"What is a woman?" Politicians unable to answer basic question

[supercalie]

This exchange is astonishing.

Members of the Green Party are asked the basic question "What is a woman?" and all but one fail to answer the question.

The only one of them that gave an answer said that being a woman is an attitude.

@Goannaforanna

Goodness, well clearly all those women in Afghanistan should just change their attitude and they'd be right.

This. Please send that to the MPs who said it and ask them to explain

I was so pissed off with the comment that a poll says that the majority of women support self ID, when media censorship makes sure these people don't actually know what they are agreeing to.

The average woman has never heard of AGP, depending on her age may not yet have needed, or known another woman who has needed (and therefor really appreciate the need for) woman only spaces especially after DV.
Lots of people are not critical thinkers, if you don't explain that sexual predators are often very manipulative people rather than strong physically overpowering people, who have throughout history identified into much safer groups so they can operate in plain sight then they will not think of that, the only message people get through the main stream is 'why would they?' or my favourite 'men rape anyway, this won't make a difference'.

Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful. Can we assume that this spectacular ignorance/refusal to define what a woman is is going to prevent them developing policies that impact on The People Who Cannot Be Named in any way? Yes. B-Ark

Being a woman is an attitude

Being a woman leads to reduced pay, sexual abuse, being short

Change you attitude and this will all disappear ?

@supercalie

I don’t understand it. Even if they want to be trans inclusive, why not just say “A woman is either an adult human without Y chromosomes, or an adult human who identifies as female”.

Then we'd at least know what they are talking about when they use the word.

@VaggieMight I agree, this is so offensive to women who can’t have children. That politician is implying that the answer is that women are people who can get pregnant, and then they object to a definition that they have themselves implied but not stated, and still not managed to give a definition. It’s disgraceful.

@Datun I agree. And especially any MP in charge of things like violence against women should be asked this question and to articulate their answer IN WRITING, so that we can be clear on what they mean.

@Goannaforanna @Heruka exactly. Those women told not to come into university in Kabul clearly just should have changed their attitudes.

They can't say that because their whole theory/view rests on not talking about the issue. As soon as you look at it directly it all threatens to vanish in a puff of smoke. It's quite telling that us, here, in all our horrible, viperish witchiness, are capable of answering the question in a way that includes transpeople better than the supposed adherents.

It's not so much a belief system as an extreme-avoidance-of-questioning-belief system.

@VaggieMight

How dare that man imply 'cis' women unable to have children are the same as transwomen. How fucking dare he.

My reaction entirely.

@Jaysmith71

Fans of Douglas Adams will recognise these are B-Ark people: Not leaders who make difficult desicions and inspire us to follow, and not do-ers who actually make things we need and supply those things. Just intermediaries who make space for themselves.

They should all be gathered, put on a big rocket and shot into space, in no particular direction, with the assurance that the rest of us would join them in due course.

🤣🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

Oh my God, this is so funny!! I'd love to make a Youtube video on this 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Nick - This happens a lot, like, in politics generally - we try to simply things down to the definition of something.

Yes, because words have meaning. Policies are written with words, which need to have a meaning that is cohesive and widely understood by the public who will be affected by those policies, and people in authority who'll be implementing them.

I don't think it's a very productive question to be honest - meaning, it's a question you can't answer so you'll question the very reason for asking it in the first place. Yeah, asking a question about the meaning of something that means so much to so many people isn't productive at all .

Tom (sounding very nervous indeed and his voice even breaks a bit at one point) - Ummm.....yeah, I mean, kind of agree with what Nick has just said

Basically, 'what he said' and women agree with with it, and anyone who challenges that is transphobic and asking this question is bad faith.

Amelia - I'm going to try to sound very very confident and politician-like, before coming out with this absolute gem to make people think I'm a radical feminist -

I think it's important to work to work with all of our sisters to ensure that essentially, we smash the patriarchy

I think radical feminists would have something to say about that, and they would argue that it's misogyny that has led to women in particular not being able to define what a woman is, or not being allowed to. Listen to how she nervously scrambles to mention non-binary people at the end when she realised she was about to leave them out.

Cleo - After 'rambling' for a while in grand political gestures speak, she said confidently Being a woman is and attitude

Brilliant. Never heard that one before.

This clip would be a lot funnier if the surrounding context wasn't so grave.

I think it's important to work to work with all of our sisters to ensure that essentially, we smash the patriarchy

I didn't get this far, I lost the will to live.

But who on earth does she mean by sisters? Males? Including rapists and sex offenders, bullies and misogynists? And who makes up the patriarchy? Surely it can't be men, because there's no definition for it.

Hold on a sec.. so Tom says that he would like to turn out attention to a poll that says that the majority of WOMEN agree with trans people self id'ing... etc who is Tom talking about when he says women? Because he's just said he won't answer the question? So you've admitted that a group of people have voted for something, but you can't define what that group of people is?

FFS.

What a bunch of cowards. I bet they can all define woman and man accurately when it comes to who they want to hump. Jeeze....

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master—that's all.”

A complex question 🤣🤣 my 🍑
The guy who says " we all know what a woman is" sounds a bit nudge nudge wink wink -oh isn't he hilarious
Load of carp
Funny how they all jump straight into the trans subject. Very funny

If being a woman is "an attitude", that's great news for all the Afghan women and girls who are afraid of Taliban rule. They can just drop the woman attitude and carry on with their lives unafraid, right?

'Listen to how she nervously scrambles to mention non-binary people at the end when she realised she was about to leave them out.'

Exactly. What a craven, cowardly bunch of self-serving, empty-headed little muppets. Honestly can't decide if it's genuine stupidity or affected stupidity. It would be funny if it wasnt so bloody horrifying and depressing

I just said to my male friend who's very into politics and is far left in his views 'Green Party have lost my vote' (we have previously discussed voting green) he asked why and I told him about this video, that mp's were asked what a woman is and three refused to answer and one said being a woman is an attitude lol.. his response was:

'A totally patently inflammatory and unserious question' I said 'how so', he said 'it's so reductive' i said 'how do you set policies for a group of people if you can't even define said group of people?' He said 'trans people deserve more patience and nuance than that question' i said 'you think it's acceptable for them to say that being a woman is an attitude?' He said 'haha definitely not, but find out who asked that question' I then said that they could at least come up with a definition that includes trans women if that is what they believe such as 'We create policies for women, when we say women, we are referring to adult human females and those who identify as female' .. he hasn't responded yet but can you give me some arguments to respond to him with! I can't stand how much he does not try to understand women's points of views!

Woman is an attitude.

The patriarchy must be something solid, definable, natural I guess? In order for them to so confidently use the term?

One of those questioned did say the question didn't come from a place of good faith, as if they were Jesus being stalked by Pharisees with trick questions. The difference is that Jesus had wise answers that turned the question on its head and made people think, unlike this lot who were clearly afraid of the backlash if they answered honestly.

Captured. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Imagine telling an oppressed class fighting for their rights that they are not in good faith. So little self awareness.

Anyone else just hearing Boston’s ‘More than a Feeling’ ?

"Woman is an attitude..."

I'm seeing some overpaid actress all dolled up in a perfume ad doing voiceover....

"Woman," by Pierre Cardin or some such

@Narutocrazyfox

WOW. Not many things shock me these days, but wow. This is insane. How can anyone even consider voting for these people??? How spineless to not be able to answer a very simple question for fear of backlash.

If you need help Green party (and you really really do) it's 'an adult, human female'.

ehhh that's not a very conclusive answer. What's a female then?

'I can't stand how much he does not try to understand women's points of views!'

I hear you. I've had similar with a male friend of mine. They just honestly don't see woman as important or deserving of consideration. Issues like single sex spaces are no skin off their nose. They don't get it, and have no motivation to try to get it. My male friend describes himself as a feminist (of course!) but honestly doesn't have a bloody clue. It's beyond depressing

@strythiolu

female - of the sex that can bear offspring or produce eggs, distinguished biologically by the production of gametes (ova) which can be fertilized by male gametes.