We come together not because we may identify as women; rather, we come together because we believe that we can only be free and live better lives with the end of capitalism, white supremacy, Western empire, and patriarchy. - Feminist Library

[IwantToRetire]

We write this statement in the spirit of radical feminist collectives that have come before us such as OWAAD and the BWG, who took firm stances against apartheid and settler colonialism in South Africa and Palestine and were founded on the principle of transnational solidarity. Our solidarity is based on political and ethical principles that exceed gender. Sara Salem writes “We come together not because we may identify as women; rather, we come together because we believe that we can only be free and live better lives with the end of capitalism, white supremacy, Western empire, and patriarchy.” Transnational feminist practice requires us to analyse how people in different geographical spaces are subject to unequal power relations and ensure that every person has access to dignified life regardless of the borders that separate us.

https://feministlibrary.co.uk/statement-of-solidarity-with-palestine/

I'm posting this not to comment on the situation between Israel and Gaza (although realise some might want to) but because it seems another example of groups originally established on the basis on the oppression of women as a sex classhaving been colonised (to use their language) by women who see it as a platform to advance their personal politics.

Similar to this supposed manifesto to lobby MPs about women's rights posted here https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4900356-vawg-is-a-gendered-issue-which-is-deeply-rooted-in-societal-inequality-it-is-violence-that-is-directed-against-a-woman-because-she-is-a-woman-or-that-affects-women-disproportionately

Large gatherings like FiLia might be satisfying to attend, but if groups set up to support women are being occupied by women who dont see the oppression of women as being directly because of their sex, it means we are even further away from putting feminism into action.

ie what is the point of theory if there is no practice of it.

'We want to smash whatever it is.'

Yes, and all that material would have gone in a skip if it wasn't for the group currently running it. I know quite a lot about the FL, I used to be involved with it.

I don't recognise any claims of bullying or humiliation, there were certainly disagreements but they've been there throughout the feminist movement.

There was never any reassurance that only women would access the materials, it was always open to all when I was involved. Including trans people.

The people who are running it are actually doing something, you're just sniping on the sidelines. It's not necessarily how I'd choose to characterise a feminist group I was involved with, but at least they are taking care of the collection.

at least they are taking care of the collection
Wow. They are doing part of what they signed up to do. Fucking tremendous. When you join a body like that, you agree to uphold its aims.

Any organisation that launches into what Israel is currently doing in Gaza without condemning in clear terms the murder of over a thousand people and the nightmarish kidnap of nearly 200 others is plainly so morally bankrupt and detached from reality that it loses all credibility.

I can't make head nor tail of what that's supposed to mean. It's just a pile of buzzwords with punctuation.

‘Capitalism’ and the ‘Western Empire’…

Well, with such laser-like focus on their goals, how can they fail to make an impact?

This seems remarkably ignorant of the history of the library and more generally of political feminism in the UK over the last hundred+ years.

The library comes out of the women’s suffrage movement initially, not the women’s liberation movement. But it has been built on by many archives in the decades since and had several owners all with slightly different twists on why they are prepared to take on the costs of ownership. It is not a library intended only for women. It is one of the best specialist libraries in the country and a boon to researchers of any sex who are interested in the history of women’s political activity in the UK.

Politically, the women’s movement has been dominated by the left. Groups set up to improve women’s political situation, especially since WWII, have tended to be left wing, many explicitly anti-capitalist. While a lot of women who engaged with campaigns for individual rights like access to contraception, equal pay, or standing up against VAWG were not as interested in a wider political ideology, the women who did the heavy lifting and actually developed the organizations that created these campaigns often did so as part of a bigger belief that the oppression of women was just one aspect of capitalistic oppression that also oppressed the working class and ethnic minorities. Expressions of more radical and, especially, anti-capitalist feelings died down in the Blair years but come back every time there is a resurgence in the Labour Party (because it’s Labour supporters who tend to be activists in the area of women’s rights).

I’m don’t buy into the politics of that statement or the radical left nowadays (I don’t believe the ending of capitalism will significantly free women or reduce racism, for instance). But other than the intention to include information on transwomen, they are not particularly out of keeping with the history of the women’s movement in the UK. And they are, as PP said, willing to safeguard the archives, which less politically motivated groups do not seem to have been bothered about doing.

I do recognise the claims of bullying I'm afraid. I witnessed it and it was vicious and sustained. It has become a very unfriendly and cliquey place. The flip side of their constant emphasis on trans inclusive events and publications means they don't take much interest in women's day to day lives and issues, ignore or attack feminist organisations and have explicitly denied access to feminists they don't agree with.

'Feminism is like pornography - I'll know it when I see it'

I'm not seeing much of it here. They sound like a toddler that needs a nap.

They've had public money, and funding to pay workers, to look after the collection so it's not like they are doing it out of generosity with their time. The library is closed most of the time anyway and good luck getting anyone to answer if you try and contact them.

Does that mean that other groups set up to challenge other oppressions (class, race, etc.) must focus on feminism/women/patriarchy and ending male supremacy?

Thought not.

Another thought terminating cliche presents itself as a radical revolutionary movement. This kind of feminism is worse than useless - it is destructive and the kindest thought I have for the women afflicted by this kind of thinking is that they are tremendously stupid.

Hello @IwantToRetire what do you mean by the humiliation of older women who established the collection? I went to the 'closing weekend' at the old venue in waterloo a few years ago and it was an amazing collection - do you know how / why they had to move and what exactly happened with the changing of the guard?

I can confirm this. I was asked by an elderly sister who has an interesting collection of 1960s/ 70s feminist material if I'd take it to the Feminist Library for her last year. Phone calls and emails went unanswered. I think the material is now in the Glasgow Women's Archive.

There was never any reassurance that only women would access the materials, it was always open to all when I was involved. Including trans people.

Well then your involvement was very recent.

And also to whoever wrote something clearing thinking this is about the Women's Library, it is not. It it about the Feminist Library, which was originally the Women's Resource and Research Centre and very definitely came out of the Women's Liberation Movement. (PS I dont think many suffragettes were left wing - that is why there was a split!)

And whilst the library under its original name and it new name gave acess to material to members of the public, there was a specific section (many of them personal papers from women activists) that were only for other biological women. I wonder if they are even aware that some of these papers are meant to be sealed until the death of the donator?

And just because some not very feminist feminists thought this wasn't right and some also thought that it should be trans inclusive, the reality is, that what is happening now if a clear breach of the trust of those donating material to a women only resource.

And quite honestly, even if the current group was really, really special, they are not entitled to break this trust and as such have no political credibility.

And yes I do know the history of the Feminist Library.

But I am not going to post links to where it has been discussed because it identifies some women by name.

And over and above everything else it was the appalling personal attacks on one woman that were publicly posted that means that forever the Feminist Library is a place of shame. I hope the cuckoos revel in their infamy.

.
Just to add another historical point, as in fact this started happening some time ago, ie more vindictive ageist 3rd wave feminism than TRAs. The lesbian archive when it decided it had to close was going to give their papers to the Feminist Library, but the public (think Maoist denouncements) meant they changed their mind. So reluctantly, but based on absolute assurance of maintaining their women only policy, they donated the lesbian archive papers to Glasgow Women's Library. Well, we all know what has happened there. Flag wavers for the SNP TWAW.

Amnesty made that choice very deliberately when they decided to stop being neutral on abortion. They lost a huge number of significant supporters, and very much had the attitude, well, we don't want those people anyway.

Which led them to a place where they actually were uncomfortable advocating for political prisoners who had views they disagreed with. It's totally crazy.

I note that the Feminist Library has made two statements of this sort, since 2018. This one, and an earlier one explaining that 'woman' for them is based on innate, abstract feelings of femininity, and that this category is open for all, but, nevertheless, those who are female but do not identify so are also included if they are nonbinary and gender-nonconforming*.

They have made NO statement in support of women and girls in Afghanistan or in support of women and girls in Iran. That should provoke some thought and introspection among those in charge of creating these statements. There are also many other international disagreements which are about human rights but not specifically about the rights of women, and yet none of those has merited a statement of any kind.

*As an aside, I would have thought that being a feminist IS being gender-nonconforming in all male-dominated societies, but that appears now to be forgotten.

What I wrote above has nothing to do with my views on the horrors that are taking place in Ghaza and Israel, by the way.

It's about the way organisations (though mostly only feminist ones) are expected to state their views on some important political questions but not on others, and about the seeming lack of any deep thinking in how those statements are formulated.

For example, I might agree that capitalism is not the best economic form of organisation, but when it comes to finding realistic alternatives to it that would not be actually worse for most women we might come rather short, with the possible exception of Scandinavian welfare economies.

But those are not realistic alternatives in the Middle East. Theocracies are the most likely alternatives, and those are dreadful for women's rights. And communism, as it has been practised in the real world, seems not to have made a dent in sexism or hierarchical arrangements of people on the basis of sex.

Sorry a bit of a side track, but the mention of Amnesty reminded me of this. Although from some years ago seems to show many groups go through similar "mission drift" or hijacking by self serving interlopers appropriating the platfrom of a group with a specific aim, to them promote a totally other aim.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/25/gita-sahgal-amnesty-international

it's intersectionality to the point where distinction no longer exists. It's every single claim of 'opression' against every single 'oppressor' without any critical thinking involved. And nothing get's done. It's word-salad, theory-salad, identity-salad, and all that is left is confusion and chaos. And do you know who always fall to the bottom of this pile, no matter what? women.

growing up in that sort of system can leave you with trauma as an adult.
we need to go back to the drawing board and figure out something else

I wonder if this from million women rise is of the same politics, or is it different?

We must hold our own British government and the U.S. accountable to stop the warmongering and enabling the Israeli state that they have weaponised to commit this Genocide on the palestian people for their own interest!

Listen to Daniel Levy here https://www.channel4.com/news/it-would-be-hard-for-iran-and-hezbollah-to-stay-out-of-israel-hamas-war-says-former-israeli-peace-negotiator^^
we can change the narrative. Together, we can bring Peace. Dialogue, not War.
1000 palestinian children have been murdered so far

Write to your MP https://bit.ly/Gaza-EmailYourMP^^

Join @MillionWomen this Sat to march for peace

#nomore #WhyWeRise #Endtheviolence
#evawg
#peace
#EndFascism
#EndTheOccupation
#FreePalestine

https://www.facebook.com/groups/millionwomenrise

@MNHQ - please note my post just above is not about me taking sides but part of the discussion on this thread about women's groups adopting a position on issues not directly related to their aims and objectives. Not sure why this was is being questioned when my original OP, also a statement from another group wasn't. I pasted in full because not everyone is on facebook. I hope you can display as would be interested to hear the views of others on this thread.

PS your response was very quick. So clever AI or programming?

This reminds me of the student union decades ago. It’s been a long time I have heard people talk about ending capitalism.

it’s very easy to be a communist in a semi-free capitalist country like the U.K. Its a lot harder to live under communism though as almost anyone whose lived under it will tell you.

Yes I think people who come out with this rubbish are spoilt. They would s* themselves if they had to live in a communist country or somewhere like Iran.

I'm not fully opposed to communism, there were some good parts of it.

However, I note that the vast majority of people loudly supporting communism in the west are strident and spoiled upper-middle class individuals, who would be among the first to have their wealth re-distributed under such a revolution.

Or shot for being a degenerate.