Gloria Steinem and friends Open Letter

[lionheart]

This is some list

www.glaad.org/tdovletter

'In observance of Women’s History Month and Transgender Day of Visibility, we write this letter as feminist leaders in advocacy, business, entertainment, media, politics, and social justice who stand as, with, and for transgender and nonbinary people. Trans women and girls have been an integral part of the fight for gender liberation. We uphold that truth and denounce the ongoing anti-transgender rhetoric and efforts we witness in various industries.

We acknowledge with clarity and strength that transgender women are women and that transgender girls are girls. And we believe that honoring the diversity of women’s experiences is a strength, not a detriment to the feminist cause. All of us deserve the same access, freedoms, and opportunities. We deserve equal access to education, employment, healthcare, housing, recreation, and public accommodations. And we must respect each person’s right to bodily autonomy and self-determination.'

Sometimes I think that everyone is totally barking, except maybe me and the MN feminist board (and I'm not entirely convinced by some of you TBH).

How the hell do people manage to turn their brains upside-down in this way. Is it something in the water? Even on the issue of TW being an 'integral part' of the fight for bla gender thingy bla. Where's the evidence? The photos, the articles, the books, the activism, the lobbying. Where are they these integral parts?

Struth.

To me honest, I identified more with Phyllis Schlafly - often called a misogynistic woman, she was no such thing - if anything, she was a realist and i think she was a visionary, like she had a crystal ball or something!

Completely agree.
I watched it and wanted to dislike Schlafly. But I didn't! She spoke a lot of sense!
More sense than Gloria is now speaking. I'm surprised at her.

@InspiralCoalescenceRingdown

Is GLAAD the organisation that recently, totally accidentally, put its hit list on the internet?

Whaaaaat?!

That letter is more a less a cut and paste of that grim letter circulated by those Irish transwomen. It uses the same slurring tactic of labelling everyone who is an unbeliever as self identified (when did that become a bad thing?) feminists and bigots.

GLAAD are the people that contacted JKR when she tweeted to offer her some mind control reprogramming. I do wonder how they intend to mind control the USA . Good luck with that. The bigoty bigot thing has become laughable.

I will give it 2 out of 10 for trying, and please keep going on the bigoty bigot thing, that's going to go the way it went here.

I think the US has a long way to go before surfaces.

Just saw this on Twitter. Seriously depressing.

No no no no no. Not Gloria Steinem. I’ve noticed recently she wasn’t speaking up against men claiming women’s rights. But I thought, she’s been an activist for more than 50 years, she’s tired, she just doesn’t want to trigger a storm of abuse.

But putting her name to the erasure of women? Why would she do that? She’s made her name already. She doesn’t need to climb on today’s bandwagon.

I know there’s a man over here who tweets antifeminist stuff under the name of a prominent American lesbian feminist, without her permission and apparently to annoy her. Maybe this has happened to Gloria? I live in hope ....

Frank N. Steinam.

Same with Mary Whitehouse and her opposition to pornography creeping into the mainstream. I want to go back to the '80s and really listen to her

She was around in the 70s too. I remember laughing at her as well. I also remember (can't remember exactly when) seeing a clip of Germaine Greer trying to be so cool and blasé about how everyone had seen Animal Farm and it really wasn't a big deal.

In the, probably highly unlikely, event anyone on here doesn't know what I'm referring to I recommend you stay ignorant and don't Google it.

@rabbitwoman

To me honest, I identified more with Phyllis Schlafly - often called a misogynistic woman, she was no such thing - if anything, she was a realist and i think she was a visionary, like she had a crystal ball or something! Equal rights for women mean nothing without robust and appropriate protections. Of course a woman should be paid the same wage for doing exactly the same job as a man - but what happens when that woman gets pregnant and can no longer do the exact same job as her male counterpart? What happens when that baby comes along and that woman now has to nourish that baby, care for that baby?

Phyllis would have had no time for TWAW - not unless they can have babies and will stay at home to look after them!

Phyllis Schlafly was against abortions and felt women's true calling was to be housemaids and mothers. gag!

Steinem came out recently against the loosening of restrictions on surrogacy, which now is easier to do in NYC...I'm really, really disappointed by this. Do you think she fears getting threats?

Also, I'd LOVE it if US feminists would put out a policy statement that listed not some flowery 'tapestry of womanhood' bs, but instead list what woman-specific issues women and trans women share that are NOT shared by men and then lay out how women and trans women intend to work together to fix said issues as a feminist group, because last I checked, feminism was for women.

I can't think of any issues...but I'm open to ideas.

This is so fucking disappointing. I despair

Yes: foolishly, I did not "Do the reading" on several US feminists.

This Angela Davis?

Wow. If it's the same Angela Davis, just wow.

American feminists failed to gain maternity leave, anywhere near equal pay and US women's access to abortion remains a political football, so goodness knows why their time is best spent fighting for the rights of people who were born male? There is devastating inequality in health provision for black women in the States. Where are they on that, why haven't they affected change there? Why are they dicking about repeating meaningless mantras that do nothing to forward the cause of feminism? Feminism isn't for everyone because that takes up way too much time, and women waste far too much of it on wiping other people's arses anyway. Feminism needs to be specific and about females to get anything done. US feminists are just such a massive disappointment, it pains me.

Wow 'the MeToo movement' and 'Planned Parenthood Federation of America'.. that's pretty incredible tbh.

Honestly, what compels them to do this? They'd maintain way more dignity if they remained silent and focused on their actual remits. Women's services aren't a pie to be shared with all-comers. Women's rights isn't a melange of political issues, it's intersectional of course, but if it's for everyone who's not white (non trans) male, then it's of no use to women at all.

GS's current acolytes - people with a history of misogyny and appropriation.

we write this letter as feminist leaders...

This is what happens when someone becomes a professional feminist and believes themselves entitled to speak for, and over, ordinary women.

Luxury beliefs indeed.

Another USA centric piece- I assume it's only intended for USA consumption?

'We continue to reckon with a history that has often excluded women of color, of different sexual orientations, socioeconomic statuses, ages, body types, religions and regions, and who are disabled. However, the feminist movement has largely expanded in beautiful and powerful ways. '

Speak for yourselves. Which I assume you are. Not my problem if you failed to realise that woman = adult human female.

And I'd be very surprised if feminists in India or African nations excluded 'women of colour'??!!

And feminism has expanded in 'beautiful' ways? What a strange word to choose.

So in short. This letter must be USA relevant only. Unless they think feminism started in the USA, was pretty awful in terms of all the women the excluded, and has now spread through the USA. If they're not only talking about the USA then they're very silly.

I also don't see the USA as a country where feminism has done particularly well. They have loads of issues. I'm sure I don't need to list them.

@RabbitOfCaerbannog

American feminists failed to gain maternity leave, anywhere near equal pay and US women's access to abortion remains a political football, so goodness knows why their time is best spent fighting for the rights of people who were born male? There is devastating inequality in health provision for black women in the States. Where are they on that, why haven't they affected change there? Why are they dicking about repeating meaningless mantras that do nothing to forward the cause of feminism? Feminism isn't for everyone because that takes up way too much time, and women waste far too much of it on wiping other people's arses anyway. Feminism needs to be specific and about females to get anything done. US feminists are just such a massive disappointment, it pains me.

As a life-long American feminist, I completely agree.

Maybe. It's an attempt by some to stay relevant/ visible.

When women get older then in general they're seen as pointless and their views dismissed.

On second thoughts, Sarah Paulson is trending because she's just attracted TRA attention for not putting her pronouns in her bio ...

Very transphobic, apparently.

It will be an eye opening for many to see this vitriol play out.

Perhaps for SP too given her attitude to JKR.

Oh, we are very lucky to have abortion rights and I am absolutely pro choice.

You don't have to agree with everything someone says or stands for. I just think it was naive and shortsighted of Steinham et al to campaign for equal rights when it's just not enough.

There's so much wrong with giving trans women the same rights as women - they need different rights, just as robust but with different protections, because no trans woman will ever be sacked whilst pregnant, thrown out of a public space for breastfeeding or left suffering with endemetriosis for decades before anyone bothers to diagnose it......