is our aim protecting our sex based rights or is the issue our political leanings?

[vivariumvivariumsvivaria]

I've been confused by the falling out on social media by some women against other women and have been following the discussions online.

I am not very well informed politically - I think my opinion is that the important thing is ensuring that sex remains a protected characteristic and that "woman" means adult human female and not gender so that our rights to safety, privacy and dignity are protected in law and safeguarding follows that.

However, I can understand that it is difficult for left wing women to collaborate with women who are right wing, or for working class women to link with middle class or upper class women, because their politics and priorities are varied.

I think it is a strength that there are different approaches and different women speaking up because we desperately need to raise awareness because the majority of women are unaware of the threat to our sex based rights. That means we need a variety of voices, and everyone, as far as I can see, wants the same thing - our sex based rights and protections for children.

Maybe I'm being simplistic to think that "play nicely" will prevail. I hope so, though, because what I am watching looks like a big waste of energy and goodness knows this stuff is exhausting enough.

What can an ordinary woman like me who doesn't have a youtube or a book or a column do to try and help move things along? I'm worried we will land up with a GC purity spiral and nothing good will come of it.

I also want to know, are there any suggestions as to how to futureproof the 'associations' of now?

How long did it take for Stonewall to be a 'problematic' association again? Or is it ok as long as people say, 'Stonewall, pre 2015'?

I think my take from all these posts is:-

If Tommy Robinson gets us what we want then we will work with Tommy Robinson in this area.

I should make it clear I am not the 'we'.

I want no part of it.

But what does 'working with' Tommy Robinson even mean? What examples of 'working with' Tommy Robinson are being discussed on this thread?

Does that include appearing on a panel with Tommy Robinson where an acceptable person also on the panel might agree on one thing and one thing only? But who presents a very different motivation.

And proceeds to then disagree on everything else that Robinson might say?

Is that ok? Or because that footage might be seen by Tommy Robinson supporters, even if it was on the BBC, that acceptable person should either not say anything, or not appear?

And isn’t this just ‘no debate’ ?

Live4week. I would personally say that a fair portion of MP's today from all parties are career politicians. Self serving people will, unlike those who genuinely believe in a cause, align themselves at that particular time to the cause that they think will be most beneficial to them. My understanding is that Jess Phillips did nothing, when her fellow Labour females women work colleagues were thrown under the bus for simply stating biological truth and standing up for women.

Ok, I don't even know who Tommy Robinson is.

So before I google, I'll just check:

Should I now run around like a headless chicken and re think whether I agree women should have equality and access in this country, whether homosexual people should have equality of rights and access without hounding and harassment, whether child safeguarding should not be conditional on the subjective feelings of a male, whether institutional capture and religious zealotry is a very dangerous way to run a country?

Because if I act on a belief of that, and that as a voting priority, I could feasibly be described as aligning myself with this bloke, of which I know nothing at all? And that's ...... bad?

Seriously?

@FernlovingNodosaur a real working class Labour woman?Do you have a whippet and pie or are you actually taking the piss. Try 35 years membership ,until 2 years ago when the denouncement of WPUK by the Labour leadership candidates finally did it for me. I sit here as a disabled ex public sector worker, skint in a council house in a shitty South East council estate. Is that REAL enough for you ? I want to desperately go home to my home town but circumstances and money doesn't allow it. So do I win in the who's more working class game? Are you really playing that?
Yes the masked wee thugs are wee arse holes - I'm not suggesting playing fucking table tennis with them but I still wouldn't turn them over to Tommy Robinson and his thugs.

@ImherewithBoudica
If you are from the UK, you must be very fucking privileged not to know who TR is .Lucky you eh ?

Another day of Tories in power.
Another sex offender being reported as a woman and going to a women's prison.

We need to stop believing their lies and look at their actions.

🙄

I'm fairly sure many people in the UK have managed to not encounter anything about this named person in the course of their everyday humdrum little lives.... how is this a helpful response?

I'll take a guess that 'very fucking privileged' in fact means "I hereby decree grounds to say you have no right to a voice so shut up." Useful #nodebate little catchphrase there.

A heartening post. Must admit I’ve been feeling dispirited by the in-fighting.

Particularly agree with the debt we owe the women who speak out at great cost to themselves.

Stop being so bloody rude.