Brighton TRAs bullying female small business owner

[SapphosRock]

Urgh. This is happening in my home town and it’s shit.

Happy Maki is a small, vegan cafe and takeaway. It’s a very ethical business. All about sustainability and green energy. They plant a tree and feed a child for each wrap made. It’s a gift economy and the food is free with a suggested donation. All very hippy. You get the idea.

A FTM trans person approached the female owner of Happy Maki and asked for support in fundraising for their top surgery. I believe they wanted a poster in the window asking for money. The owner refused. When pressed the owner said it was against her religious beliefs - she is a follower of the Divine Truth which admittedly sounds a bit ‘out there’ but not entirely unexpected given the nature of her business.

Anyway the TRAs have really gone to town and are posting in every Brighton based Facebook group, Instagram and Twitter accusing the owner of Transphobia and calling for her to apologise:

twitter.com/makiunhappy/status/1314261939833446400?s=21

They seem to be getting a lot of support and gaining a lot of traction too with many saying they are now going to boycott the business.

I’m upset about this for a lot of reasons. Obviously the female owner being bullied and harassed in this way and them encouraging people to email her. The lovely takeaway losing business. It’s also pretty tone deaf to attack the hospitality sector in the midst of a global pandemic for not supporting one individual’s elective, life changing surgery.

Anyway, the reason I’m posting here is in solidarity with the owner Anna. And if any of you lovely lot are nearby then consider getting a Happy Maki takeaway. The food is delicious and I’m sure they could do with some support right now.

www.happymaki.co.uk

The statement from the former workers also claimed she said being bisexual was a result of unresolved trauma or something.

Or something?

Even if she thinks bisexuals have been dropped on their heads as babies it's still not phobic.

Also, shouldn't you be calling them bigenderists?

Or ‘I’m not going to tell the gay people I work with that, every day but I reserve the right to do so should I want to’ which was the innovative twist in the MF case.

Not really, no. Because "gay people go to hell" is an extremist religious belief, and "MTF trans people aren't women and I'm not going to pretend that they are" is not.

Bitterer there's a thread current-ish about sexuality/ heteronormativity on the board.

Probably better not divert the thread.

I'm really sorry that you've had such terrible things happen.

In addition to my comments upthread about sexism in workplace, and a small comment about women being unable to access surgery they actually need especially when related to reproductive system. I would add that few women have never had some form of sexually motivated crime against them. From things to be 'laughed off' all the way through to really serious crimes.

And on the whole, we don't tend to report it.

As I say. It's galling. All this talk of sueing. It's theoretical. Women don't report, don't make a fuss, don't sue. And most definitely don't ask for cafes to put posters up asking for cash for cosmetic surgery.

It's quite. Dull really. Same old same old. The law works for certain people. Society backs certain people. It's always been that way.

The statement from the former workers also claimed she said being bisexual was a result of unresolved trauma or something

Exactly, that's the statement in the linked OP tweet, how is that not biphobia if so?

Or something?
Even if she thinks bisexuals have been dropped on their heads as babies it's still not phobic

What? Really, it's not biphobic to say that if you're bi it's only because you've been traumatised in the past?
What, you can't know what you want as an adult?
I mean, I'm straight but I'd know I'd feel bloody insulted if you thought my sexuality hinged on me being traumatised or not in the past, whether it be bi, lesbian or gay!
WTF

@doublehalo

The statement from the former workers also claimed she said being bisexual was a result of unresolved trauma or something.

Or something?

Even if she thinks bisexuals have been dropped on their heads as babies it's still not phobic.

Also, shouldn't you be calling them bigenderists?

Sorry I'm on my phone and it's difficult to scroll through and find out exactly what they claimed she said, I think if you click on the link in the first post it takes you to the worker's statement

I'm just a bit baffled as to how it's not biphobic to say the reason people are bi is because they've got unresolved trauma (fully expecting these words to get twisted)
Can I say the same about gay and lesbian people then?
For example, lesbian people you're only lesbian because you've been traumatised in the past and scared of men as a result.

It's a 'statement' in a tweet.

Hardly cast iron evidence.

Lots of mainstream religions believe being same sex attracted is iffy. Lots of mainstream religions treat women like shit.

If I ever want to go to the shops again my options are starting to look limited.. :/

Sorry I'm on my phone and it's difficult to scroll through and find out exactly what they claimed she said, I think if you click on the link in the first post it takes you to the worker's statement

I expect most people are on their phone. Quote it please, or no one will believe you.

[quote Quaagars]I'm just a bit baffled as to how it's not biphobic to say the reason people are bi is because they've got unresolved trauma (fully expecting these words to get twisted)
Can I say the same about gay and lesbian people then?
For example, lesbian people you're only lesbian because you've been traumatised in the past and scared of men as a result.

She shouldn't have stated her opinions in the way she did. I mean...I agree that she has the right to refuse fundraising posters in her window without question, and that she also has the right to think that gender dysphoria is the scourge of our times and the main driving factor behind this 'trend'. I happen to agree. And she also has the right to protect her own sex based rights in any way she sees fits.
But to expect to do so and not damage her business immeasurably was short sighted at least.

What did she say, Quaagars? I assume, like jj1968, you know?

So what should she have done, wistfulchameleon?

Butterer I didn't mean to be so blunt maybe. Start a thread. I think when you have been assaulted abused etc it can be hard to know what is a reaction to it and what is real, for eg.

Quagaars when I was about 25 I met a woman at a BBQ and we got pissed and she told me she'd been raped at 17 and it put her right off men and so she was a lesbian.

My assumption would be she was bi and cut men out of the equation. But I'm not her. What do I know. That's what she said.

Is she allowed to sell vegan cookies?

She's married to a woman now. If she said that to colleagues on a night out at work she'd be... Out of line? Should be sacked?

I mean this is silly.

Have you heard how men talk about women, gay men, recently at all? Why aren't these people going after the actual homophobes who actually beat up men they think are gay? Just as an example.

@Ereshkigalangcleg

Sorry I'm on my phone and it's difficult to scroll through and find out exactly what they claimed she said, I think if you click on the link in the first post it takes you to the worker's statement

I expect most people are on their phone. Quote it please, or no one will believe you.

Yeah I bet you've all got posher phones than me though, it's linked in the first post on this thread if you want the exact words

@Ereshkigalangcleg

So what should she have done, wistfulchameleon?

Perhaps just said no without saying btw I think you're possessed by evil spirits.

Wistful she's got some bonkers beliefs for sure.

Anyway

Something I find interesting about this crime of biphobia

Is that biphobia is hardly uncommon in both the heterosexual and LG communities.

And also that if sex is nothing and gender is all, what does biphobia even mean?

If a person can be one gender for half the week, and another for the other half. Or bigender. Etc etc. Then what even is bi? It is a label based on sexual attraction. And therefore phobic. I've seen that on Twitter, if we're using Twitter as a good source of truth.

Whole thing is hypocritical bollocks.

'Yeah I bet you've all got posher phones than me though'

????

Why do you bet that?

Yeah I bet you've all got posher phones than me though

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

i feel so sorry for any women who have to deal with jj's incessant whining in real life.

No no butterer. I do too :D

And it's in no way self indulgent to talk about these things. They're important.

Sexuality is really interesting. And women's sexuality, sadly, is often shaped by bad stuff that's been done to them.

I'm interested in why JJ thinks we all have posh phones though...?!