The War on Women - event at Swansea University

[WelshSerafina]

A fantastic panel at the Taliesin Arts theatre, Swansea University on 31st August - Kate Harris from LGB Alliance, Victoria Smith, Dr Laura Favaro and Helen Staniland.
A Resisters group have really pulled out all the stops to put this on. Tickets are cheap - both women and men are welcome.
Great if this could be supported and made a big success. Wales is badly captured and this will be an important event.

https://twitter.com/sgresisters/status/1684627785514389504?s=46&t=v-c-_XT3Lv6Ow-vgwIBPeA

We now have the perhaps predictable outright hysteria and falsehoods from the Uni LGBTQ+ society thrown into the mix. Guess they felt they had to whip up the activists and permanently offended a bit more

Not a scintilla of a smidgen of a soupçon of shame between the lot of them.

Perhaps the University could be encouraged point out to its students that i. libelling people is unwise; ii. in the UK women continue to have rights, including the freedom to assemble without men & to organise in their own interest; & iii. the University has a duty to all students, including those who hold protected characteristics that cause them to require single-sex, not single-gender facilities, as is provided for in the Equality Act - LGBTQ staff & students do not have the right to be prioritised in Equality Impact Assessments & “not liking” is not the same as “being disadvantaged by”.

Loving the first line and agreeing with you.
Cracking punchy letter today from the group organising, bet the Student Union CEO is in a tail spin https://twitter.com/sgresisters/status/1689978007224475648?s=46&t=v-c-_XT3Lv6Ow-vgwIBPeA

Victoria Smith, along with Helen Joyce, Jo Bartosh and Eliza Mondegreen, my fave writers on this subject.

I've always felt for Helen Staniland, womanning the barricades on Twitter, facing down the TRA hordes proclaiming they're not looking at her genitals in the changing rooms, so why is she obsessed with theirs?

One of the casualties of the gender wars, normal linguistic reasoning.

Swansea Bay Resisters have written a cracking letter to the head of the SU and other University administration types. Interesting to see what the response is:
https://twitter.com/SGResisters/status/1689978007224475648

We call on the Students' Union and the university to take their responsibilities and legal duties seriously to ensure that the situation does not escalate.

The Students' Union in particular should reassure students, not perpetuate or allow lies and myths about hostility or hate to spread among the university community. We respect the right to protest lawfully and have no issue if this takes place. But, intimidation is unacceptable.

Alliteration always augments arguments 😉

That is indeed an excellent letter: I do look forward to learning about the response.

Bit childish I know, but feeling quite excited that the event is tomorrow evening. Just one more sleep to go!

Really disappointed to see that neither the Students' Union nor the University has made a public statement criticising the scaremongering. People with gender dysphoria or struggling with issues around their identity are assumed to be a vulnerable, marginalised group. It seems really irresponsible to keep suggesting that everyone is against them, or that a meeting discussing women's rights and boundaries is somehow really a cover for hatred or transphobia.

See you there!

Just bought two tickets for the event on the pay it forward option. I hope someone gets to attend that couldn’t otherwise, but at the very least the organisers will have a bit more in the pot.

We are here! It’s filling up nicely. Lots of security.

Unfortunately I’m elsewhere this week but would have loved to have attended.

It was a super event, very well attended and I enjoyed it very much. It’s very disappointing that such careful and noticeable security was needed for women to get together. Luckily the protesters only had the wit to stand outside the front door. We parked out back so came in through the side entrance, so no issues there!

Disappointingly, they vandalised the Taliesin Building and I hope that the police take the appropriate action.

One of the panel made a very interesting point about the benefits to large pharmaceutical companies in relation to people transitioning and I was pretty shocked I’d not made this connection.

What a great event! Good to see so many there not deterred by a rather pathetic gathering protesting outside. Hopefully lots more events to come!

Despite the wet weather ruining our picnic plans, it was a fantastic evening. The speakers were all really different in tone and content and this worked very well. Time flew.

This was the second feminist event I've been to recently at the Taliesin, even though I've seen films or plays and attended conferences there in the past. Both events were better supported and the bar area livelier and more welcoming than any other time I've been there.

The protest outside was the only downside and that they were so close to the entrance. It was a bit intimidating, but I'm really surprised that security or the police hadn't moved them over to the side like in March for everybody's benefit. Some women have really been put through the mill because of this and they, or a male partner who came with them, could easily have found the chanting, shouting and dirge-like singing all too much. Allowing them to be right at the front so that lots of people had to walk through them was a bit irresponsible. Luckily nothing disastrous happened, but it was risky and inept.

As usual the protestors didn't seem to know what the event was at all. Woeful really. They just don't want to take the risk of women gathering or speaking.

You had a completely different experience to us. I parked out the back and used the side entrance and didn’t see any of the protesters. Were there many of them?