Telegraph interview with Mumsnet founder

[TheNoWord]

Some interesting comments about this board:

”“I wish it wasn’t an issue that created so much anger. For me, if you want to choose to be a woman, with all the disadvantages that entails, I’m going to embrace you. But biologically is a trans woman the same as a woman? I would say no.”

“There’s this tension because both sides are rightly worried about safety. Trans women feel they are not safe in male spaces because of male violence [if they’re forced, for example, to use male lavatories] and cis [heterosexual] women are nervous about that because they think this might be exploited by violent males. It gets my goat that women – and trans women are included – live with this spectre of male violence and no one politically or otherwise seems to saying: ‘this is the real issue.’”

www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/mumsnet-founder-users-have-extraordinarily-strong-vitriolic/

'Both sides'

🤔🙄

That ‘both sides’ comment really does sound like someone who is really not that close to this discussion, putting it mildly.

I really admire Justine for keeping this board on MN but this interview made me feel sad. Its really clear that Justine doesn't understand the GC point of view. It seems like she thinks we're just going on with ourselves having a squabble when we're actually facing the single biggest threat to the safeguarding of women & children that has ever existed.

I admire her too but she hasn't changed this view in the last 7 years or so, since women objected to Paris Lees being invited to a MN roadshow back in 2016.

My interpretation is:

The more loudly and with evidence, detractors can shout ''TRANSPHOBIA'' at mumsnet, the more sponsors she will lose.

She has chosen to keep this board, this amazing space where we share ideas, and in doing so, she has lost sponsorship money.

Now she has an interview with The Telegraph, and if she was to come accross too GC or in the words of zealots ''transphobic'', she might lose even more sponsors. Is that trade off worth it to her? Maybe not.

Its probably better she comes accros fair and pro- freedom of speech, and not attract any negative attention... Whilst giving us this space to air our thoughts.

Maybe she's weighed it up and the negatives outweight the positives.

Anyway, i am VERY thankful for this space.

Apologies if someone else has already said it, but -

What is interesting, about this point -

''It gets my goat that women – and trans women are included – live with this spectre of male violence and no one politically or otherwise seems to saying: ‘this is the real issue.’”"

Is that the 'spectre of male violence' INCLUDES transwomen, as they are males. Which is the entire issue, exactly.

....

Every single person on this planet is at threat from 'male violence ' and every single male is capable of it... Females are potential victims, but never the perpetrators of male violence. Which is exactly why we should have our female spaces...spaces where there is no spectre of male violence, ever.

Just clarifying my thoughts.