Start your weekend laughing! Bill Maher is onboardthe GC train and telling it like it is.

[DontLikeCrumpets]

"he's aligned with already-identified racist white supremacists like Carlson"

Jesus that is fucking not true - he hates Tucker Carlson. What bullshit. He is clearly not a racist - what kind of warped weird glasses are you watching his show through? Or do you not watch it at all but feel free to slander the man......I'm guessing it's the 2nd.

'I watched John Oliver advise that anyone who disagrees with giving kids puberty blockers is a "horrible person" as if it was an undisputed fact'

So unsurprised to hear this. Had to stop watching his awful smug show. Shame on him for this

Next stop will be a job at the White House...

This level of discussion was the well established norm way before Trump. He didn't cause anything, he was just pretty representative of what was already normal socially accepted discourse.

Aside from being the President of the United States, which usually does suggest a higher level of temperance and self control, there was nothing that he said that was particularly egregious as compared to any of the normal social media and comment sections.

Am I the only one with "she doesn't even go here" stuck in my head?

And I thought us feminists were the humourless lemon-suckers. Now we're the ones with the sense of humour? I can't keep up with which terrible character trait I have.

Brexit was a big jolt for me. I was a Remainer because I like the idea of being "European" and swanning through the EU passport queue.

The level of vitriol I've seen online and in real life towards Brexiteers is shocking.

Brexit was a watershed moment for me.

The elitism of the left (which I'd been on) was exposed.
The confidence of the group think and the distain for the outgroup.
The use of slurs to dismiss the views and categorise as bad people who thought differently.

I now see this clearly whenever it's happening and am immune to its power.

Yes, Brexit was a wake-up call for me too. Strangely, it hasn't taught the left that labelling people with different views as bigots and hurling insults at them is not a great strategy.

I was a Lexiter. That is a left winger who wants Brexit for left wing reaons. It was so depressing. I would say something about racist immigration policy or the way the Eurozone penalised Greece and they would hit back with "Oh so you agree with Nigel Farage do you??!". Then have the fucking audacity to accuse Brexiters of being thick and unable to answer rationally.

Brexit was a watershed moment for me.

I'm a step ahead of you, maybe.

I watched the Brexit and Trump stuff fully understanding the sentiment in wanting to give the elite a kicking, but feeling that it was ultimately counterproductive, and not going to improve the voters' situation.

Then, watching the US "left" and media response to Trump, I realised "wow, this made them even worse!"

I'm actually coming around to the view that, on the contrary, it is productive. In that we've got an elite with extremely totalitarian worldview who seem to think they have the right to do whatever they want, and if anyone doesn't like they're just going to call them names.

I'm thinking it's increasingly important to keep Labour, the Democrats, and all the other places where this crowd gathers out of power, at least until they come to their senses. We can't afford to encourage them.

And if that means they have to spend a decade or two shrieking that the 60% of the country not voting for them are Nazis or racists, I think we'll cope.

Absolutely hilarious that some posters think that right-wing men like Matt Walsh and Tucker Carlson using their very popular platforms to speak out about gender zealotry is 'Bad'. Then a well-established, well-respected liberal like Bill Maher uses his popular show to speak out about gender zealotry and that's also 'Bad'. 😆

I'm loving the irony that it might be white men who might save us all from this batshit nonsense by using their influence and reach to expose the harms done by this ideology. 😂

I think a lot of women here are unhappy with men like Matt Walsh & Christopher Rufo not acknowledging the years of work that women put in before they arrived.

I think a lot of women here are unhappy with men like Matt Walsh & Christopher Rufo not acknowledging the years of work that women put in before they arrived.

Personally, if that's what it takes to win this fight then I can live with it, but I take the point and I understand why some women don't agree. But that's a different argument from telling us we shouldn't talk or listen to anyone who's not on an (invisible and ever changing) approved list in case it gives us a bad name with people who don't give a toss about us anyway.

Well, to be fair, white men put us in this ridiculous situation in the first place. Maybe they should be responsible for digging us all out again!

I'm delighted to see someone as well-known and with such huge reach as Bill Maher throwing light onto this issue. Unlike many on this thread, I know very well,who he is, he's an incredibly well-known comedian with a prime time show in the US and what he did with that 10 min segment is SO valuable in terms of educating people about the issues regarding DC.

The US is much further down the rabbit hole on all this trans stuff than the UK is and with the Dems in power and a doddery old president who doesn't understand half the shit he's signing and just reads the autocue without any critical thinking, having people like Bill Maher speak out so eloquently to a mainstream audience is amazing. So many people still don't know what is going on and how far the trans lobby have already gone in terms of getting their agenda into the mainstream.

What he said about dinner parties in LA and everyone at the table having a trans kid is frighteningly true (also in NY - go to dinner with a group of school teachers and you'll find they'll talk about all the trans kids in their classes and how great it is and how happy they are, bla bla bla.The fightback in the US is way behind where we are in the UK, so I'll take an ally wherever I find him or her. Good work Bill Maher!

'having people like Bill Maher speak out so eloquently to a mainstream audience is amazing. So many people still don't know what is going on and how far the trans lobby have already gone in terms of getting their agenda into the mainstream.'

Couldn't agree more. His segment will have reached many people who don't read feminist blogs or MN or follow Posie Parker on YouTube. He explained it all in plain English and with humour, and it will have cut through for many people, and thats what we need

I've spent years on the FWR boards going: where the fuck are the men on this??

Saying: the tide will only turn when it's not just seen as a women's issue.

Well they're here at last.

We don't have to give them medals (I'll save those for JKR et al, including the heros of FWR!) But let's be glad they're here at last and we can challenge this issue in the mainstream.

Saying: the tide will only turn when it's not just seen as a women's issue.

Exactly. I don't want this to be "women's issue", a "niche issue", something that's "not coming up on the doorstep" with voters.

I want everyone talking about this. I want it made crystal clear to the powers that be that most people, left, right or centre, don't think sex is irrelevant, don't think saying "I'm a woman" magically turns you into one, don't think women's sports should be open to men, don't think women's prisons should be full of male sex offenders, don't think kids who don't fit into sex-stereotypes should be mutilated or sterilised, don't think there are 100+ genders.

The whole reason stonewall et al have done this behind closed doors is that it doesn't stand up to examination. It doesn't wash with the general public.

I reject "no debate".

I want debate.

Debate should mean everyone gets a say, everyone gets listened to.

This! My sister lives in Portland, Oregon and is so "progressive" on this issue that we can barely discuss it anymore. (Doubtless to say, reason and facts don't cut it with her.)

TheBiologyStupid

This! My sister lives in Portland, Oregon and is so "progressive" on this issue that we can barely discuss it anymore. (Doubtless to say, reason and facts don't cut it with her.)

I presume she has no daughter's looking for college places?

When I talked to a few US parents the big thing I noticed was that sports was encouraged as it helped part finance college places. So parents with daughters, will see males winning in womens sports as a direct threat to their college planning.

Couldn't agree more. His segment will have reached many people who don't read feminist blogs or MN or follow Posie Parker on YouTube. He explained it all in plain English and with humour, and it will have cut through for many people, and thats what we need

Going to cite an example of that which surprised me.

I watch Jimmy Dore, a US political comedian fairly regularly. He's anti-war, anti-corporate left, usually attacking Democrats for being sell-outs and warmongers, and advocates voting third party, as he reckons the Democrats are beyond redemption. Glenn Greenwald is a frequent guest, along with others anti-establishment lefties like Matt Taibbi and Aaron Maté.

Anyway, he's been studiously avoiding the trans issue for years, with only very occasional mentions. But he just did a segment where he replayed and commented on Maher's piece, and he and his guests went into a bundle of issues.

I see stuff where people are queer now - I thought it meant gay. But you don't have to be! You can be heterosexual and queer now. Did you know that? That's like a real thing.

Well, then I'm that, then. I'm definitely that, yeah I'm definitely that.

Remember when gay actors used to have fake girlfriends? Now it's "I'm queer". It's the complete opposite!

I didn't even know there was such a thing as a "puberty blocker". Did you know that? - No.

(Most tentative guest, dipping his toe in the TERFy water): Isn't it crazy that in California it's a misdemeanour to give a tattoo to a minor, but it's very not only legal but acceptable to give these these hormone blockers to kids and transitioning kids? Not like it's always a bad thing or anything like that but I'm just saying you look at those two things it's a pretty crazy contrast.

Why would you need to block hormones? Here's why, because I asked a lot - I knew this a long time ago. Because that's your best chance of being hot. That's what that's about and of course here in LA or California that's a huge priority.

So i'm getting another text. "Puberty blockers and plastic surgery for trans people reinforces gender norms and stereotypes". Yeah, right. "You can only be a pretty woman if you have a small nose etcetera".

I never even heard of this. I didn't know they had puberty blockers until today.

Even discussion of Jazz Jenning's failed surgery due to insufficient penile tissue.

I didn't even know there was such a thing as a "puberty blocker". Did you know that? - No.

Have I got that right? Jimmy Dore said - with a straight face - that he’d never heard of puberty blockers?
😀 The guy must spend every waking moment trawling news feeds and YouTube.
But it’s interesting if he now thinks it’s safe to say something.

Have I got that right? Jimmy Dore said - with a straight face - that he’d never heard of puberty blockers?

I think he was slightly playing the "old fogey/out of touch" straight man (straight in the comedic sense there) to his guest/cohost, who was clearly more knowledgeable on the subject, so he could lead him through it.

Oh, and it was a lead-in to a bunch of dumb "puberty blocker" jokes I omitted...

But also the cue for other bits of quite appropriate incredulity at the very concept.

Well done Bill Maher.
he is forever in HuffPost so that will put some knickers in a twist. Or is that an ok expression to use with this topic?
Anyway; excellent segment.