A Mumsnet thread about a book about a Mumsnet thread “Under the Duvet of Darkness” written by the women of Mumsnet THREAD 2

[Boiledbeetle]

Thread 1:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4776556-a-mumsnet-thread-about-a-book-about-a-mumsnet-thread-under-the-duvet-of-darkness-written-by-the-women-of-mumsnet?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

You do not need to have read thread 1 – this is not that sort of thread.

But to recap… Over Christmas and New Year after the passing of the GRR (Scotland) Bill a thread was started with a poem about Nicola Sturgeon. Eventually on that thread (and a couple of other threads) over 80 poems were written.

“Under the Duvet of Darkness: Poems written by angry women for angry women because WOMEN WON’T WHEESHT” was published as a paperback on 31st March 2023.

Available on Amazon only: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C129WKDD

In a rather bizarre turn of events at one point it reached No 2 in poetry best sellers and No 5 in Feminist Criticism best sellers. No one will be surprised to discover that a book that is in the main about people, especially men, claiming to be something they are not was kept off the No1 spot in poetry best sellers by a crime novel, identifying as poetry, written by a man ;-)

E-BOOK:

Some people wanted an e-book rather than a paperback, but for that we needed someone who could actually make an e-book and some extra poems.

FairyKindleMother came to the rescue with regards the e-book and posters wrote enough poems that we could add 20 more poems into the e-book.

I pressed publish on the e-book a few hours ago. It can take usually up to 3 days to appear and populate all the info etc on the various sites, and there is always the chance they knock it back for some reason. But I've done all I can do at this point. We just have to wait and see who spots it on sale first! It will appear on the Amazon link above hopefully soon, (or I'll get an email asking me to change something).

MONEY FROM SALES OF ALL FORMATS:

In honour of Magdalen Berns, who co-founded the Scottish campaign group For Women Scotland, 100% of the profit from the sale of this book will be donated to For Women Scotland.

“It’s not hate to defend your rights, and it’s not hate to speak the truth.”
Magdalen Berns (1983 – 2019)

As I started work on the e-book posters continued to write poems. So we had a choice: leave them there, languishing on the thread, unloved, forgotten, never to have their words uttered again OR we could just do volume 2.

Posters voted for Volume 2 but we still need more poems!

And that’s the gist of thread 1.

Does edit allow retroactively adding sensitive?

I think the NetNeutrality comment might have annoyed me more. 'Everything they stand for'? Child safeguarding and women's rights!

That would have been a very good call 👍👍
I just tried to do so but it's timed out.
Sorry again folks if it should have come with more of a warning.
The words he has used are not offensive on their own but obviously the context in which he is using them is very grim.

Yeah, agreed.
That's why there's a very back handed thank you, to the back handed defence of "TERFs".
However, it's still interesting to see a divided moment in Team TRA. Normally no level of depravity seems too low to embrace wholeheartedly or silently scroll past.
I presume the venom with which the "defence of TERFs" was posted was the right level of RightThink to make a sort of attempt at calling it out. Just enough to avoid a Friendly Fire pile-on.
That's the trouble with being on a side of the debate that has to speak with one approved voice.... you're forced to accept that voice embracing.... anything at all.

I think you're right. I think there may have been an element of that in the Guardian review of Roisin Murphy's new album. I am usually prepared to give people the benefit of the doubt. But sometimes they sound so ignorant! 😠

I hadn't thought about that WRT to the Guardian review. Potentially so.
We're at an interesting point I think when lots of folk who have never considered this beyond "we need to be kind to these marginalised people as they don't impact anyone else and are hit upon continually" are starting to realise there is more to it.
Isla Bryson was very niche, women's sports brought it a little more in to a relatable focus... and now kids... I think it's the kids thing that will really tip it. The more the concept of the "trans child" is pushed, the more people will give their own heads a wobble and realise that children just aren't in a position to make choices about their bodies, thinking that they will keep a belief in gender identity their whole life.
It was at the point when the children issue started bubbling in to the public discourse that I joined Twitter to add my own voice to the mix, as this is what I feel most strongly about.
More and more people are starting to join the debate. The more it snowballs, the more it's very clear that it will go only one way.
The conversations I'm having IRL at the moment are much easier than they were even 6 months ago. People actually seem to be relieved to be having them.

Sorry, a slight diversion from the poetry! But to bring it back on point, the power of the spoken word is amplified even further when it's clear just how close to the bone* it is.

*I just about managed to resist the urge to add a pun. Ahem.

Roisin Murphy
Judged, found terfy.

Anyone want to do another two lines?

Please feel free to add to this…I realise it is more rant than poem but…
Joining the dots
What do the following have in common , let me see…?
The man telling me I should be speaking about something else.
The man standing in front of me, defying me to tell him he is male.
The man who says it’s just a joke when talking about the appalling things he has done to women.
The man claiming special status because he wears a bit of lipstick.
The politicians who deny that women’s concerns are an issue
And who never reply to womens’ letters.
The policemen who fail to take action when women are raped or killed,
And the ones who do the same
The ones who tape our mouths
The ones who shoot us if we disobey
The men who just don’t think it has anything to do with them
The purveyors of porn,
The users of prostituted poor women,
The men who take it out on their families and partners in the privacy of their home.
Yes there is a recurrent theme, and I am too angry to make it rhyme.

The ones who rent our wombs and take our babies.

Boiledbeetle saw this and thought of you

Love it, foiled beetles.

😍And you can personalise it!

I know other stuff has been posted, but I'm mesmerised by the foiled beetles!!

😁 for days when I'm feeling all bright and shiny. But also works for days when my plans to be productive have been hampered by a six hour snooze!

Yet sat top of the chart.
A literal stab to a TRA heart.

Of course I don't know if she did she get to the top spot? i wasn't following what happened after the hoohah.

oh, there's quite a few rants, you'll be in good company!

That's why i love poetry.

there is no right or wrong way to write a poem.

any words can be a poem - all you have to do is say its a poem and it is and no one can argue with you!

hmmmm sounds a familiar concept!

I think she got to no.2. The no.1 place was taken by another woman whose name escapes me. I believe she released her album in multiple editions with a different bonus track on each edition. So, if I'm right, her fans might have bought several copies each and boosted her numbers. Roisin didn't do that. That faintly terrifying picture on the front might have deterred a few potential purchasers too.

so.
P141 HIT PARADE

Roisin Murphy
Judged, found terfy.

Yet nearly topped the chart.
A literal stab to a TRA heart.

IcakethereforeIam 18th September 2023
Boiledbeetle 19th September 2023

WAFFLE:
A collaborative piece.

oh, and have a thanks too.

Thank you, Beetle, I am now following E. Hilton; and Dawkins and a few others. Still don't seem to see any replies I make...

Swashbuckling

Your poem sent a shiver up my spine; and not in a good way.

THE DATING GAME

There was a lady from Yorkshire,
whose love life was rather dire.
From man-child to cheats,
and those whose fists beat.

Arseholes, fuckwits, dickheads galore,
and probably many more.
I've dated them all.
Oh, how easy some of them made me fall.

Years of allowing such shitty behaviour,
I am now my only saviour.

Fighting hard for my own clarity.
It's time to stop giving mental charity,
to those that are really not worth it,
and never actually gave a shit.

I live my own life now, without the drama,
and I sit back, and enjoy the karma.
A big fat fuck you to those that hurt me,
for now I am finally free.

Your replies will come up as soon as you post them if your on either the for you or the following tab. I'm not sure which. Or if you click on your profile and look under the replies tab they should show there

and replies to you etc See the little bell at the bottom with a 1 on it. Look for that somewhere on your screen that is your notifications of whether you've had replies or been liked or followed etc.

And the Yorkshire Twat big 🫂 🤗