Friend of Joanne

[drwitch]

Just seen this from tra account on tiktok to describe a terf. Am definitely reclaiming it

I did see on Twitter yesterday an attempt to tidy this mess into more comfortable boxes with a comment about 'some of those (with very serious concerns about all this, pointing out the problems) are not t**fs but just women trying to stand in front of children to protect them'.

No love.

There isn't a depersonalized demonic force out there separate from women trying to protect other women and children so you can keep repeating the 'I hate demons' mantras for safety while admitting there are issues; there's just women.

You've been demonizing women. With real concerns. You fell for the nice, convincing spiel.

Errr ... You completely misunderstood my point. I am happy and proud to be known as a Friend of Joanne, think it a badge of honour (the schism between the PPs and the JCJ is nothing to do with this)

Just think it quite funny that they think it's such a big insult

I think we all here are Friends of Joanne! I think Nils was addressing the person on Twitter who thinks there are nice child-defending women vs nasty t**fs.

Presumably a play on a 'friend of Dorothy'? Which is also a great expression! Love 'friend of Joanne'!

Love that!

I see thanks honey

I'm proud to be a friend of Joanne. Joanne is bravely and consistently standing up for the safety, privacy and dignity of women and children. Pity more people can't see that yet but the more friends Joanne has, the stronger the message will become.

Morally you are right, but I'm afraid this is still how it will play out.

Those who demonize "TERFs" and "GCs" today will continue to do so even as their actual viewpoint comes to align with us because they don't know, and will never know, what it was we were actually saying.

The accepted truth in their echo chambers is that we are people who want to keep old fashioned sex stereotypes and hate trans people for being gender non-conforming. They don't bother finding out what we are actually saying because as far as they are concerned they already know so why would they even think of doing it?

So the consensus in "trans-ally" society will gradually move towards the type of reasonable position we have been asking for all along (ditch society's gender roles, accept sex sometimes matters, safeguard children and vulnerable women, do everything possible to help people live happy lives in the bodies they already have) but it will be painted (and indeed by the participants genuinely believed) as an evolution of the trans-accepting side they were always on rather than a recognition that the woman who raised concerns and were demonized for it were right all along.

They will continue to believe they fought the good fight against TERFs, GCs and others who were just motivated by bigotry against trans people.

I don't think we can change that. Which sucks. But the really important thing is that however we get there, we do eventually get to a place where we ditch society's gender roles, accept sex sometimes matters, safeguard children and vulnerable women, do everything possible to help people live happy lives in the bodies they already have.

My name is the aforementioned, happy to welcome all my new friends

I think you're absolutely right Rhinos.

Flirtswithrhinos is right.

there will be a narrative that The Wrong Feminists were motivated by bigotry and hatred and gosh!! Isn’t it awful that bad things have happened to kids, let’s do something about it from the Right Side of History Crowd. (With a side dollop of “isn’t it terrible some orgs made these mistakes as it makes The Bad Fems look like they were right” when all along they wanted (insert nonsensical misrepresentation of GC/RadFem position).

Yeah, we know that. What's the thing about whistleblowers, people who speak up too soon?

I think most women do all of <this> knowing full well how it will play out.

If it protects the children and vulnerable, then so be it.

I would love to be a Friend of Joanne (proud)

Another who'd love to be a Friend of Joanne.

I thought the whole "Friend of Dorothy" thing was a phrase declared with great pride and not to be ashamed of.

Oh I like that, OP. I have been thinking recently that I feel quite uncomfortable with the increasing tongue-in-cheek claiming of "T*RF" by some GC people (not so much here) because, personally, I utterly reject the framing of my feminism as trans-exclusionary - my feminism completely includes trans people, but that would be trans men. But "friend of Joanne" is a name I could totally get on board with!

I like this, I am a friend of Joanne too.

I sometimes wish I had a twitter account to say thank you to her and others like her.

I am Spartacus a friend of Joanne

Quote replying @FlirtsWithRhinos so I can come back to re-read again your sad but wise observation here.
It brings to mind Batman in the The Dark Knight (don't know how many will have seen it). I'm not a huge Batman movie fan, but this one stood out as a great film for me in expressing an archetypal theme.
Watching it gave me a similar feeling to reading your post.
There can be rare and deep truths in the most unexpected places- even DC action films!

I agree. If ( and it is still a big if) sense prevails, the disciples who were 'all in' trying to restructure society around gender identity instead of sex and enshrining lady brain because "real feminism" will conveniently forget.

There will be no thanks.
No public acknowledgement.

It will still be disaster avoided though.

We will know.

The people in it with an alterior motive will know.

They will no longer get jobs in child safeguarding position, no longer have the ear of polititians.

Enlightenment liberalism will live to fight another day.

It is enough

I don’t think Jo and her friends care about public acknowledgment. Once you realise how bad what is happening you can’t unsee it.

Jo and friends just care about saving women’s spaces, biology, the safety and dignity of women and preventing irreversible damage to children.

it's a hell yes from me

this is my thought

I don’t think it’s okay to co-opt gay slang regardless of your stance, you can’t reclaim something that isn’t yours.

Friend of Dorothy has never been an expression that only gay people use. Maybe you're thinking of Polari?