Yes…. But readers when they see this thread are apparently not going to see a male lecturing us about our extremist discussions about a ‘made up war’ and quibbling about ‘we’ and ‘them’.
I think what was clear is that this is a poster who doesn’t seem to understand that feminism is about the collective efforts of women for our sex class. And our discussion usually centres us as a class, as often as it might talk about ourselves individually and how we fit into the feminist discussion.
Often it involves class analysis. Referring to our sex class and not always individuals.
Therefore, to someone used to talking about themselves and centring themselves only, ‘we’ probably would be ‘extreme’ because it isn’t ‘I’.
Reading back, the ‘why’ of the accusations leveled became clearer.
As many of us have said in the past, we came on FWR and either got our arses handed to us or feared posting until we were up to speed. If we got our arses handed to us though, we went and read more and didn’t just walk away.
Because for women, this is our lives. It is absolutely not a ‘made up war’. It is impacting our lives, our mother’s lives, and for many, daughters and granddaughters, now or future.
We actually understand that our rights at the moment are indeed feeling less secure than in the past. And how many of us realised that many of those ‘protections’ were meaningless when we lost jobs while pregnant, when faced with male doctors who dismissed our medical issues, or when we felt shamed for getting periods and then menopause by society.
Or worse, when rapes, assaults and abuses were reported and no justice was delivered. (Now women are arrested for stickers stating biological facts, and this is considered justice served)
No. When women read these threads, if they don’t identify with the posts they start thinking about why? They read further and discover the dissonance building when they understand what is happening and they didn’t realise that the conflicts to our needs is so wide spread.
It impacts whether you can request a same sex health professional for intimate procedures (which by an early age we all have needed). It impacts our work place and our work security. It impacts whether we access shelters, attend much needed rape centres. It impacts our children, even some directly who start to demand access to experimental treatments. And they are experimental!
It impacts our access to support groups for breastfeeding, it impacts whether we get the correct health messages. It impacts whether lesbians can have female only groups for anything they want. It impacts on whether we go away on that trip by ourselves where we must share accommodation with a stranger.
It impacts what our children are being taught in school. It impacts our safety and enjoyment playing sport, whether it is a park run or a swimming session. It impacts how we shop and whether we try on clothes while we are in the shop or take them home and then waste time and effort to return them.
The list is endless. Once people, and on this board, on this website, that is most often women, realise this, the dissonance is too loud.
And we read further and understand that we are not alone. Even the rudest poster may have something that resonates within us. And not one poster on this board ‘owes’ us information being served up in acceptable language and tone and into accessible sized pieces. Evidence to support claims, yes. That is expected. But presented in the way palatable to our expectations… no.
But, when we do get the information, we devour it. Because it is of huge importance to us.
Because… this is not a fucking ‘made up war’.