they quite rightly prioritise and use in their publicity ( well, no mention of the ever-ignored transmen) is just skewiff.

Brilliant emailW0nderW0man.

Yes to expecting a bit of research and lobbying. But they need to be clear up front if it forms a significant portion of their spending. Which they didn't. And trump protests were definitely lacking in the literature seen!

That live aid report is shocking. Shows there is a need for NGOs to have people's who understand the politics on the ground.

Action Aid is depressing, I had a regular donation to them (and Shelter and NSPCC) for many years when I was struggling financially. Also donated regularly to Oxfam

I sponsor a girl through Plan UK. I have emailed them today asking for reassurance on their understanding of biology. Fingers crossed...

Have received a reply from Action Aid

Thank you for your valued feedback, we appreciate you taking the time to share your comments. We regularly review our position on diversity and inclusion and so will share your feedback as part of this discussion.

ActionAid UK supports the most marginalised women and girls in the world. When we talk about women and girls, we include trans women and girls. We are committed to trans inclusion and serious about our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Thank you again for sharing your feedback.

With best wishes,
Cordelia
Supporter Contact Officer | ActionAid UK
Tel: +44 (0)1460 238000
Email: [email protected]

So they cant answer if they believe in sex or not then?

Can they explain how exactly this 'inclusion' works in countries where they work? In countries where people are just trying to survive? And trans boys/men?

So when they say the focus on 'women and girls', they either mean they focus on all humans, which obviously isn't a focus, it's just a distinction between them and a charity working for animal welfare, or they mean they focus on most women and girls, and also men who feel womanly, and they therefore actively exclude transmen, people who feel non binary and women who don't identify but just are female?

Yeah. Much inclusive. My arse.

They just type this shite without giving it a moment’s thought. They’re probably equating trans woman to eunuch.

So they are saying a trans man isn’t marginalised (although, as I said above, I suspect they haven’t thought about it all).

When we talk about women and girls, we include trans women and girls.

Trans women and trans girls? Are they confused?

It seems that in their rush to be seen as woke, they've failed to do a little research and are under the impression that a TW/G is a FtM, so a biological female. Or they're just incredibly fucking stupid.

It's worse if they know a TW is a MtF, as then they're deliberately excluding trans men.

And this is assuming the women and girls AA are helping have time to be worrying about all of this, in between being trafficked, raped, mutilated and so on

I agree. Someone is probably trotting out their diversity trained replies without really understanding what they are saying and the impact of the words.

I can imagine, if they have any sense, they will definitely be reviewing their position on this and how they want to proceed. I can completely understand the want to protect those with gender dysphoria, seems a very caring thing to do. But you can’t undermine your whole business model (abd let’s not forget charities are run as businesses nowadays) by throwing the baby out with the bath water.

If women and girls no longer have any discernible features that separate them from men or boys then their charity can’t possible know who to target their aid to. They need to decide if they know what women look like, or they don’t. They either understand the very specific problems women have, particularly in developing countries, or they don’t. You can’t have it both ways I’m afraid.

When we focus on women & girls we also include men & boys