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.

@Stealhsquirrelnutkin

Etinox asked about a brilliant meme of a harassed looking women holding a tantruming toddler. The woman’s labelled LBG and the toddler TQ- does anyone have a link to it?

I liked it so much I saved a copy. Enjoy.

Thanks so much @Stealhsquirrelnutkin!

The meme we were talking about.

Someone said that it only takes one or two people to completely colour the opinions of an organisation

Currently seeing this in action at work. FWR has given me courage to share some thoughts with my manager about it, even if I’m not quite ready to challenge the individuals themselves just yet.

**The TA's cannot cope with JDW's mocking tone. She sees the hyperbole and doesn't get cross, just points out the silliness.
**
It's interesting to me how effective that is as a technique. This group of people seem to have little in the way of humour or much ability to self deprecate.

I had thought it was JKRs position, and money, that made her uncancellable - but actually, both these women's "that's ridiculous, no" is effective.

Reminiscent of Posie sending Harrop into a frothing state of apoplexy.

It's a great technique.

Derail but my sister identified with the Little Princess of the classic book. Not because she thought she was a princess obv but because she recognised that polite silences accompanied by a mocking smile were so effective. When I read it to DD I remember a bit where the angry headmistress shouts at Sarah "why are you smiling?"
S "I was just thinking...."
HM "Think? Think? How dare you think".

Apologies for being liberal with the dialogue as I'm going from memory. Anyway DD instantly recognised the power and loved that bit. She's another Princess!

@PurgatoryOfPotholes

I do hope that the comms manager's bio is a reference to a totally different screw up at work, and not the cancellation of Jess de Wahls.

That refers to the MERL Twitter account that he used to run.

MERL is well worth a follow - I’m currently working in heritage and our community engagement training uses MERL as an example of how to do things really well.

I wonder if the RA are doing anything to support Jess with the abuse she has been getting as a result of their original statement?

I really hope they are doing something to support or protect her.

I was quite disappointed to see another artist (who I like and have previously supported) comment on the RA's Instagram apology and call Jess "trans hostile" in her post. I won't be supporting that artist again, and have unfollowed her on all social media now. I just can't. But I also won't be making malicious false complaints to her stockists.

I've not RTFT, but DH happened to be saying today how much he liked Unherd, and mentioned specifically 'an interview with a woman artist....' ...which of course turned out to be Jess dW

@SnoopyLights

I wonder if the RA are doing anything to support Jess with the abuse she has been getting as a result of their original statement?

I really hope they are doing something to support or protect her.

I was quite disappointed to see another artist (who I like and have previously supported) comment on the RA's Instagram apology and call Jess "trans hostile" in her post. I won't be supporting that artist again, and have unfollowed her on all social media now. I just can't. But I also won't be making malicious false complaints to her stockists.

Who was that? I have absolutely bloody had enough of women being called transphobic when they aren't. Examples of hostility would be: to try and ruin someone's livelihood for saying something you disagree with. Or posting on social media that they should die in agony for stating a fact you dislike. Or threatening them that you will 'get them'. THAT is hostility.

Cowbells

I'm a little reluctant to outright name her, as she is also a small independent artist trying to make her living.

But her post was at the top of the list of comments on the RA apology because I followed her on Instagram and so it was the first one I saw. I'd imagine if she was someone you follow, you'd see the same thing.

She is a textile artist who makes and sells needle felt animals, and who also publishes children's picture books with stories / photos of the animals she has made. I've followed her for years on social media, even spoken to her, and I was just so disappointed to see this from her.

I agree with you, I'm done with women who throw false transphobia accusations around. I'm just done.

My ( older than me naoice village matrons) book club were discussing this last night . All completely on Jess side and much less of the bekind bullshit thankfully. Tide is turning

I agree with you, I'm done with women who throw false transphobia accusations around. I'm just done.

^^ really grinds my gears. They blatantly hate women

Me too. I choose to ignore, not engage and block. That’s their nasty world not mine.

@Carriemac

My ( older than me naoice village matrons) book club were discussing this last night . All completely on Jess side and much less of the bekind bullshit thankfully. Tide is turning

Naice village matrons were likely teenagers in the 60s/70s/80s when their rock, psychedelic, prog, glam rock, New Romantic, gender bender, goth and grunge pop mag pin-up boys wore lipstick, eyeliner, sequins and occasionally frocks. They (we) are astonished their grandchildren are now upholding even more conservative sex and gender stereotypes than their tut-tutting parents did back in the day.

Yes. I'm probably a village matron! Two or three years ago, when this first came to my attention, I spoke to two older women in our village - one dog walking, and one at the allotments - with my new-found rage, and discovered they were already there. One worked for the NHS, and the other a university!

TRAs definitely picked the wrong target here. It seems to be there is a personal vendetta element here, too. Thanks for the boost, TRAs

Jess is a talented, charismatic and feisty lady with a sense of humour.

She also (I know, I know) attractive and has a great image. All the tick boxes I guess (I’d be eaten alive for being fat frumpy fifty).

When they start going for people who can and will fight back and are already in the public domain (so not intimidated by the spotlight) they are picking on the wrong people.

A Youthful voice is good.

I am often met with a barely concealed eye roll, dismissed as a ‘boomer’ and intrinsically on the wrong side of history.

Given the ageism and sexism that often times out the views of more mature women

Four days after publication the RA statement is still bugging me because I think it may be implying that it's Jess de Wahls's gender critical views that 'cause offence' but still need to be 'tolerated' (penultimate paragraph), as though somehow believing in biological sex is an extreme belief rather than the fact based view of 99% of humans.

Perhaps they meant to be even-handed and I'm over-reacting ? I feel like I'm in a topsy-turvy land where facts and nonsense have swapped places.

Given the ageism and sexism that often times out the views of more mature women

Yes for a so-called progressive movement, I see a lot of this. Also derogatory comments about women's looks.

Jess is a talented, charismatic and feisty lady with a sense of humour.

^ This is probably why the TRAs hate her so much. She’s womanning all wrong by not being a simpering, self-flagellating decorative clothes horse. The submissive trope of femininity doesn’t hold up well in the face of assertive, highly accomplished women doing their thing. Jess rocks!

If I was a teen girl looking for a role model, she would so be it!

Apropos not much... just listening to Spotify and this popped up on my screen. Gave me a giggle... (especially after the Cure video...).

Ah, the old days eh?

I think it may be implying that it's Jess de Wahls's gender critical views that 'cause offence' but still need to be 'tolerated' (penultimate paragraph

I think it absolutely means that, and is a message to the TRAs to say ‘we know you feel offence at GC views, but sometimes people do feel offended’

It isn’t the business of the RA to have a position on GC V Gender Idealogy. The main thing is, they are acknowledging that people are entitled to freedom of expression and it is the job of an arts organisation to support good artists who will explore issues and concepts from a wide spectrum of perspective.

‘Offence’ shouldn’t twang the decisions of an arts organisation, IMO. They are almost certain to cause ‘offence’ in some way or another… blasphemy, obscenity, anything and everything outside the establishment… almost by definition.

Look at the furore over Exhibit B at the Barbican.

LBGT artists have been amongst the most censored in earlier times.

We all need to be very careful what we wish for when we demand that people and art are silenced.

Another lovely missive from the right side of history

@ScreamingMeMe

Another lovely missive from the right side of history

So now mastectomies and hysterectomies are bad things that should happen to bad people? And not good things that should happen to transpeople? That is one very confused TRA.