Jess de Wahls

[Mollyollydolly]

The Royal Academy have removed Jess' work from their shop due to a handful of complaints that she's 'transphobic'. If you want to support Jess her website is here.
www.jessdewahls.com
So sick of these utterly craven organisations. I hope she has a legal case against them for discrimination.

Not in London but as someone said upthread, the RA does have an awful lot of railings outside. Would it be so nice if some tricolour embroidery threads were left hanging from them?

"This has been the kick up the bum I needed to set up a regular donation to Sex Matters as well sex-matters.org/take-action/donate/^"^^
^
Me too. I am a member of RA so have for the moment just complained bystander asked if I am allowed to be a member given I agree with her.

Whenever I go to exhibitions, everybody else is middle-aged and middle-class, and highly likely to agree with Jess. They really are stupid in this, and the longer they are silent, the worse it gets. Interestingly, when I phoned to complain yesterday lunchtime, I couldn't get through but I was almost immediately called back, and the person who rang me strongly urged me to email.

* but asked

That is interesting Searabbit! I wonder if there’s a lil bit of internal debate going on at the RA. It seems odd there has been no further statement yet.

@Cwenthryth

That is interesting Searabbit! I wonder if there’s a lil bit of internal debate going on at the RA. It seems odd there has been no further statement yet.

I'm sure there is. After all this publicity they going to have to come down on one side or the other. I imagine they are desperately trying to figure out which side, and how they are going to frame it.

Either that or they are hoping it will be forgotten about over the weekend...

The RA has an elegant way out of this if they want to take the lead from how HBO Max has handled a mistake by an intern:

twitter.com/i/events/1405955843493826560

When will large orgs learn how critical social media is. I'm fairly sure there have been other occasions when the social media person has responded to complaints by saying their brand would no longer do something, only to later have to embarrassingly backtrack?

Think they’ve missed the window for a credible whoops-the-intern-did-it.

@Cwenthryth

Think they’ve missed the window for a credible whoops-the-intern-did-it.

They have indeed.

And the longer it goes on, the deeper the hole.

@ItsAllGoingToBeFine

When will large orgs learn how critical social media is. I'm fairly sure there have been other occasions when the social media person has responded to complaints by saying their brand would no longer do something, only to later have to embarrassingly backtrack?

Happens a lot: www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-spectator-the-co-op-and-cancel-culture-a-cautionary-tale

Similar issues with GB News this week where the social media teams of several firms declared that they were boycotting the channel, only to be overruled. An insider at Vodafone described their social media team as “blue and purple haired lunatics”.

It's quite interesting that a number of museums/galleries now have notes next to an artwork that apologise for it and draw attention to implicit slavery/racism/erasure etc.

I hate it when they do this. It is like going to the library for a book and having them point me to other books that they believe will gve me balance.

Fuckoff! I can research a painting or artist if I want to, and I know how to look for books in a library. I don't need some faux authority figures trying to stop me from thinking or enjoying things they think are wrong.

I hate it when they do this. It is like going to the library for a book and having them point me to other books that they believe will gve me balance.

You really wouldn't like what Halifax Library (Canada) is doing then - they give a full information pack with every checkout of a book someone complained about (posted upthread, link below)…

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/a4272712-Jess-de-Wahls?msgid=108299874

[quote EmbarrassingAdmissions]I hate it when they do this. It is like going to the library for a book and having them point me to other books that they believe will gve me balance.

You really wouldn't like what Halifax Library (Canada) is doing then - they give a full information pack with every checkout of a book someone complained about (posted upthread, link below)…

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/a4272712-Jess-de-Wahls?msgid=108299874[/quote]
Yeah, that used to be my local library.

I am not surprised, they seemed to reach a weird tipping point, maybe five or ten years ago. They went from just generally looking to celebrate every group in the community and be welcoming, in a way where they sat along side of each other just fine, to promoting a few politicised areas to the extreme. Pride month in particular was completely crazy and seemed increasingly like it wasn't just the library providing space, but the library pushing a particular agenda.

I'd have said I thought it would be a 50% chance they might have caved altogether, but libraries have been one of feh few institutions that have stuck to their gins in Canada.

I am kind of curious, actually, whether this experience may make them rethink what kind of movement Pride now represents.

*stuck to their guns, I mean, though they may need some gin after all that.

Janice Turner

Anatomy of a cancellation by the culture Stasi

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b99742be-d06d-11eb-9bfa-a3bc386e6928?shareToken=110bbdba7e0cba2f9b6e2a067d01dfbd

They'll be waiting for SW to tell them what their media strategy is. SW have probably told them already and it's No Debate, therefore do not expect a response

Thanks McDuffy. This end to Janice Turner's piece is great:

As I write, the RA’s tremulous head of commercial just told De Wahls “everyone is still thinking”. I’d hope such cogitation includes the Maya Forstater ruling which recently defined gender-critical feminism as a legitimate belief. De Wahls’s embroidered flowers would make a fascinating test case.

Hopefully, they're realising they massively fucked up. Their own stupidity means they bow have the choice between a) telling the 8 TRAs that actually they are fine with "transphobia" after all with the resultant tantrum that will ensue, or b) legal action for discrimination against a protected belief that 99% of the UK shares, where they will need to stand in court and defend themselves on how believing women are female is worse than pedophilia, incest, murder and rape.

A mighty mess, entirely of their own making.

[quote McDuffy]Janice Turner

Anatomy of a cancellation by the culture Stasi

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b99742be-d06d-11eb-9bfa-a3bc386e6928?shareToken=110bbdba7e0cba2f9b6e2a067d01dfbd[/quote]
Really good, as usual.

I've signed up to Jess's Patreon, and apparently there is one of "them" in there to spy on her. Imagine being the mother of one of those nasty, bratty little bullies. I would be absolutely mortified and wondering where the hell I had gone so wrong.

I can't believe they haven't responded on this yet. I had hoped it was some blue haired work experience kid that got carried away and went on a power trip, but their silence suggests otherwise.

[quote McDuffy]Janice Turner

Anatomy of a cancellation by the culture Stasi

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b99742be-d06d-11eb-9bfa-a3bc386e6928?shareToken=110bbdba7e0cba2f9b6e2a067d01dfbd[/quote]
This was a great comment piece by Janice and I was really touched by her opening anecdote.

Thank you Mcduffy, was hoping for a share token for this item. 💐

An insider at Vodafone described their social media team as “blue and purple haired lunatics”

We have known this for years, the Twitter accounts of universities, young political parties, corporations etc etc, have treated GC women disgracefully. It’s time these organisations got their act together and put sane and balanced people in charge.

Yup nothing new there. I’m often amazed at the difference between the SM output of a company or organisation and their other communications. It’s as if no-one is getting any PR/reputation training, and no-one is getting anything signed off.

”The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior 'righteous indignation' — this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats.”

Aldous Huxley

Someone posted this in the comments.