University of Leicester student union

[GratedExposure]

The women's officer this year is a transwoman. I have no reason to doubt this person's commitment to working with issues like sexual violence (for example), as they say, but surely their experience and understanding of this will be different from most women's? There is also a trans/non-binary officer, and an LGBT officer (who is, incidentally, also non-binary), and yet the women's officer is not a biological female who has grown up with all the complex trappings of femaleness.

www.leicesterunion.com/voice/yourofficers/part-timeofficers/womens/

At some point, young women are going to get a bit hacked off, or maybe not

"Reproductive justice"? What the heck does that even mean if you're a transwoman? If I were being represented by someone centring reproductive justice I'd want that concept thoroughly unpicked.

Let’s hope the BAME officer doesn’t get a hard time for wanting to highlight FGM...

At some point, young women are going to get a bit hacked off, or maybe not

I wish I had confidence that they would be. There should be a study done on this. I would not be surprised if it a high proportion of uni and political party women’s rep roles were not females.

And each time policy is set, events created, programs undertaken, there will be potential that it will be not in female’s best interest. Like restrictions on women talking about biological needs at an event for women.

Looks at name, looks at pic
This is a pisstake, yes? Please someone tell me this is a pisstake. 😑

Define pisstske.

Conveniently, Dan has retained a male-sounding name - they wouldn't want to experience any unnecessary challenges women experience in the world of physics (in which they're doing a PhD) now, would they?

And yes, I'd be interested then hear Dan's take on reproductive justice.

Interesting because they also have a Trans and Non-Binary Officer:

'I was inspired to become a PTO because I felt there was very little being done about trans and non binary visibility so I wanted to change that.'

Remembering how it is going into university, 18 years old, diffident and desperate to find friends, I want to point out that girls standing against this ideology at university are vulnerable. I developed courage as I have aged. I am not certain at 18-22 I would have been equipped with the bravery, experience, education, to stand up against this. It is why young women need us matriarchs to speak sense, to stand behind and support and say this is harmful bollocks. I have been distraught that too many of my peers have looked the other way or moreover stood and let their teens tell them about how the world works without critical judgement. Boundary pushing has always been the way of the young, but this is SO harmful to individuals and to society.

Why do young women allow this to happen? Why do they merrily give away their official positions and power that women fought and suffered for? Why do they believe it's nice and progressive to do so?

I know that I, for one, didn't begin to understand and fully process/acknowledge the implications of embodied female experience till I was a bit older. I would also have wanted to be woke and fitting in at UG student age, probably, so can't guarantee I wouldn't have voted for Dan myself.

I was lucky enough not to have been exposed to (for example) FGM or childhood sexual abuse (far more common for females in childhood as well as adulthood), but I was also pretty conditioned into pleasing males, and felt that it was a privilege to do so. I suspect it's still the same for a majority of 18-22 year olds.

@risefromyourgrave

Let’s hope the BAME officer doesn’t get a hard time for wanting to highlight FGM...

My initial reaction to this, after remembering that awful white bloke who took a BAME delegate place after "identifying" as Black for the purpose, is to hope that the BAME officer is an actualfax BAME student, and not just another white bloke.

Dd voted in the election and voted for the trans woman. Contrary to what many believe here, younger people don't see the same distinctions as us older women. Lots of trans students, hundreds! Oh and dd has no hang ups on loos either unlike me

Curious how this person's stated interest in supporting students who experience sexual violence works with that T-shirt. 'Abolish prisons, build community'.

@Alltheprettyseahorses

Why do young women allow this to happen? Why do they merrily give away their official positions and power that women fought and suffered for? Why do they believe it's nice and progressive to do so?

Probably because the student politics version of feminism (and most other student politics) is completely and utterly irrelevant to them, and they'd rather get on with their studies and other interests.

@movingonup20, it certainly seems true that young women don't seem to see the distinction in the same way as many older women. I think perpetrators of FGM and sexual abuse, etc., see the distinctions very well, unfortunately.

WTAF - @CuriousaboutSamphire deleted for setting us all right about the head tilt?! Come ON, MNHQ.....

It does surprise me that women can get to uni age & not recognise sexism

I went to an all girls school & was very aware of it, not to the extent I am now but even then it was obvious that the expectations of men ie that I would shut up & listen while they pontificated were not in any way good for me

@ErrolTheDragon

Curious how this person's stated interest in supporting students who experience sexual violence works with that T-shirt. 'Abolish prisons, build community'.

Yes, absolutely. Let's not do anything so crass and old-fashioned as arrest or imprison any rapists, right?

I started uni a few weeks ago, my university is full on woke. Pronouns after names in all presentations and emails. I carefully read the terms for the student pledge and basically you can get thrown out for being discriminatory towards vulnerable groups and hurting their feelings. I am a mature student and far more confident than I would have been at 18 though I am still quite young, in my early 20s. But I daren't speak up. I need this degree for my career progression and I'm scared to even challenge the need for pronouns after everything. I dont doubt that there are people who share my beliefs at uni but how are we ever going to be able to find each other if we're terrified to speak up about our beliefs.

The things is I was insufferable know it all at university & would doubtless have come out with similar twattery around prisons

The difference was, my tutors, parents & other grown ups would call me out on my insufferable twattery & not pander to it

Why are so many adults pandering to this?