Let Women Speak

[cariadlet]

Is anybody else going to go to Brighton on September 18th?

I went to a Standing for Women event at the Reformers Tree in Hyde Park in May and loved listening to the women who spoke. I'm looking forward to going somewhere more local to me but am a bit apprehensive after Manchester and Bristol.

Meanwhile, back to Brighton, is it an outside event with standing only?
Or indoors sit down?

Epic derail. Its like there are no other threads spelling out the flaws in the TRA ideology

All the previous ones have been outside, standing only. Some people take their own chairs or blankets to sit on if the weather permits.

I don't know Brighton at all so have no idea where this is likely to be (eg park vs town square). I am sure more details will be supplied as the date gets closer.

On the contrary, I want to be better informed and I'd like to thank others for the links sent to me that I have started reading.

That's great, @BetterFuture1985 , I hope you enjoy your reading. I suppose instead of framing it as women vs trans people, you could frame it as: does sex matter in some situations? Or is there such a thing as an independent and spontaneous gender identity, and if so does that outweigh sex? There are women and trans people on both sides of that argument. Another useful line of enquiry is - what is a trans person? Are there differing definitions, and have they changed over time? Is there a shared understanding, or are people sometimes talking at cross-purposes? (I'm not asking you to give me answers, just something to think about).

Can't remember if it's been suggested, but the book Trans by Helen Joyce is supposed to cover the issue very well. She was a journalist at the Economist with no particular background on this kind of issue, but she realised that there was something worth investigating (and now works for Sex Matters, so you can see where her inquiries took her!). Caroline Criado Perez' Invisible Women, while written before this all blew up (I don't think it's explicitly addressed in the book), looks at ways that women have (often inadvertently) been disadvantaged in a world physically designed for the male sex. Again, that tells you something about the material reality of womanhood.

She is so passionate about women and girl's rights and hopes to speak!

Another good thread to start on.
I used to be live and let live but I can't stand by and watch the rights of women and girls be decimated. I'm not anti trans, I'm pro women.
www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4521371-New-visitors-start-here?page=1

It will be outside. We will take a picnic blanket, hopefully we can use it. Not sure where it will be and the location won't be supplied until nearer the date. There were women with mobility scooters in Manchester and some with their own seats. Those at the front sat on the floor. We will also take our adult human female umbrellas!

I was planning to but I'm finding it all so depressing that I can barely bring myself to get up in the morning

I've read Invisible Women, that was a must read when it came out. One of the best books of the year.

I'll take a look at Helen Joyce's work. Thank you!

We will also take our adult human female umbrellas!

Very useful for wacking unruly black pampers so I've been told 😉

I can't attend any of these meetings as they are hundreds of miles from me but wishing those of you who can well.

To the poster who seeks enlightenment, I too once wanted to be kind, but once the curtain has been drawn back, the Emperor exposed as naked, there's no going back. Humans cannot change sex.

People can wear what they like etc, but they will always be the sex that was determined when their father's sperm entered their mother's egg.

Wow, that’s brilliant to hear.

I can't go but I'll look at donating something towards the security, as being able to meet and consciousness raise is so important.

I hope Kellie-Jay hires enough security to protect the women and girls attending, trans pride in Brighton yesterday had a huge turnout apparently.

There was a politician on LBC this morning earnestly defending Penny Mordaunt by explaining that what she actually meant was that ONLY men who have a medical diagnosis of GD and have had hormone treatment AND sex change SURGERY were the transwomen she was talking about when she said TWAW. I don't know who he was as I missed the beginning.
I have no doubt he has no idea what the backlash will be...

OH. sorry, wrong thread.

I’m planning on going - I’m from East Sussex too so will get the train over . I’m hoping a female friend of mine will come too - I’m a bit concerned I suppose and won’t be wearing my AHF hoodie ! Although around where I live and shopping etc I often wear my T-shirts. I’m just a 5ft middle aged woman - so not exactly intimidating - but I’d like to support.

I did not go to this event, even though I live an hour away. I used to live in Brighton in the 80's and it was a nice friendly place then. I could not face going to be heckled, shouted at and possibly even worse. If you look at the news reporting and what JK Rowling has to say on the event, (covered in The Daily Mail online edition,) it was all about the police having to 'manage the situation,' so that no one got hurt. But IMO they did not do a very good job! They merely stood in a line between the Posy Parker group and the TRas who were trying to impede the event. There were three arrests (all Tras.) I am glad I no longer live in Brighton... Being labelled a Terf and worse for believing that lesbians do not have a penis is one of the many facts of life that these violent protesters do not understand. Full video shot by Posy on her You Tube page. (At least some women were brave enough to stand up and talk despite the attempts of the Tras to silence them.)

@Wedrinktea - yes I went , it was fantastic indeed. First time I’ve ever been to one of these events so I was rather scared but in the end all was fine. I actually saw some other women with their woman adult human female T-shirts on on the train platform. I had a shirt covering my t-shirt until actually at the park (when I was braver in company of others) as I was a scaredy-cat.

I met a male friend of mine at Brighton station - he was coming along to be my bodyguard - I’m only tiny so was very happy to have a 6ft2 massive burly guy by my side but you know actually there I felt ok and next time I will be brave enough to go alone.

Sadly i couldn’t hear the speeches over the TRA shouting tactics. I watched all the speeches back later on YouTube though. But what was uplifting was being in a place with lots of other women (and some men) who felt like me - a feeling of solidarity against all this madness.
All the women were very calm and just wanted to do their speeches and listen to the other speeches. It was the TRAs who were shouting and screaming constantly , trying to drown the speeches out. They all had black masks on covering their faces - most looked like young students - about the age of my sons.

Two smoke bombs - first one was carried out by a policeman - the second one hit the woman in front of me on her hip and covered another woman’s jacket with pink debris. I read reports that someone was hit on the head - I didn’t actually see that though (and didn’t think it was the case but maybe it had happened I’m not sure). Apparently the smoke bomb missed my ear by only a couple of inches.

We saw a couple of louts arrested and carried off by the police into their van so we all cheered at that.

All in all it was a fab afternoon - and I got to see Kellie Jay, Julia Long, Helen Staniland, Helen Joyce , Maya Forstater among others - all the people I’ve watched and admired on YouTube for so long.

It was brilliant I Ioved being there with all the women. Basically what Frances said above ( minus the male friend). There was a Brighton specific thread where many if us gave our accounts of the day but it has been taken down to protect individuals (I assume the ones on the protestor side who threw the smoke bombs, tomatoes and glitter). Hopefully it will come back as the thread only posted stuff that was on Twitter.

Next ones are Cardiff and Newcastle along with the regular monthly one in London. KJK also mentioned Chester and I would think Sheffield will be on the future list.

Oh is there a Newcastle one. Brilliant.