Invitation to join W.I. If you “live like a woman”.

[Patup5]

I kid you not. This was on a local Facebook group.

What does “living like a woman” involve? Have I been doing it wrong all these years?

R.I.P. the Women’s Institute.

Oh dear. Hopefully with the backlash against stonewall currently happening they will rethink. What does live like a woman even mean? If they are subscribing to these fixed gender stereotypes nonsense could a woman in a traditionally male job like a train driver join in or not?

It's their choice who can join. I dislike the wording intensely and wish they'd changed their name instead, but there's nothing inappropriate about the activities of the WI for a mixed sex approach.

These efforts to appear “inclusive” are all so clumsy. It will pass eventually. I wish it would happen faster than it is, but it will come eventually.

@PermanentTemporary

It's their choice who can join. I dislike the wording intensely and wish they'd changed their name instead, but there's nothing inappropriate about the activities of the WI for a mixed sex approach.

If that's the case, then they need to completely rebrand. It's no longer the WI.

Why can’t a new, all-inclusive group be formed for people who want mixed-sex groupings? Why do natal women have to budge over for natal males?

Single sex groups exist for a reason, and shame on those who seek to destroy that unique experience that is vital to so many women to simply participate in society or gain support.

Create a mixed-gender group, by all means, and welcome all who wish to attend, but leave single SEX spaces/groups/supports alone. Add to the variety of groups and spaces available, don’t decimate the ones that exist for a specific purpose.

The traditional green logo has been rainbowed too.

They may as well remove the “Inspiring Women” tagline.

Funny that as the masons will not accept trans men, only trans women.
But as women we must bend over backwards to accomodate. Men don't feel the need to do that.

@Shehasadiamondinthesky

Funny that as the masons will not accept trans men, only trans women. But as women we must bend over backwards to accomodate. Men don't feel the need to do that.

I didn’t know that.

Why aren’t TRAs calling for the masons to be cancelled for transphobia?

This makes me so sad, I’ve been a member of my W.I. for over 8 years and been on the committee for years too but it has now been joined by lots of women who seem more worried about this line of ‘inclusivity’ and not offending anyone (nobody has ever been offended in the past!) than our long standing existing members.

I’ve stepped down from committee now, I’ll be a member from afar for now and see what happens but I feel very alone in feeling pushed out.

@Shehasadiamondinthesky

Funny that as the masons will not accept trans men, only trans women. But as women we must bend over backwards to accomodate. Men don't feel the need to do that.

This is really interesting I didn’t know that!

Because men aren't expected to share their spaces like we are. I would be interested to know if the female masons accept trans women, I have a friend in one of the female groups so I'll ask her.

@PermanentTemporary

It's their choice who can join. I dislike the wording intensely and wish they'd changed their name instead, but there's nothing inappropriate about the activities of the WI for a mixed sex approach.

Not inappropriate but at our group we’ve had speakers on topics like women’s gynaecology, from charities supporting women who are victims of sexual assault etc that I feel now may be considered ‘non inclusive’ by the current committee, so it’s changing the dynamic of the group and the topics considered acceptable for discussion.

I can't imagine another Calendar Girls in a mixed sex group.

Why aren’t TRAs calling for the masons to be cancelled for transphobia
You'd think, wouldn't you?
I've been thinking about this. It's because under this new supposedly progressive gender system, 'inclusivity' only flows one way.
Including male people -> inclusive
Excluding female people -> inclusive
This is how they get away with excluding the word 'mother' but not the word 'father' , or rebranding women as vagina havers but not men as penis havers.
Once you realise its all about including male people's wants in everything but while excluding female people's needs, then it all makes sense in a horrifyingly patriarchal way.

Nothing is sacred.

As women are not even allowed to refer themselves as women as it may offend those that aren't women (wt actual f?) or use a public toilet safe in the knowledge there will only be other women around there's no way we will be allowed to simply go to meetings that epitomise womanhood without that being infiltrated too.

None of this will stop until every single simple thing women have as our own is stripped from us.

There are separate women’s Freemasons societies too - you can join as a transwoman and it looks like women members that transition to transmen can remain in the society or can leave and join the men’s Freemasons.

Urgh complete sexist idiots. Why do they think this is a good idea? The only people who can live ‘like a woman’ already are women.

The others in society who May experience typically female experiences like: being paid less for the same work, verbal and physical street harassment and feeling they have to curtail their movements because of feeling unsafe after dark alone (...just off the top of my head...) may need specific support, but equally they are not ‘like a woman’ because they can never experience many of the other things about being a woman- physically, emotionally, in society, personally, professionally which have both positives and negatives. Why can’t women have their own groups which they have built and run themselves? They’re not women’s groups any more once they have to accept men into them. That deters women from accessing their own services and places and organisations. It’s so self defeating and group-harming to be ‘inclusive’ of men like this with all the validatory man-pleasing.

Funny that as the masons will not accept trans men, only trans women.
But as women we must bend over backwards to accomodate. Men don't feel the need to do that.

I didn’t know that.

Why aren’t TRAs calling for the masons to be cancelled for transphobia?

For the same reason that there’s no period pants on ModiBodi’s ‘Men’ page. Happy to use ‘people who menstruate’ but make trans men go to the ‘women’ section to buy period pants. ‘People who menstruate’ serves a purpose for trans women by distancing menstruation from the word women. Putting period pants in the ‘Men’ section doesn’t.

It’s not about being inclusive for trans men, it’s about distancing the female reproductive system from the word woman.

That's right jelly, empty the word woman of all meaning so men can use it when they want. Nought all to do with being nice and kind, nothing to do with transmen as the word men and man remains intact of course. Just women under assault as our lives become a lifestyle choice.

Politely enquire what living as a woman means, let them twist themselves in knots trying to explain.

I just don't understand why these organisations are happy to piss off the majority of their users/supporters to appease a tiny minority. Makes absolutely zero sense.

The WI fell quite a while ago, pre girl guides and pre Youth Hostels falling, so to speak.
A shame for all the reasons.

Live like a woman??? Whilst I am a woman, I also swear, drink beer and on occasion - scratch my arse. Does that count me out?

Can they define what 'living like a woman' means, I wonder?

Has anyone asked them?