National Library of Scotland censors The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht

[OhBuggerandArse]

Took it out of their centenary exhibition because the staff LGBT+ network kicked up a fuss. Craven. This really needs massive public challenge and push back - if the National Library isn't able to fend off the censors we are utterly lost. https://x.com/EthelWrites/status/1955390550494023958

It is scary, isn't it? Bloody puritans.

This is so sad. The NLS are a fantastic organisation in many ways.

I'll be writing to express my disappointment and dismay.

Drummond Bone was my tutor in English Lit at Glasgow Uni in the 1980s. He was unimpressed by my cool boho Doc Martens and eyeliner student vibe. He cultivated an image based on his hero, Lord Byron and never let a seminar end without a quote from "Don Ju-ann" (heaven forfend if you used the Spanish pronunciation "Don Whan" by mistake. Sorry, I have nothing more useful to add.

It really is ridiculous, isn't it? TWWWW is very likely to be a unique effort in collaboration. A group of disparate women amateurs, (yet far from amateurish) producing such a collection and in such a short time. Surely it's worthy of being included in a historical collection, for the Scottish Nation?

It's unbelievable that the National library have censored this book. I'm constantly flabbergasted at people's inability to think critically and their sheep-like actions. I'm going to buy the book now and enjoy it because it's such a breath of fresh air to hear some common sense and see how these brave women stood up for themselves and for women's rights.

I'm finding myself getting very depressed at the state of the world and this issue in particular but reading the posts on this section of mumsnet gives me hope, so thank you to everyone here for being awesome!

Had to laugh at this glorious takedown of the ridiculous editor of the joke newspaper, the National, on Twitter.

Claims nonsense. Is proven extensively wrong by Susan Dalgety and Lucy Hunter Blackburn.

https://x.com/LauraEWebsterr/status/1955627673642053711

The ratio on that thread is a thing of beauty.

Ha, yes.

"Susan Dalgety @DalgetySusan
Replying to @LauraEWebsterr
May I respectfully suggest you read the FOI material then edit your tweet to reflect what actually happened and not what the National Library press office told you. It’s all here"

"kflarpk @kflarpk
Replying to @DalgetySusan @LauraEWebsterr
Wheesht! Laura wants you to wheesht!"

Sorry, not had time to RTFT, but in case it hasn't been shared, you can make a complaint to the NLS here:

https://www.nls.uk/contact/complaints-procedure/

I wonder what it must be like for any gender-critical lesbians who work at the NLS, or who ever thought of working for the NLS, to see writing by other gender-critical lesbians demonized by their LGBTQ+ staff network.

Hostile atmosphere at work or what.

I misread the first Bungle comment as bundle, which they'll need if and when this gets to court.

I've used the contact form to send this:

I would like to visit the Library, (I'm trying to organise a weekend break) however after your action regarding excluding 'The Women who wouldn't Weesht' from your exhibition I now wonder if the library is a safe place for me, a woman without a gender ID, to visit.

What can you do / say to reassure me?

that’s hilarious

they should have two now as one was added to and exhibition but was later removed

https://x.com/iain_masterton/status/1955658533770584131?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

before

after
https://x.com/iain_masterton/status/1955666705486958644?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

I reused the email I sent to AS and sent it in as a complaint, the last paragraph is

As a librarians, you understand the power of words. You should also understand that the proper response to disagreement is dialogue not censorship. Silencing voices is not protection, it is cowardice.

Because that's what this is, cowardice in the face of unhinged, lying activists. 🤬

I love the act of resistance of adding books to a library that is doing its best not to show them.

https://x.com/SexMattersOrg/status/1955749175741833406

And here is Nicole Jones doing just that. Beautifully done.

The juxtaposition of the Library's posturing on freedom of speech and display of 1984 is stark.

so I think that’s three copies they have now!

love the messages too, anyone near the exhibition today…?!

Oh no the pesky women are at again this time they are donating books to a library. Brilliant bit of of activism.

Iain Masterton
@iain_masterton
https://x.com/iain_masterton/status/1955658533770584131

Marion Calder from ForWomenScot donates a copy of The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht to a special 100th anniversary exhibition at The National Library of Scotland. The Library banned the book from this exhibition.

Meanwhile we have all the receipts you can read about the censorship row from the original emails.

Censorship: The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht and the National Library of Scotland.
Read the FOI material from National Library which shows how the National Librarian reached her decision to exclude The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht from the Library’s centenary exhibition Dear Library.
https://ethelwrites.com/censorship-the-women-who-wouldnt-wheesht-and-the-national-library-of-scotland/

This must be set to be one of the NLS's best-attended exhibitions. All that free publicity generated by their controversial decision-making process. 😂

But the staff must be quivering in fear from the terrifying middle-aged ladies. Someone might say "Oh, d'ye think so?" and then what would happen to their poor suffering souls denied the oxygen of sympathy?

(Most of us GC types are older than Nicole Jones - no offense intended to her)

The NLS is a phenomenal resource and provides wonderful service. It's far more upsetting for exactly those reasons. This is a national treasure, being pushed into trashing its reputation and principles over this extreme ideology. At root, the NLS is there for the people of Scotland, not a small cadre of gender-addled staff.

It was founded in the 1680s! So never mind the official centenary, this institution has existed through the Union, several wars, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial revolution. And is now scared of displaying a book, written by Scottish women, nominated by Scottish readers.

I'm really upset by this.

'Harmful language statement

This statement covers harmful language that you may encounter when using Library collections and resources.

Some material in the collection and the language that describes them may be harmful.

Items in the National Library of Scotland's collections range from rare historical documents to online journals, covering every subject.

When using our catalogues, collections, and online resources you may encounter text, images, film or sound clips which include outdated, discriminatory, or harmful opinions or portrayals.

These may relate to:

• Race and ethnicity
• Gender
• Sexual orientation
• Ability
• Religious belief
• Class
• Other areas of cultural sensitivity, such as contested geographical references

Describing and interpreting the collections

At the Library we have a responsibility to describe, interpret, and present the collections in ways that make them useful to a wide variety of people. It is also important for us to be welcoming, inclusive and reflective of contemporary society, and language is central to this.
We want to ensure that we describe and interpret material in a way that is accurate, respectful, and responsive to the people who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage.
To do this, we are reviewing our descriptive content, including catalogue records, exhibition panels, articles, blogs and web content.
While we can change the way we interpret and present the collections, we also believe all items have research value. So we are also careful not to censor or erase any part of the original material, no matter how problematic.
Instead we want to make sure that people are aware of the nature of this content before they see it.

How you can be involved

We need your help. We have millions of items in our collections and it will take us a long time to go through all the content that describes them.

We would love it if you were able to help us.

If you discover any harmful or discriminatory language in any of our descriptive content at the National Library of Scotland, please use our online enquiry service to tell us.'

www.nls.uk/about-us/who-and-what/edi/

These may relate to:

• Race and ethnicity
• Gender
• Sexual orientation
• Ability
• Religious belief
• Class
• Other areas of cultural sensitivity, such as contested geographical references

This is like equality legislation in Ireland: spot the missing word - sex.
By replacing it with 'gender', hey presto! women as biological woman have no protection.

Women who won't 'whisht' [as we say here] don't count because they don't appear on the list.

Has the NLS made any other statements, apart from their initial one about the book still being available in their reading room (which apparently it isn't)?

Some material in the collection and the language that describes them may be harmful.

@ArabellaScott this is just enraging to me. I am a scientist and “harmful material” is the stuff you keep in secure containers and label appropriately and if necessary under lock and key. Because it might actually, you know, harm you if you don’t handle it properly.

When did it become normal that people get so distressed by reading/hearing/seeing something from past times that is not acceptable today? When did we (general we) lose the ability to read with detachment? I’m guessing it’s about the same time we (general we) lost the ability to recognise that is possible to agree with a person on one matter and disagree with them on other matters. Or recognise that “good” people can do “bad” things and vice versa.