Anti-FGM campaigner Hibo Wardere comes under attack

[JustTurtlesAllTheWayDown]

Again. I know Hibo has put out more than one video clarifying that her focus is on women and girls and on stopping FGM, but she did another one last night after being piled on and called a hater for not being 'inclusive' in her language.
mobile.twitter.com/HiboWardere/status/1362100744216866825
I am bloody angry about it this morning.
Hibo Wardere is a personal hero of mine for the amazing work she's done.
Attacking her for not focusing on other issues is the lowest of the low. The misogyny is rank.
(Also, if anyone hasn't got her book 'Cut' on their feminist book shelf, I really do recommend it. It's not an easy read but I found her journey incredibly inspiring).

Hey PotholeParadies I got an email Saturday to say my tshirt was on its way. The ordering and service has been excellent and as I said on the other thread I only paid £26.83, so not much over the UK price and that’s for delivery to Oz.
I’m really pleased that the pick up has been such that they’re doing another run.

Hibo is truely brave and an inspiration - I will wear my tshirt with pride.

This isn't about trans women. It's about the exclusion of trans men for no good reason. When she was asked to include trans men by a trans man, she said "Not interested, bye." Coming from someone who clearly believes trans men are women, that's pretty harsh.

Transmen are almost universally white, western and Middle class. They are not in the demographic affected by Fgm.

@DadJoke

This isn't about trans women. It's about the exclusion of trans men for no good reason. When she was asked to include trans men by a trans man, she said "Not interested, bye." Coming from someone who clearly believes trans men are women, that's pretty harsh.

have you got any evidence for that?

The abuse I have seen Hibo receive is from people who object to her use of the word 'female'.

FGM happens to female children and if you remove that word it makes it a lot harder to define or discuss it as an issue.

Transmen may suffer from it, but it won't be because of their gender identity.

Have you read the thread.

She was asked to refer to FGM survivors as "cis women and girls" by a Westerner who didn't believe it happened to transboys either.

Then she was told to refer to women whose genitalia had been mutilated by their genitalia.

How incredibly insensitive would you have to be, to demand that?

Dadjoke I am not sure that FGM is prolific in trans men given that it typically happens to very young girls.

But making FGM into a trans issue rather than an issue faced specifically by girls is all about dominating and controlling women who speak out about their needs by calling them terfs, yet another derogatory term created especially to put women down who are speaking up about issues faced by their sex. There are so many of those derogatory
slurs directed at women who would speak up about literally anything that affects them that one would almost be inclined to think their was a dominance hierarchy at play out there.

@Notoriouslynotnotious

I don't think a campaigner against genital mutiliation should exactly be target number one for people who want language which is inclusive trans men. There are many better causes, and more transphobic individuals. Likewise, it surprises me that GC feminists spend so much of their time and energy against a tiny group of marginalised people, when there are other, more important issues to address.

Yes, it's trans exclusionary women rather than trans exlusionary men who get more attacked, and misogyny is at play there.

the eradication of the class sex class of women by including men in it is not a tiny marginalised issue

but you know this

The implications for women from trans people are absolutely minuscule and most trans people I know are ardent supporters of equality in particular but of women specifically and have acted in support and as allies of women in ways that make them in my opinion fantastic human beings.

The issues faced by women from trans ideology and specifically TRAs has enormous implications for women far beyond the original intentions of it for achieving equality for trans people and many people who regularly seek to dominate and control women have seized upon it as the next available platform to enable them to do so. That is the issue Dadjoke

Hibo Wardere is perfectly entitled to focus on the key demographic who suffer from FGM i.e. girls and women predominantly from Africa.

Trans ideology is a very white, middle class, Western phenomenon. If you are female, no amount of pretending to be the opposite sex will protect you from FGM.
Hibo works hard to protect the bodies of girls, while trans ideology is the polar opposite - surgery on healthy body parts is celebrated and encouraged.

Trans men who are not evolution and biology deniers won't be upset by her focus because they know she is protecting all females under threat of FGM.

Keyboard bullies have nothing better to do except go around harassing women and pretending there are problems when there are none.
Let them put in the hard work and set up their own trans orgs to deal with FGM if they are that bothered.

Women are not obliged to pander to those who despise womanhood and deny the reality of what it means to be a woman in a man's world.

Or in other words not every trans person tries to dominate and control women via a very stringent and damaging ideology, that behaviour is limited to a very vocal minority.

@DadJoke

This isn't about trans women. It's about the exclusion of trans men for no good reason. When she was asked to include trans men by a trans man, she said "Not interested, bye." Coming from someone who clearly believes trans men are women, that's pretty harsh.

so, just to get this straight - by your post above and comment below:

I don't think a campaigner against genital mutiliation should exactly be target number one for people who want language which is inclusive trans men. There are many better causes, and more transphobic individuals.

You are calling a woman who campaigns against Female Genital Mutilation transphobic because she will not agree to dilute her message and confuse people by referring to FGM victims as individuals with a cervix so as not to upset people who are female but don't wish to be referred to as such but are extremely unlikely ever to be a victim of FGM.

Ok.

@gardenbird48

You are calling a woman who campaigns against Female Genital Mutilation transphobic because she will not agree to dilute her message and confuse people by referring to FGM victims as individuals with a cervix so as not to upset people who are female but don't wish to be referred to as such but are extremely unlikely ever to be a victim of FGM.

She's clearly slightly transphobic, yes. She has never said "it's because I don't want to dilute my message that I don't want to include trans men." When she talks about women, she's explicitly referring to biology, as do most posters here - it's trans exclusionary, the very definition of transphobic.

Her views are mild compared with the typical level of transphobia here and amongst the reactionary and religious right. She is doing good work, and I think it's misplaced to call her on this when there are so many more worthy targets. It's entirely possible to be a great fighter for a good cause and still have blind spots.

I did think that the trans man who asked for more inclusive language deserved a better response than "Not interested bye"

An ideology that celebrates surgical removal of healthy body parts is fundamentally incompatible with safeguarding legislation to prevent girls from being subjected to FGM.

www.womenarehuman.com/trans-activists-protest-bi-partisan-bill-to-protect-girls-from-barbaric-practice-of-female-genital-mutilation/

Thankfully the Wyoming Bill passed.

I did think that the trans man who asked for more inclusive language deserved a better response than "Not interested bye"

Why?

Who does that person think they are to try to control the way an FGM survivor speaks about it?

Why should Wardere take the time to explain what should be obvious to anyone with a little bit of empathy? That's time that she could spend campaigning or taking a well-deserved rest.

And we all know that any explanation would never, ever be good enough anyway. TRAs would just keep demanding more and more, keep telling her she was wrong, and as long as FGM keeps happening she's always going to be far too busy to get into discussions about what people who have no experience of FGM need her to say so they can feel "validated".

She's clearly slightly transphobic, yes

A million times over women speaking about their needs is not transphobic. Trying to dominate and control what women say is problematic.

she's clearly quite transphobic, yes

Hate to be the one to say it, but different people have different causes they are interested in. Lack of interest is not phobic.
We cannot all be fretting all the time about people's gender/trans angst.
A calm civility is all that's needed generally.

When she talks about women, she's explicitly referring to biology, as do most posters here - it's trans exclusionary, the very definition of transphobic.

OK, so biology is also now transphobic. Got it.

Back in the real world, the clitorises of little girls are cut off with razor blades in service of a grim ideology around female purity.

Hibo

[quote DadJoke]@Notoriouslynotnotious

I don't think a campaigner against genital mutiliation should exactly be target number one for people who want language which is inclusive trans men. There are many better causes, and more transphobic individuals. Likewise, it surprises me that GC feminists spend so much of their time and energy against a tiny group of marginalised people, when there are other, more important issues to address.

Yes, it's trans exclusionary women rather than trans exlusionary men who get more attacked, and misogyny is at play there.[/quote]
I'm exactly with Hibo in that tweet you have screenshotted. She campaigns for victims of FGM, why would she be interested in pussyfooting around language in case if offends someone, she knows this only happens to females, to women and girls?

It's not her job to placate or validate the feelings of these people. That's not her issue, she is getting on with what she does and if people don't like the way she speaks about it then that is just tough shit.

Girls and women who have had their genitals mutilated know it has absolutely fuck all with how they 'identify'.

Argh, this has really pissed me off!

When she talks about women, she's explicitly referring to biology, as do most posters here - it's trans exclusionary, the very definition of transphobic.

On what basis do the victims of FGM get chosen for those things to happen to them? Do people ask them how they identify before deciding whether the remove their clitoris or sew their labia together? Or are they chosen on the basis of their biologically female body?

Sheesh!!!

I'm sitting here feeling utterly heartbroken about what is happening to these little girls, coupled with outright fury that trans activists are trying to make even this about them?

Didn't proofread in my rage.
Them!

DadJoke

"When she talks about women, she's explicitly referring to biology, as do most posters here - it's trans exclusionary, the very definition of transphobic."

Biology denier, you are probably a flat earther as well.

@Dundustin

I'm sitting here feeling utterly heartbroken about what is happening to these little girls, coupled with outright fury that trans activists are trying to make even this about them?

I am actually quite shocked at that! I don’t think there was much left to shock me but it turns out there is.

I read Hibo’s account of what happened to her aged 6 - it is utterly heartbreaking and horrifying that anyone could do that to a young child - let alone criticise someone who is trying to stop it happening to other young girls.

Dadjoke please could you read some of the accounts from victims of FGM that Hibo writes about. It happens to babies and young girls.

These young girls don’t have any opportunity to identify their way out of this barbaric practice.

It is nothing to do with trans people. You are clearly not as interested in FGM issues as you are in trans issues. Allow Hibo to focus on the FGM and you can do you.

I'd always assumed that those targeting Hibo were the extreme end of online activists that most people (including trans activists) are embarrassed by. Yet it appears I am (yet again) wrong.

A powerful "political" movement embedded in our government, universities, the NHS, the legal system etc with the evident power to shape those institutions to their own advantage decides to target a woman of colour trying to protect young girls from FGM - some of the most powerless in multiple societies. Shame on them.

As is often said on these boards, when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.