Great article on....hypocrisy....yes....hypocrisy

[IcakethereforeIam]

From Jo Bartusch in the Critic. Even if I can't spell her name, I think I'd read this woman's shopping lists.

Usual prayer to the link Gods:

thecritic.co.uk/hen-dont/

It's brilliant writing, as usual from Jo:
"Cutting through the jargon and hype, what is sold at the Queer Emporium is fear — and for youngsters this includes the chance to cosplay being part of an oppressed minority. Cardiff is not populated by monstrous bigots, and there is no great risk to those who are marked out as different. Mary’s, which advertises itself as “an award-winning LGBT+ bar”, is a two-minute stroll away. And yet, the social enterprise styles itself as a refuge or sanctuary in a cruel world full of threats, as a place “where folks are able to be themselves without fear or worry of attack or aggressions”.

This makes an excellent point. Nobody is attacking anybody for looming different in 2022. The worse they can expect is being laughed at.

Brilliantly written. It beggars belief

Possibly a double take. Is that one or two hate crimes?

Its becoming more and more obvious its women they find offensive. Not bigotry, not make violence, not poor health services, its women they hate.

The real reason they don't want the bar opening next door is that the Queer Emporium also has a licence to sell alcohol and puts chairs and tables outside the building next door where Blame Gloria is going to be.

It's about losing trade, dressed up as concern. But what they're doing is making gender non conforming children and young people frightened. Frightened that the world hates them and wishes them a harm.

And for that, they're not just opportunistic but actively harmful.

Perhaps they don't want gender confused young girls seeing women enjoying being women, or maybe I'm just cynical.

"The Rainbow reich". Says it all, really.

For a while, I lived in Dublin in the early 2000s when it was a hen and stag magnet for groups from the UK. Setting aside the stag groups, my memory of it was mostly harmless fun, and been dragged into a few sing alongs and photos by enthusiastic brides to be and their entourage. I have vivid memories of my husband being coopted into a treasure hunt as honary flower girls because we knew the city and could answer the clues. I don't remember there being an air of menace considering the main hen hangouts were within spitting distance of Dublins most famous gay bar.

But as Margaret Atwood (I thhink) so wisely said. "Men are frightened that women will laugh at them. Women are frightened that men will kill them."

Great article, thanks!

As with many contemporary LGBT organisations, the Queer Emporium has a surprising approach to child protection. While they claim to offer a “safe space”, they proudly sell chest binders to teenage girls. [...] Their take-up amongst adolescents who feel disgust with their developing bodies is arguably the latest manifestation of teenage self-harm. This same demographic would’ve once starved or cut themselves, but at least shops didn’t sell them diet pills and knives whilst patting themselves on the back for their progressive values.

Exactly!

The shop owners have made fools of themselves with that petition. St Mary Street is stag and hen do central. If they were genuinely concerned about being surrounded by drunks they wouldn’t have rented a shop in that location. They could have opened up on Charles St which is city centre but quiet - but if they’d done that they wouldn’t have been perfectly located on the route from the train station/rugby stadium to the castle/museum and the shops, to be visible to the maximum possible passing trade.

Cardiff Online posted that Western Mail article last week and it got hundreds of comments - so I guess the petition achieved its purpose of “All Publicity Is Good Publicity”. A few people in the comments were trying to argue “but it’s a safe space for under 18s and there’s nowhere for young LGBTQ to go” and were met with i) well, don’t setup shop on St Mary St then and ii) but the shop sells alcohol.

The shop was also criticised for mentioning that the cocktail bar chain is an English chain.

Yesterday Wales Online posted an item about how good Cardiff is for LGBT nights out according to trip advisor reviews.

Germaine Greer not Margaret Atwood. How right she was.