Women's rights general conversations - Thread 6

[Kucinghitam]

Continuation of Thread 5.

There is so much excellent information and so many active discussions on FWR that I wondered if it would be useful to have a thread to sort of "cross-fertilise" between them - airing little thoughts or vignettes that wouldn't themselves merit their own thread, to highlight other posts/threads of particular interest or to point to notable developments on fast-moving threads so that casual observers know where to look.

(For example, "the X thread has meandered onto a fascinating discussion of Y" or "Poster P's amazing analysis on thread Z might have relevance to the scenario in thread W" or "Has anybody noticed this recurring theme that keeps coming up??" or even "Random bloke asked me to smile while I was choosing onions in the supermarket, grr"- that sort of thing).

Victoria Smith is so good!

@BezMills Your links require a member's log-in, I think.

V similar situation here, kuc. MrBint is also an academic (humanities) and has rather got his fingers stuck in his ears. He does admit he'd taken a side without really looking into any of the issues. And I have at least persuaded him I'm not an actual Nazi, we've sorted the 'No sex is not a spectrum do you really think you can argue with a biologist about this?' (there were diagrams), and the explanation of the cotton ceiling hit home. I'll keep dripping information. He'll get there eventually.

I may drop this admission of transing away the gay next: https://twitter.com/MrMennoTweets/status/1716914801119510957?s=19

"Debate continues over the question whether an early hormone treatment iatrogenously cements and fixates a certain development, thereby possibly preventing a homosexual development. A few years ago, when hormonal treatment options did not yet exist, a person with a sex/gender identity disorder would almost perforce have tended towards a homosexual orientation. For this reason a certain doubt always lingers with us who administer the treatment that there could be a mistake in the assessment and that we are changing the fate of a human life with our therapy. I am aware of this great responsibility and at the same time prepared to take on the risk of this interference with nature."

Link to original paper https://twitter.com/MrMennoTweets/status/1716916369319751709?t=rc9zsj0n1wZvSt7_KiXW8A&s=19

Or go easy on him with the Hampstead swimming ponds.

My sympathies @BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn - I admit I have a much easier time of it because DH is also a molecular biologist, so he damn well understands the science. He also understands (perhaps particularly because we are a mixed-culture household) that it's not just about safety, but also the importance of women's dignity and privacy. So I do have the security of knowing that DH is actually on-board.

Ironically, sometimes it makes me more frustrated because that means he really is sticking his fingers in his ears and singing LaLaLaLaLa...

It really is incomprehensible that the Police are telling women to ignore their instincts around strange (both meanings) men in what should be women only spaces. Humans mostly have a well developed sense when something is off and for very good reason.

Would the same coppers go willingly into a space with a bloke grinding his teeth, chuntering away to himself, eyes bulging, with a cheery, "Hello mate, did you see the match?"

I don't bloody think so.

And especially given the fact that we know that so many police officers know that their colleagues are strange (in the very, very bad sense) and choose to look the other way. How can women operate in that environment where they are to look the other way if something isn't right while the police protect the perverts and rapists in their ranks?

My DH is well and truly on board. Sadly two out of my three children are not - I haven’t talked to the eldest about it.

sorry about the links, I was indeed logged in as a Voter

Here is the text, hope you find it interesting. The GPEW has been in the threads a lot because they are massively captured by TRA and DGAF about Woman and Girls

Candidate Statement 1 :
The crises we face as a society, from the cost of living crisis, to the climate emergency, demonstrate the interlocking and reinforcing nature of the causes of social and environmental injustice. We’re proud that the Green Party not only recognises this, but actively champions an approach which centres traditionally marginalised communities in the fight for a fairer, Greener country.
If elected, we will use this position to further that commitment, uplifting the voices of all liberation and special interest groups, fostering strong collaborative working, and ensuring that our commitment to intrinsically linked social and climate justice runs deeper than rhetoric.
We want to see equalities and social justice considered as a part of all decisions, more training for our internal and external representatives, and would regularly meet with committees of all special interest groups to ensure their aims are heard at a national level.
Finally, we want to champion the compilation of liberation and special interest group specific manifestos ahead of the upcoming general election.
Kelsey has spent a year as the Equality & Diversity officer for the Young Greens, and two years as its Co-Chair. Ria has previously been the Co-Chair of LGBTIQA+ Greens for two years, and is currently the Green Party’s Equalities & Diversity spokesperson, Liberation Officer for LGBTIQA+ Greens, a board member of the Deyika Fund, as well as a Councillor for Fairfield, Croydon.
We feel that our skills and experience combined will enable us to undertake this role effectively, and to produce tangible outcomes in the progress of the Green Party towards meaningful diversity and inclusivity.

Candidate Statement 2 :
If we want to be a professional, electable, and wide-reaching political party, then all members need to be represented and to feel heard.
I want us all to communicate effectively with one another, but due to our ever expanding diversity, this means that the understating of each other can differ. I want everyone to be heard correctly, and checking for understanding to become a basic procedure of communication.
I am talking here of all protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation) within the party will be heard and understood.
I have been a Green Party member for 8 years and active within the Birmingham Green Party. I'm the Chair of the Deyika Fund Board and current LGBTQ Officer in Greens of Colour and the former chair of Greens of Colour. I was on GPEx for 2 years as Trade Union Liaison Officer.
My main aim is to bring a better balanced and more harmonious approach to how equality and diversity is handled within the party, Reference the Diverse Matters report here, the EEDI Action Plan, and the appointment of an EEDI manager. Say how welcomed that you were disappointed at the focus on some sets of protected characteristics over others. I will bring accountability, transparency, and a good range of governance in my aim to deliver 2 actions during my term:
Advocating for an Independence Triage System for Complaints and Mediation
Better Demographic Monitoring
I will work both with GPRC and GPEx to introduce an independent triage system when dealing with complaints because for too long we have seen a weaponisation of the complaint system. I believe that an independent system will remove any untrustworthiness and bring more trust to a delicate system.
I also believe that there is a major imbalance about which protected characteristics are being monitored within the party. There needs to be a holistic approach towards monitoring so each liberation group can work with each individual member for their own purposes. I believe in an opt-out system for when new members join the party and describe their characteristics.
For too long we've seen groups pitting against each other and also groups completely ignored outright. This can no longer be the case and I will do my utmost to make sure that all voices are heard equally.
My work experience, and being a member of The Green Party has led me to gain essential skills including organisational skills, resilience, communication, and resourcefulness for this role.
I know that using the skills and experiences will enhance my ability to be a member of the executive committee and Equality and Diversity Coordinator. I would bring a unique blend of natural talent as well as an ability to absorb and seek new information to transform the role.

Very interesting indeed, Bez. Candidate 2 would have their work cut out.

Re-reading Gina Miller. I want this T-shirt.

Tempting, isn't it? We have a shop in the village that seems to do nothing but print t-shirts - I don't know, as I've never been in. I assume it's some sort of money laundering operation. I worry though that it would have to be in pink, a colour that would probably really suit me but which I have disliked since childhood.

Hang on ... does that mean I am a man!

I was never into pink when I was younger but in recent years I have more pink things and my hair is a very pale pink. This leads some people to think it's my "favourite colour" when it really isn't.

Sometimes, I read what I've written and think that the next time I have any sort of procedure I should just read some of the things I post and I won't need any sedation or anaesthetic because I'll just bore myself into unconsciousness.

Good news, and even reported in the Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/oct/24/equalities-watchdog-ends-investigation-into-complaints-about-chairwoman-kishwer-falkner

Yes, but it was mealy-mouthed and managed to suggest that she "got away with it," because of some sort of chicanery. They mentioned Dispatches and a number of complaints against her, with no critical analysis of the nature of the allegations.

My favourite hoody was pink, but I sadly lost it. It wasn't the pinkness, it was just comfy. I only ended up with a pink one because my birthday twin and I bought the last two hoodies from our local pub to help out in the pandemic. She doesn't wear pink because she very ginger and thinks it makes her lovely hair look orange, so I took the pink one and she got the black one.

I occasionally received stupid homophobic comments because of it, but it was rarely worth replying. Anyone shouting about a pink jumper in a car park in front of his mates, is unlikely to be an intellectually stimulating interlocutor, I find.

I quite like a bit of shocking pink, but mainly live in blues and greens.

I had the best seat on the ferry yesterday (comfy lounger in front of a massive window directly over the bow) and saw 3 pods of dolphins (or maybe popoises? I'm a bit hazy on small cetaceans, especially at speed).

Ignore the dolphin bit - thought I was on another thread.

Porpoises are tiny little things, less than 2m maximum for males and 1.5 for females.

Dolphins (and related cetaceans) are adorable, as long as you don't think about their problematic sex maniac tendencies.

I have very few pastel-coloured clothes. Darker, richer colours suit me better so I tend towards navy or burgundy.

I mainly live in blues and greens too, with a dab of purple here and there. Red, orange and yellow make me look like I've been dead for a week. Pink is out too. I think it's the light olive tone in my skin. Years ago me and a red haired, fair skinned friend put our arms next to each other and my skin looked greenish while hers looked more blue. It was quite strange to see.

Thanks, Sinner - dolphins in that case.

I read this article in Unherd (in my head it was in the voice of angry David Mitchell 😁).

https://unherd.com/2023/10/the-tyranny-of-pathological-kindness/

There are probably nuances that went over my head. But it chimed so much with things I've seen with the tras; scolders on these boards, the fascist baby woman, the patented smug look. Telling themselves they're 'being kind', RSOH, let's them indulge, guilt free, in the worse side of human nature. They can be bigoted, violent, sadistic, hypocrits, rude but they think they are still the good guys. And once you've been designated as 'bad', be that terf, colonisers, or whatever the slur du jour is, you're fair game. There's no way to appease them and it's pointless trying. Reasoning won't work because they didn't arrive at their position through reason. Compromise? They've drawn their line and you will always be on the wrong side of it. Apologies? Just red meat, you have been deemed worthless, why should they value your apology when there's virtue to signal?

I hope the RSOH, the ones that aren't too far gone, read this article and then take a good, long look in the mirror.

Good article.

Horrifying. But well set out and useful.

I read that this morning too - excellent article.

He makes some good points, but I didn't know what to make of

In the West, progressive activists are denying their cultural dominance, despite using this dominance to shame, de-bank and destroy their enemies. They compete for status by aligning themselves with intersectional destitution to manufacture a world in which discrimination, inequality and climate deaths are increasing, when the evidence shows the opposite is true

I don't know the value of bringing climate change into this, but surely 'climate deaths' (wildfires etc) are indeed increasing. If I'm reading him correctly, the author appears to be claiming that discrimination, inequality and climate death are not increasing. I'll leave others to comment on whether equality and discrimination are getting better or worse.

Unless when the evidence shows the opposite is true is his take on the 'activists' argument, rather than his own opinion. Anyway, maybe it's my poor comprehension skills, but I found that bit very unclear.

I agree @duc748, he seems to be saying that he himself believes that the evidence shows a decrease in all those things.

But overall, a good (and angry) article - the thing he said about the "astonishingpleasure" that The Righteous feel really resonated with me, because when I read the pronouncements of The Righteous, I often get precisely that icky feeling of being part of somebody's feverish intellectual/emotional/moral thigh-clenching wank-fodder.