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.'

It would appear that even luxury beliefs have their limits.

It's amazing how everyone knows what a girl is. The other TRAs are piling on the trans ally girl, accusing her of transphobia, speaking over the trans people, performative allyship, and so much more. And quote-tweeting her saying things like this is why i don’t like cis ppl cuz omg

Ouch

Yes, and that she shouldn't make demands like this as a cis person.

It's okay otherwise.

Just seen all the Sarah Paulson tweets going on, it's madness. The TRAs have turned on themselves and running around like headless chickens "oh she should do prounouns, but we mustn't force her cause that's not nice, but she's not being an ally if she doesn't, but she did sign the twaw letter, but we go after women who don't put their pronouns in their bio it's what we DO, but she's great we stan her, shouldn't we stan her then oh I don't know" 🤯

So determined to not put a foot wrong so they don't get it in the neck they've lost all rational thought

And as for Sarah, well after she cheered on that attack on JKR, here's a tiny violin 🎻

I'd not heard of Sarah before. People seem to be surprisingly divided on whether to denounce her.

Why is that?

Out lesbian and very much an 'ally' up until now.

Also fab actor and slightly eccentric.

And Reese Witherspoon of the "what do we do now" speech.

A helpful list of those to unfollow, if nothing else.

I knew about Paulson - who incidentally and speaking about Schaffley, starred in Mrs America.

Gloria Steinem's experiences as a bunny girl must have had nothing to do with her biological sex then. No, nothing at all.

@powershowerforanhour

Gloria Steinem's experiences as a bunny girl must have had nothing to do with her biological sex then. No, nothing at all.

She's now down the rabbit-hole.

@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.

This!

To return to the list, I do not remember a democratic election in which we women appointed any of these people feminist leaders.

I find that phrase troubling. There are leading feminists, maybe, but I don't like "leaders". You can't appoint yourself as such. It's a status that is earned if what you say resonates with women. Not corporate bigwigs, actual women.

I especially do not remember signing up tonswear loyalty to feminist leaders such as the PROSTASIA FOUNDATION, Charlotte Clymer or Munroe Bergdorf. I think their inclusion weakens the list tbh. Well, of course the latter two assert that transwomen are women. They would, wouldn't they?

There are some other supposed icons there who I doubt could reason their way out of a paper bag, but they're other threads in themselves.

The self-appointed leader thing is a problem throughout various identity groupings.

In a way, it makes sense. If you are in politics a journalist or whatever, and you are supposed to consult stakeholders, be they women, or Africans, or gay clowns, whatever, how do you really do that without picking some representatives somehow?

But it's fraught because the tendency becomes to think of "the gay clown community" as having a certain set of viewpoints represented by their leaders. But almost never are those leaders actually people with any authority or mandate.

Speaking of Bergdorf as a LEEEEEEDEEER, their emphasis, not mine I became curious as to when the feminist world according to MB book was arriving as it was heralding to be this Spring (my niece keeps bigging up MB on Insta) and it@s now pushed back to Jan 22. Pre sales have just tipped over a hundred copies. So that is a couple of grand back on the 6 figure advance. This could be why GLAAD are trawling Florida retirement communities for some CHANGEMAKER credibility.

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

Agree. She was not pro-woman at all - she was pro-patriarchy.

Sad to see Catharine Mackinnon’s name up there.

I think they meant leaders of business etc who are feminists

But I agree it sounds really dodgy

transgender women are women and that transgender girls are girls. And we believe that honoring the diversity of women’s experiences is a strength,

What is a woman?

And what is a transgender woman?

With the usual obfuscatory language, it is completely unclear what 'transgender woman' means. If you mean 'a woman who identifies as transgender', who in the UK is usually referred to as a transman, then your statement is entirely correct and appropriate.

If, however, 'transgender woman' refers to males, they do not reflect 'the diversity of women’s experiences'. They reflect the diversity of men's experiences.

That is what society as a whole should be honouring: that women can display masculine attributes and still be women, that men can display feminine attributes, and still be men, still have access to men's spaces, still be barred from women's spaces.

Feminism represents female lives, not feminine lives.