Helen Lewis blog of her WPUK speech

[Riva5784]

https://helenlewis.substack.com/p/the-gender-debate-from-the-gaslighting?utm_medium=email

She describes her experiences as a journalist writing on these issues and how her perspective changed.

"When I started writing about trans issues, I thought I was supporting a movement for human dignity—trans women wanted to be treated like women, to use female names and female pronouns to soothe their gender dysphoria. Of course they weren’t female, and some protections in law were written specifically for biological females, so those wouldn’t be included.

"But I quickly discovered that wasn’t the case: that some people found any discussion of vaginas and ovaries in relation to womanhood appalling, yet many of those same people had no problem identifying who was a woman when it came to singling out writers for abuse, threats and bullying."

A good piece, although I have thought considerably less of Helen Lewis since her highly unpleasant (and to my mind unfair) dunking on KJK a few months back, and her arrogant and snippy response to me when I unsubscribed to the Bluestocking as a result.

I note KJK doesn't rate even one mention in that article by name, although I expect HL includes her in the paragraph on grifters etc on an unspoken basis.

More Head Girlism.

Such a shame when there's so much still to do.

It's an interesting article. KJK does get a mention by HL, in the comments, and so does MN

It is an interesting way of thinking about how the discussion has changed - the gaslighting era and then the culture war era. Also interesting about how her opinions have changed.

I missed the comments, but have had a look. Welp:

Helen Lewis: "I’m so glad academics are now paying attention to the role Mumsnet played; and how people tried to bully you all into shutting down the conversation entirely, rather than just moderating it.

"It’s a great sadness that now it seems like the “Posie Tendency” is the dominant strand of activism there."

And a reply:
Rowan Davies: "Yes, sadly I agree with you on that. The dominant strain that’s emerged is bug-eyed, paranoid, dimwitted and occasionally hateful. The only mitigating factor I’d mention is that some of those women really went through the mill when this topic was at its maddest. It’s a horrible object lesson in radicalisation."

I remember a RowanMumsnet, she always seemed all right.

I think my impression of Helen Lewis as a supercilious Head Girl is now firmly cemented. With the requisite clique of Mean Girls (et tu, Rowan?).

I wasn't paying too much attention but she was on Matt Chorley's Times radio this morning and I thought she was doing a bit of be kind and take the heat out / it's not what matters to people.

If I get a chance I'll listen again over the weekend and see if I got the right end of the stick.

There are dimwitted people on Mumsnet.

I don't usually come across them on the FWR boards, though.

Well, I can think of a few. But they're generally wanging on about being kind and parroting the TRA lines.

Jesus Fucking Christ, the WPUK women just cannot stop themselves from taking reputationial pot-shots at anyone who doesn’t follow their softly, softly, 'Won’t you please listen to me, Sir?' style of activism.

Standing For Women get out there among the public and change minds through tenacity, honesty and bravery.

They really can't, and it boils my fucking piss.

I think there's room for all styles of activism; the 'please sir' staying-within-the-Labour-tent-regardless, Posie, the middle aged cowards like me who skulk about and fund things on the quiet...

But it really seems like there's a certain brand of lefty-academic feminism that would rather lose everything, than win in the wrong way with the wrong people.

Or they're jealous that asking nicely and starting up boring magazines and coming up with frightfully clever analyses don't get a tenth of the attention KJK does with a t-shirt and a clever quip.

Or a bit of both.

But it's really, really fucking tedious and counter-productive. Eyes on the prize FFS, we can do the circular firing squad later.

The dominant strain that’s emerged is bug-eyed, paranoid, dimwitted and occasionally hateful.

Um, I think I'm pretty typical of the "no men are women and I will not call a man she" strain of thought on Mumsnet FWR.

I do sometimes think there is groupthink amongst the GCs, mainly because no-one who disagree will entertain having a conversation so there's no rational pushback.

Her use of lowest common denominator insults in that quote shows the problem.

*disagrees

The dominant strain that’s emerged is bug-eyed, paranoid, dimwitted and occasionally hateful.

That's a puzzling remark from Rowan Mumsnet because, apart from being insulting, it simply doesn't fit the women on this board. Apart from anything else, we're bound by Mumsnet rules of civility, so we're mostly pretty polite. And I find the level of discussion on this board more intelligent and interesting than anywhere else on the internet. So I don't know what she's on about.

Might she be sucking up to someone of higher status? 😇

If Helen and Rowan dislike women speaking frankly (and politely), the gals on Ovarit would give them the vapours 🙄

And it's not paranoia when they are talking about you

It has attracted people who throw around words like “groomer" - is this a dig at Glinner?! (Ooh nasty - I bloody agree with him)
I've not heard much from this smug Ms Lewis in these troubled times, and yes journalists should have been doing their jobs - but they are not.
She still believes in Trans by the sounds of it - whereas all I see are men with a fetish and duped young girls.
Oh and I've been following WPUK on Facebook since about 2018, their posts of historical heroines has not really been helpful or supportive whilst the war on women has been raging - sometimes I've found it insulting. Whereas KJK, Mumsnet, Glinner and the Mess have all helped immensely and cheered me during the most isolating days of my life.

The dominant strain that’s emerged is bug-eyed, paranoid, dimwitted and occasionally hateful.
I've never liked supercilious people. And attacking people with whom you agree on the fundamentals isn't exactly productive.

Indeed. Be you ever so much in sympathy with my opinions or aims - the second you patronise me I'm telling you to fuck off.

Fuck off, Helen Lewis and Rowan Thing.

Weird how they call women bug eyed, paranoid, dimwitted and hateful on a completely different platform instead of on here eh?

Fucking cowards. Helen Lewis is fully TWAW so pretending she has been writing about this is utter bullshit. She's jumping on the bandwagon as it rolls into a station.

As they say 'come and have a go if you think you are hard enough'.

they represent 'toxic femininity'...

The dominant strain that’s emerged is bug-eyed, paranoid, dimwitted and occasionally hateful.

I have been perpetually annoyed by the doctors, lawyers, scientists, academics, social scientists and philosophers who have dominated FWR.
/S

I still really like Helen Lewis and I think she's very old school FWR. No offence to the newbies, obv.

That's the difference, isn't it? You like her but don't want to offend those who don't.

She blithely dismisses us as Feministing Wrong.

I've never read anything of hers that's better than the analysis I see here, and it comes without a side order of condescension.

I used to be such a fan of Helen Lewis but I’ve lost so much respect for her over this.

I was curious there was no mention of the event on here. Am also surprised that fewer posters seem to attend wpuk events or FiLiA. The difference in my mind between those and KJK is that she is very much single issue and non collegiate. Helen Lewis is v much mild end of the debate but Julie Bindel was another of the panellists.

First I'd heard that a WPUK event was even happening, you're right.

And that's a shame, because they have done some brave and important work. Lately the collegiate nature of WPUK and FiLiA has seemed to encompass side swipes at the wrong kind of campaigner (KJK, usually), which again made me cool on them a bit.

By no means do I agree with KJK on everything, but she stays focused and does her thing without that petty playground shite.