What is a woman at the Tate

[Melroses]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/02/25/tate-modern-trans-rights-row-female-artists-protest-screening/

"Tate Modern in trans rights row as female artists protest screening of ‘one-sided’ film
But the gallery insists that short film What is a Woman? reflects multiple viewpoints, including the views of gender-critical people
The gallery screened What is a Woman? by Norwegian director Marin Håskjold on Friday evening as part of an evening focused on female artists.
In it, a trans woman is drawn into an argument in a women's changing room over whether she should be there."

twitter.com/ArtXPropaganda/status/1497324356912902146

I won't name any of the examples I'd like them to have used but I'm sure we can all picture some.

Or have a transman in a men's changing room. Once again stressing I've not seen it, it could be ripe for parody; ducks and chickens, cats and dogs...

The film-makers and everyone knows that there is a lot less issue with the passable transwomen, but what we have seen recently (and many TRAs fail to understand) is the men who are not trans claiming to be trans to gain access to single sex spaces.

Self-ID has been a disaster because as soon as they changed the definition of trans from being someone who has physically transitioned (had hormones, surgery etc), to just a feeling (so that a bearded man can claim to be a woman) you see all this push back.

Listening to podcasts with actual trans people they are angry at this redefinition of trans, because they're suffering the backlash because of these bad men.

I don't think I would have challenged that transwomen- I would have just shrugged and thought she was a tall woman. I know we always say here that we can tell, but this one passes so well she probably wouldn't be noticed ( I tend not to look too closely at other women in changing rooms, and they're mostly bigger than me!)

thecritic.co.uk/lates-at-the-tate/ Article by Jo Bartosch :)

Thank you 18:42SunniDelite, I love Jo B's articles x

But, when confronted with “strong, apologetic and wild women”, they shit their organic cotton pants. As one woman pithily tweeted from the event: “The Tate says this is a safe space; that we should be talking more and laments that debate has become too polarised. Screening a film that reduces women to bitter angry caricatures”.
Like most of the arts sector, the Tate is saturated with wokeness, and so the commission of this third-rate propaganda piece is no surprise. But in doing so the iconic gallery (and indeed the arts sector more widely) is turning its back on the most exciting and provocative movement of our time. Perhaps if this grassroots rebellion against gender ideologues was led by men its political significance would more difficult to ignore.

Excellent point from Jo.

The film is completely unrealistic. I don’t believe anyone would have even taken a second glance at the person in the film, so unless “she” flashed a penis, nobody would even have noticed.

Had the artist actually taken the bull by the horns and chosen a typical transactivist, such as Helen Belcher or Charlotte Clymer, the objections being made would be realistic and the picture much more balanced.

Let's have the reality then. If it's all so palatable, let's have the fucking reality.
ANY MAN WHO SAYS HE IS A WOMAN can go in. Let's see the giant 6ft 5 trucker with full beard and tattoos, swinging his lady penis around.
Why not? He's just as much of a woman as the "passing" trans person. If he gets an erection, it just natural you bigots.
Do you think that scenario would have been acceptable? Why the hell not?
He's allowed to get his dick out - if you're offended, you shouldn't be looking you damn pervert.

Alternatively, why didn’t the artist draw on the only real-life case I’m aware of in Norway?

Perhaps showing naked penises in a communal woman’s changing room shower wasn’t artistic enough?

womenwhosayno.blogspot.com/2018/10/norway-woman-is-accused-of-harassment.html

Excellent work Empress and the other women!

@WeeBisom

Has anyone else noticed this trope where there is ALWAYS a liberal feminist there ready to defend the honour of the poor, set upon transwoman? And the transwoman is much more passive, and just stands meekly by while two women fight it out?

Yes!

Where's THIS trans woman?

If you don't think she belongs in the ladies room, you are a damn bigot.

Put up and shut up Wimbens and Wumpunds.

It is I....Lib-Fem! Where ever there is transphobia! Where ever oppressed men cry out for validation!

@IdentifyingAsAPrincess

I was reminded this morning of one of the best bits, TERF says to TW, something like "Can I be black?" TW "Are you black?", TERF "Well I feel black" Then the white male TW says something like "if you like" and Lib Fem says "See, she's nice" . Brilliant, what nice lady sharing out all of the protected characteristics.

Nice? How the fuck is it nice that a white male gives a white woman permission to pretend to be black?

Absurd and highly offensive.

Thank you, Empress et al for standing up for women.

Let's have the reality then. If it's all so palatable, let's have the fucking reality.
ANY MAN WHO SAYS HE IS A WOMAN can go in. Let's see the giant 6ft 5 trucker with full beard and tattoos, swinging his lady penis around.
Why not? He's just as much of a woman as the "passing" trans person. If he gets an erection, it just natural you bigots.
Do you think that scenario would have been acceptable? Why the hell not?
He's allowed to get his dick out - if you're offended, you shouldn't be looking you damn pervert.

Perhaps we should remake the film, frame for frame. With one difference.

It’s funny how the person with the short hair at the end claims to not know ‘who or what they are’ but still decides to use the women’s changing room.

Thank you to everyone standing up for women with this protest. Art matters. Sex matters. So much of art for centuries comments on exactly these issues of sex and gender. Good. They are important. But are we now going to have to ban artists and burn books and artwork for saying unsayable things if their creators see sexism and don’t believe men can literally become women?

Thank you all for holding up a mirror to the UK art establishment. They’ve clearly mistaken supporting a coercive undemocratic men’s sexual rights campaign for inclusion. Failure to engage critical thought. That should be a key aspect of thinking about art. Thank you.

Thank you everyone for being so supportive!

Interesting petition has gone up on change.org asking the TATE to 'live up to its claim to be inclusive of all perspectives' and host a screening of Indian independent film-maker and activist Vaishnavi Sundar's powerful and heartfelt 'Dysphoric: Fleeing Womanhood Like a House on Fire.'

Seems to me that would be an excellent way to open up a conversation about sex and gender, (which the Tate suggests it wishes to do) and to consider a range of views on the topic. Particularly given that Sundar is an independent film-maker, a WoC and the film has not been taken up by the mainstream.

Lots of inequalities could begin to be righted if the Tate supported the film. And it's also superb in its own right.

I think it’s an excellent idea. It’s an extremely powerful film and it would prove that the Tate genuinely want to platform all sides.

@EmpressaurusWitchDoesntBurn

We were in the front few rows, hiding our cloth banners & AHF T-shirts. We sat quietly through the film because we didn’t want to disrupt it. We had no objection to the Tate showing it. What we wanted was for them to show a film from our side too for balance.

It ended with the question ‘What is a woman?’ As the lights came up we stood up, faced the audience and held up our banners, shouting “An adult human female!”

Most of us left at that point to meet the Telegraph photographer. A few stayed inside. Lily Maynard is writing a blog about it with quotes from a lot of the women about how it was and why they did it.

Brilliant, well done Empress and all your sisters! Women like you are genuinely stunning and brave, because we’ve all seen the aggression TRAs unleash against women who speak up.

Lily Maynard's write up:
lilymaynard.com/what-is-a-woman/

They could have a prominent Ivy League swimmer in the changing rooms after racing. That would be interesting. Or someone with a beard, widening the bandwidth of what it means to be a woman, and explaining that to the “terf”.