Rosie Duffield interview in the Times

[EmpressJKRowlingSpartacus]

Sharetoken link.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/69771b5a-0a71-11eb-9ac5-9d2cf4a10c9f?shareToken=94d9142082b12e3a00f1c377a31f49f6

The article is dated Oct. 12 2020 12:01 a.m.

This is the intro:

Rosie Duffield got a standing ovation in the House of Commons last year when she revealed her experiences of domestic abuse in a speech that left many of her colleagues in tears. The Labour MP for Canterbury has been attacked by left-wingers for speaking out against antisemitism and vilified by right-wingers for campaigning against Brexit.

Now she is on the front line in the culture war accused of being “transphobic” after she liked a tweet suggesting that “individuals with a cervix” should be described as “women”.

The vitriol poured on her has left her “completely terrified”, she says. She has in the past suffered intimidation at home and threats from Twitter trolls, but, she tells us, “This feels worse — maybe because it strikes at the heart of who you are as a woman, and because it’s base, pure misogyny.”

There is, she claims, a witch hunt underway. “It very much feels as though the stake is built as soon as there is even the mere hint of any charges. A word like ‘transphobe’ gets spread around without any actual evidence and the fire is lit.’’

She knows she will be attacked for speaking out, but she has decided to do so because she fears that protections and rights won by previous generations of feminists are in danger of being undermined.

The comments are heartening. Thank you, Rosie Duffield, for standing up for women and girls in public. It's plain that Kier Starmer is out of his depth here, and too frightened to step up.

That’s weird, it’s definitely today! I can still see it but think am logged in. Try clearing cookies etc?

Am deeply disappointed in Keir Starmer’s ostrich impersonation on this. It’s doing him no favours from anyone’s point of view.

I read the article earlier through the link in the first post, but I do like to go back and read the comments, they are so good. Next time I'll wait to read the article until there are more comments. Thanks for share token.

Oops doesn't show the date 🙄

Starmer is a coward. I hope it's okay to post this here

Misslawls why wouldn’t it be ok?

Oh, I got a deletion. I can't even remember what I said now. Don't think it was that bad, though.

I think Rosie's going to need as much support from us as we can give her. She's getting the usual abuse on Twitter.

The religious framing of that question as belief was interesting. One of the gc philosophers said on twitter that she was no longer answering that question because people have no right to know the content of her heart. Other people only have a right to know how you will treat people

One of the (many) problems with the TRAs is that how you treat people isn’t enough. It’s not enough to say “I don’t believe what you believe but I treat all people with respect and dignity.” Like many ideology cults, everybody must believe, must be made to correct their “wrongthink” or they’re the enemy and deserving of violence and rage.

I wrote to KS when this blew up. No reply. Tumbleweed. I want to vote for his party as the Tories have been such a shitstorm. But can’t.

Emailed her a thank you note. Brave, brave woman.

I do wish people would stop using the work of the famously pro-Trans Margaraet Atwood to defend their anti-trans position. I mean if it were a 'TRA' referencing Rowling you'd never hear the fucking end of it sheeeeeit .

Maybe women's rights supporters are just better at separating the art from the artist, and the Atwood paradox doesn't pose a problem for them. Or perhaps they just realise it'll fuck the cancel culture mob right off.

I've emailed thanking her, and copied in Starmer. Fucking craven coward that he is.

I do wish people would stop using the work of the famously pro-Trans Margaraet Atwood to defend their anti-trans position.

It's not our fault that Atwood wrote a book which beautifully illustrates women being silenced, is it?

Why do so many people struggle to separate the views of novelists with stories from their novels? Especially with complex novels which will have many ideas illustrated in them.

@Lisz

I do wish people would stop using the work of the famously pro-Trans Margaraet Atwood to defend their anti-trans position. I mean if it were a 'TRA' referencing Rowling you'd never hear the fucking end of it sheeeeeit .

Maybe role modelling what the TRAs should do when they come across someone who holds a different view from them, but also writes books they like to read?

TRAs are quite adept at referring to Jo Rowling by referencing negative characters in her novels. The usual sensible response is not 'You disagree with this woman, never reference her work!', it's 'You've misapplied that, here's why'

I understand that's quite a stretch and requires reflection and the ability to analyse and explain a point of view. Always worth having a try, though.

@Lisz

I do wish people would stop using the work of the famously pro-Trans Margaraet Atwood to defend their anti-trans position. I mean if it were a 'TRA' referencing Rowling you'd never hear the fucking end of it sheeeeeit .

The majority here are pro-women, not 'anti trans'. We will defend our sex and our sex-based rights as is our right to.

For some completely absolutely baffling confounding reason, TRA's have a problem with that.

"Young people might have much more knowledge and lived experience"

Really? Young people who "know" that men can get pregnant? The young person who started the latest petition against Selina Todd at Oxford and who believes that (fake) breasts make a woman? I don't know what kind of knowledge or experience that implies, but there is nothing progressive about this nonsense, and Labour shouldn't be accommodating these beliefs.

That aside, chapeau to Rosie Duffield and thank you for this glimmer of hope.
I hope other sensible MPs find their spine and start supporting her publicly. I have a horrible feeling that Keir Starmer is quietly listening to and supporting Angela Rayner and Lisa Nandy on this, rather than fence-sitting

The misogyny in that novel was based on examples of actual practices from different times in history and different cultures.
Women will definitely reference our own history thanks

The share token was time limited, so I can’t now access it. I have the print edition of the Times, but I’d like to read the online comments. Is there any way to issue another share token?

Voici sharetoken Badoc:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/69771b5a-0a71-11eb-9ac5-9d2cf4a10c9f?shareToken=6ba2d0d1318775605debd3f9c12371ea

I was inspired by PP to also email Rosie Duffield, to thank her for standing up for us, at what is becoming an increasing cost to her.

@Lisz

I do wish people would stop using the work of the famously pro-Trans Margaraet Atwood to defend their anti-trans position. I mean if it were a 'TRA' referencing Rowling you'd never hear the fucking end of it sheeeeeit .

Given your entire worldview is based on post-modernist thought, you might want to try reading "The Death of the Author."

PoMo doesn't start and end with Judith Butler's inanity.

www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/oct/26/threats-death-violence-common-for-women-in-politics-report-says