Melbourne Age columnist sacked...

[NotYourCisterinAus]

... after they shelve her article on youth gender transition. Link to an archived story in The Australian: https://archive.md/BsAhY

I think when anyone uses the word ‘woke’ derogatorily they should be promptly ignored.

She shouldn't have insulted her colleagues in public. Also, her article wasn't that good. It had no clear narrative.

The sentence that led to the newspaper telling her that would no longer commission articles from her on a freelance basis was

’I’ll be writing about gender identity politics … without the copy being rendered unreadable by a committee of woke journalists redacting words they deem incendiary, such as ‘male’.

Did they really object to being referred to as ‘woke’ (surely the woke like that?)or was it that she pointed out that journalism is now group work (not dissimilar to groupthink) and subject to sensitivity readers?

It is a shame all round if that paragraph is why she was sacked. I don’t know if I think it understandable of the age (I think I think decent journalism should be able to handle disagreements, but open to other opinions) but I wish she hadn’t written it if it meant her column could continue.

the suspicion is that she’d have been sacked anyway for publishing it on her sub stack. I hope not, and it is just a suspicion- the age have published some pretty fair pieces on gender transition, recently a few written by chip Le grand, one of their senior editors. Possibly as the only one senior enough to get away with it, but I don’t know that.

Woke is actually very handy short hand term for all that encompasses American style Intersectionalism and the politics of victimhood, Queer Theory and Critical Race Theory - and all that stems from these three theories.

Granted some people don't understand that thes ethree thoeries are at the root of 'wokeism'. But for those that do it works just fine.

I'm imagining you see yourself as a tolerant person?

the politics of cacellation for refusing to kow tow to identity politics is nothing but autocracy and authoritarianism. You might be happy when it happens to some one not in your tribe, but in time they'll come for you too.

cancellation

I know where the word woke originates. It’s not meant to be used as it’s now being used - as a cudgel to be used on anyone that doesn’t agree with far right ideology. I don’t think legitimate concerns over women’s rights is far right ideology.

I didn't want to start a new thread and this is adjacent, Australia and woman being punished for wrongthink. It's a like to Sky News Australia (boo hiss!) and a short piece on a female Doctor who spoke at SFW with her concerns on children being transed.

You know absolutely nothing about me, my politics or what I believe about women’s rights. So maybe slow down on any dire predictions for my future.

I have a problem with the current usage of the word woke. I think I indicated that pretty well.

perhaps you should stop ‘imagining’ and also stop predicting on those imaginings.

It's a great article. And terrible publicity for the Age.

@Morestrangerthings I think I get what you mean with woke. Do you agree that it's been hijacked by people who are using it to legitimise causes that are less benevolent than truly woke causes?

I think that's what's happened, like TQ+ glomming onto LGB. I think people pushing back against...neo-woke can appear to be against the original meaning. It's a bit of a hostage situation. Decrying 'woke' without appearing to be anti-woke. Or support woke, in its original sense, but without the hangers-on.

Right-wing people use the word 'woke' about anything - including, bizarrely, the mere presence of under-represented groups in any public context.

But left-wing people also use it about liberal identity politics that focus on the individual and who they are, rather than the collective and what they do.

I think you are missing something important if you ignore the latter usage.

The 'far right' is just a worn out old trope.

I use the word woke, and I've always associated with the British Left, though in recent years have become alienated by the take-over by american identity politics - of which 'woke' is a perfect description.

Women's rights and dignity and the protection of children are not 'far right' issues - they've traditionally been of the left, which has disappeared up its own backside.

Perhaps you should stop posting throwaway comments then, if you don't want people to respond. That is how discussion forums work.

I’m… I never said womens rights were associated with the far right. I may have expressed myself badly or you’ve wandered in your train of thought.

My throw away comment was about a word.

Forums don’t work when posters ‘imagine’ things about other posters.

Absolutely agree with your first paragraph.

Haven’t heard it used by people on the left. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t. So will take what you’ve said in your second paragraph and I will do some reading. But not dismissing your second paragraph.

Just like to point out to anybody that when I originally expressed my opinion about the word woke the thread was showing up in the ‘active discussions’ sections. I had not realised it was a feminist forum thread.

I simply dislike the way woke is being used now.

Please don’t @ me anymore. I’ve given all the answers on this that I’m going to. Thank you.

Then perhaps a more lengthy exposition would serve you better.

Oh, Lordy. Okay.,

We used to use "Politically Correct" in the 80s, when I remember a similar attempt to control speech and thought. It seems more accurate to me.
Everyone got thoroughly sick of them back then, too.

Of course, what's really happened is that Julie Szego's article has reached far more readers than it ever would have done at The Age.

The use of Woke isn't "far right" - John McWhorter uses it in the title of his (excellent) book Woke Racism: How A New Religion has Betrayed Black America, for example. Of course, to many McWhorter is "the wrong kind of black", but he's certainly not far right.