Fabian Society Paper on Resisting The Culture Wars

[UtopiaPlanitia]

The Fabian Society have released a paper entitled COUNTER CULTURE
HOW TO RESIST THE CULTURE WARS AND BUILD 21ST CENTURY SOLIDARITY

fabians.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FABJ9000-Fabian-Ideas-pamphlet-210628-WEB.pdf

I thought it might be the kind of thing my fellow MN vipers would find interesting (or infuriating) and thought it might be interesting to discuss (for those with the inclination to read it).

I’m reading my way through the paper and on page 33 I discovered this gem:

”Likewise, it is striking that the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government has launched a review about the provision of women’s toilets, without citing a single bit of evidence in support of their claim that the increased provision of gender-neutral toilets has meant that “women are reluctant to go out or take trips”.

In each case, made-up or significantly exaggerated claims have been injected into the national conversation by either political or media decision-makers who know that simplistic, binary narratives that pit ‘common sense’ against ‘extremism’ will always garner attention.”

I’m not feeling hopeful that this paper will be useful in revitalising socialist discourse by way of advising that Left parties should return to material reality-based analysis in the matter of women’s rights

Just discovered that Maya Forstater has a short thread analysing parts of the Fabian report, here’s a link for those interested

twitter.com/MForstater/status/1421036719382712320

RE: Toilets. I mentioned this on another thread. I work in a building with 6 floors that houses a number of companies. On each floor there are two 2 banks of toilets each with 6 cubicles and communal sinks, usual set up. Until late 2019, on each floor, one bank of toilets was designated male, one bank female. After a refurbishment, both banks of toilets on 5 floors were changed to gender neutral. Still with cubicles and communal sinks i.e. not cubicles containing sink, etc. Toilets on one floor (the one I happen to work on) remained segragated by sex. The result? Before the change, the female toilets on my floor were never busy because mostly men work on that floor and I would know any woman I met in there because my company occupies the whole floor. After the change to gender-neutral toilets in the rest of the building, women from the other floors were making the trip to my floor to use the female-only toilet. A young woman told me one day that they hated using the gender-neutral toilets because there would be pee on the seats, didn't like touching the sanitary bins in case they had also been sprayed by pee, and some women, including from my company, didn't like using the toilet if there was a male colleague in there at the same time.

Effectively, men in the building went from having a choice of 6 banks of toilets to use to 11, and women had 6, that changed to 11 in theory, but a large number of women had in effect been left with one facility that they were comfortable using. It might seem like no big deal, but if you realise just before a meeting on the 6th floor that you really need the loo, getting to the 3rd floor and back again so you can use the female-only toilets might not be possible. Or if feel like you are getting a flood from a period or miscarrying, you do not want to use the gender-neutral toilets, but have to scurry up or down the stairs or chance getting the lift.

If professional, confident women working in 'woke' sectors don't want to use gender-neutral toilets in a modern, building where the toilets are regularly cleaned, I don't think it is a stretch to imagine that public gender-neutral toilets might be off-putting for a lot of women.

Bit of a chequered past the Fabians, what with all that enthusiasm for eugenics.

9 mentions of trans, 11 of gender, 1 of gay, 3 of binary, 11 of gender, 3 of sex.

Anyone care to hazard a guess how many times lesbians are mentioned?

Ruth Hunt is acknowledged as having been involved. I know some people have been wondering where she got to, after entering the Lords and disappearing from public scrutiny. She's still at it, still chipping away at women's rights.

The executive summary could just be “why oh why won’t everyone think like us, then there will be no more culture war.”

@Forgotthebins

The executive summary could just be “why oh why won’t everyone think like us, then there will be no more culture war.”

I must admit, that’s how it came across to me too. I very much felt that the authors are of the view that every political stance that opposes their values is either not genuine (and is merely a pose or an exaggeration in order to stoke division) or is wrong and the opinion-holders need to be educated.

The opinions and analysis in this paper felt close-minded, rather smug at times, and predetermined; the authors fail to put themselves in the minds of their political opposites and try to see things from a different point of view, or to even admit that opponents can even have differing but also legitimate points of view.

If this is what passes for Left think-tank publishing these days, it’s no wonder the political left is struggling to formulate decent policies or attract voters.

Thanks for the link.