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Original poster

Tell me you don't know what a cult is...

402 replies

Seethlaw · 14/08/2026 09:23

... without telling me you don't know what a cult is.

I grew up in a cult-ish church. It had some very unpleasant aspects to it indeed. The very concept of the GC movement as a cult utterly baffles me, and irritates me quite a bit, I must admit.

Where is our Leader? Some say JKR is that, even though she obviously didn't create the movement, since she joined it after it already existed. Okay, but then where is the cult of personality? Where is the hanging onto her every word? Where is the compulsory study of her life? Where is the regular and compulsory show of support of her as our leader?

What are the specific beliefs that random people outside the movement don't believe? "Men can't become women and vice versa" is not such a belief, since loads of people who would never call themselves GC also believe it. So what are our specific beliefs?

What is the rite of entry into the movement? How does one know that they themselves or someone else is a member of the movement?

Where are the big gatherings where the leaders speak The Word? Where are the regular gatherings where the members reinforce each other's beliefs?

What are the demands made of the members? Where are the compulsory meetings? Where are the financial requirements? Where are the specific behaviours we have to adhere to?

Where are the punishments for leaving the group? How do you even know you've left at all? And where are the stories of abuse and control told by the former members?

I could go on forever.

Accusing GC people of belonging to a cult is just as ridiculous and offensive as claiming, for example, that there's a trans genocide going on. It's deliberately appropriating the real suffering of other people to make a completely false and unsupportable point because there's no actual valid point to make. It's utterly reprehensible and shameful.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
PriOn1 · 14/08/2026 14:01

RapidOnsetGenderCritic · 14/08/2026 12:40

My experience is that some trans people and allies display cult-like behaviour, and some (like Seethlaw) are prepared to countenance changing their views. One of the characteristics of cults is the requirement to adhere to a very rigid set of dogmas, and to question these is to find oneself an outcast. A particular rigid dogma that I have personally fallen foul of is the absolute requirement for "good" people to use "preferred pronouns". Before I had even thought through my understanding of sex and gender, I struggled with calling my son "Rose" (not his actual choice of name) and referring to him as "she", "herself" etc. For this terrible behaviour (I should have bowed to the dogma that preferred pronouns are compulsory, and any use of traditional sex-based pronouns or deadnaming requires apology) I have been cut off. Even a family member who does use preferred pronouns has been cut off, apparently partly for not condemning me enough.

["Deadnaming" is an interesting choice of gender identity jargon, by the way, as to me it implies death of the old self and rebirth as the new trans self, with parallels to religious conversion but a much stronger rejection of the old self than I have come across in Christian circles, because the name change seems to be required. Maybe the name changes for monks and nuns are comparable, but I haven't come across nuns or monks kicking up a fuss about the use of their old names; similarly with change of surname on marriage.]

Now my son appears to be resisting this cutting off, and is keeping open a tenuous line of communication, so he seems not to be a fully paid up member of what I do see as at least having some of the typical characteristics of a cult.

Show quote history

Two of my children have cut me off for my views on the grounds that I am unable to believe that gender identity is real. Apparently criticizing the ongoing suggestion that Ellen Paige is an icon of being authentic to herself was the last straw.

I guess if you have young lesbian friends who have been medicated and mastectomised, it’s a lot more comfortable to believe that their body has been harmonized with its “true inner self” and to want to protect them from the awful mother who believes they’ve been lied to and medically harmed and will eventually have to deal with the horror that brings.

Not that I would have ever said that to any of their friends, nor would I have used correct sex pronouns in their hearing, but terfs are all evil, so cutting me off was the only reasonable option, I guess.

Before they swallowed this ideology, we had a healthy and loving relationship, as far as I know. Certainly they chose to spend time with me and we had some very harmonious times. It’s desperately sad and I live in fear that something bad will happen to one or other of us and the rest will have to live with the pain forever.

Shedmistress · 14/08/2026 14:06

Lol so knowing that biological sex exists and not wanting kids sterilised and mutilated is now being an abuser.

I'd say the people who DO want kids sterilised and mutilated is the abuser but hey ho.

RapidOnsetGenderCritic · 14/08/2026 14:08

Ereshkigalangcleg · 14/08/2026 13:49

I agree with you, but to make the point about why all men should stay out I think it’s necessary to highlight the very male, creepy behaviour of some.

I have no problem with that.

It's the comments, mostly on TwiX, like this one that I think are unhelpful hyperbole: "100% chance if you throw it into a crowd of tr**ns you'll hit a predator." In context this one was actually quite funny, but it feeds a narrative that I think really is transphobic. NAMALT, and NATALT, shouldn't need to be spelled out; the problem is that it is very easy for trans allies who still have some connection to reality to dismiss the truth when it is stated in an exaggerated or nasty way. Well, many of them dismiss the truth however carefully it is stated, I suppose, but why make it easy for them? It is this sort of thing that puts me off Glinner or KJK, despite their brave efforts to speak truth regardless of the costs of doing so.

FlatCatYellowMat · 14/08/2026 14:16

Oh weird - because when I've mentioned this to friends and family, I've mainly received a rant back about how unreasonable the idea that men can be women is, and that people should leave kids alone!

No-one's cut me off at all.

And as mentioned on another thread that seemed to think we lived our lives feverishly refreshing MN threads in FWR, I'm in full time work, have a couple of kids, and a number of hobbies and pass-times - it doesn't take over my life at all - although I obviously do keep an eye on my children's education and internet habits for harmful rhetoric, and I do tend to prefer to choose gyms etc. with women's areas rather than mixed, and would move gyms if men started interfering with that.

icingonmycupcake · 14/08/2026 14:21

Seethlaw · 14/08/2026 10:19

I clearly labelled my thread. You didn't have to click on it.

Show quote history

I just can't understand why you thought it needed another thread after yesterday. Surely debating it to this degree implies there could be a modicum of truth in the assertion. Which there isn't. It's horseshit.

But you're right, it's your post. I should have simply rolled my eyes and kept scrolling.

Original poster
Seethlaw · 14/08/2026 14:34

TransParentlyAnnoyed · 14/08/2026 14:00

Nah, it's a comparison.

The reason being GC is compared to a cult is that it's taken over lives. There is study (of each other's ridiculous origin myths for trans people), a significant loss of friends who don't share your beliefs, ignoring of the very significant character flaws in leading figures, and - most of all - loss of outside interests.

The attempts to forcibly detrans trans people via denial of care, and to place them in grave danger of violence by relentlessly vilifying them, are the reasons for the phrase trans genocide.

Minorities get to describe their persecution and those who persecute them, as they see fit.

Look at this forum. Someone is currently proposing boycotting a company because they are considerate towards trans/nb people's needs.

That's it. Not because the company's harming women (take a look at the very decent provisions for female workers). Just because they don't hate trans people and recognise they may have extra needs.

That is cultish behaviour.

It's also the behaviour of people who want trans people not to exist anymore. Though quite what you'd do with your life if they didn't - what would you do with all that extra time?

Perhaps comparison to QAnon would be more appropriate. Reading the Queer Milk panic reminded me of Pizzagate, and of studying The Crucible.

I'm sorry you have experienced a cultish church, that's awful. But don't you recognise some of the hallmarks?

The keeping people in a state of terror and paranoia as means of control?

The othering of anyone who speaks against the group's beliefs?

The repetition?

The removal of friends who might extract you?

The single subject of study?

The consultation of sacred texts?

The exhortation to pay into crowdfunders and buy merch to keep cult leaders going?

The way some people appear to have got very rich by telling their followers to give them money?

It's exactly the same mechanism as something very familiar to me: domestic abuse.

I'm an abuse survivor who's helped others leave their abusers. I know what I'm talking about. I usuall.do it by comparing leaving DV to leaving a cult.

I know this forum gives me PTSD flashbacks, and why: it's packed with people who are so angry at their targets, they'll attack anything they do.

You know how you try to placate an abuser? They don't like the way you dress. Or talk. Or have friends. So you try to change. But eventually, they are so desperate to get to the high of telling you you're evil that they punch you for opening a door too loudly. Putting a plate down at the wrong angle. Even, appearing in a room.

That's where a lot of posters are at on this forum now. Definitely not all, but a hardcore of abusive people who have radicalised themselves and now hunger for news of What The Trans Have Done Now.

They're being treated decently by a nut company! One's appeared on TV! One fell in love with a cis guy on I Kissed A Boy! There's a Pride Progress flag in Morrisons! Someone famous has says they love their nb child! Feeding time!! Come and hurt them!

Every abuser hates their target, and feels utterly justified in 'punishing' them. They demand conformity and say they've been really tolerant up til now but their target's gone too far. The hate gives them validation and peace.

Seriously, what would you do with those extra hours?

Or is the pull of hate too addictive? Because look what they made you do.

Look what they made you do.

Show quote history

You literally answered, "Yes, of course you are" to the question "Are we a cult?" If you meant it only as a comparison, then that passed me by entirely.

Minorities get to describe their persecution and those who persecute them, as they see fit.

But we don't get to redefine words. There's no trans genocide going on, and no, trans people don't get to redefine the word "genocide", not as long as there are real genocides going on out there.

Look at this forum. Someone is currently proposing boycotting a company because they are considerate towards trans/nb people's needs.

That's it. Not because the company's harming women (take a look at the very decent provisions for female workers). Just because they don't hate trans people and recognise they may have extra needs.

That is cultish behaviour.

No, that's extremist behaviour. Again, nobody gets to redefine words, and everything extremist is not necessarily cultish.

It's also the behaviour of people who want trans people not to exist anymore. Though quite what you'd do with your life if they didn't - what would you do with all that extra time?

Well, I wouldn't exist anymore, would I? So no extra time for me.

The keeping people in a state of terror and paranoia as means of control?

Erm, what? I'm afraid of what TRAs might do to me if I publicly said what I say on this forum. But I would meet any woman here in a heartbeat.

The othering of anyone who speaks against the group's beliefs?

This group doesn't have beliefs. It has scientific facts. And GC people are not the ones calling people who disagree with them all kinds of names and insults.

The repetition?

What does that have to do with being in a cult or not?

The removal of friends who might extract you?

Whaaat? My friends don't need to be removed, because they wouldn't try to extract me from something I can walk away from any time I want.

The single subject of study?

What on Earth makes you think that this is the only thing I do in my life? Right now, I'm doing other things at the same time.

The consultation of sacred texts?

... Wait, there are GC sacred texts? Why has nobody told me about them!?

The exhortation to pay into crowdfunders and buy merch to keep cult leaders going?

I don't think you understand what it's actually like to have to give part of your earnings to a cult in order to be considered a member in good enough standing. If you did, you would realise how offensive your question is.

The way some people appear to have got very rich by telling their followers to give them money?

Like... who, exactly? I'm serious. I have no idea who you're talking about.

You know how you try to placate an abuser? They don't like the way you dress. Or talk. Or have friends. So you try to change. But eventually, they are so desperate to get to the high of telling you you're evil that they punch you for opening a door too loudly. Putting a plate down at the wrong angle. Even, appearing in a room.

Yeah, I do. My family in general, and my mother in particular, was abusive.

That's where a lot of posters are at on this forum now. Definitely not all, but a hardcore of abusive people who have radicalised themselves and now hunger for news of What The Trans Have Done Now.

I understand why you feel that way. But again I have to ask: what does that have to do with the rest of us being in anything like a cult? We don't have to agree with those people. We don't have to placate them. We don't have to repeat what they say. We are free to say opposite to what they say. So how are we in a cult?

Every abuser hates their target, and feels utterly justified in 'punishing' them.

You mean, like so many TRAs want to kill us, punch us, rape us with a splintery rolling pin?

Seriously, what would you do with those extra hours?

Again: I wouldn't exist anymore, so the question is silly.

Look what they made you do.

You mean, how they made me understand myself better than the TRAs ever did, who insisted I could only be trans in one specific, approved way? Yeah, that's utterly terrible.

OP posts:
Arran2024 · 14/08/2026 14:39

KinderOfKinder · 14/08/2026 10:16

An excellent parallel.

As I referenced in my post, perhaps the term "tribal" is more accurate than "cult", but then human beings are naturally social animals - and societal collaboration generally exists for the betterment of all - so at what point does membership of a tribe (and, by extension, tribalistic thinking) become an issue?
The answer, obviously, is when it's turned against another tribe, or those who support it.

If my opening post wasn't clear enough, whilst I've seen this particular area (and only this particular area) very commonly referred to as the echo-chamber of a cult, it's not a view I personally adhere to.
There is "cultlike" (or "tribalistic" if you prefer) thinking here, sure, but that will arguably exist in any group. Even, to come full circle, football fandom!

Show quote history

Not everyone who is GC believes the same things. If you look at the trans cult, it is very much one set of beliefs - try saying you don't agree with a particular issue eg sports and you will be in trouble. But GC people hold various beliefs. Some think that the Equality Act needs to be replaced. Others, like my daughter who has autism, just doesn't want men washing their hands next to her in public toilets.

BackToLurk · 14/08/2026 14:41

@TransParentlyAnnoyed

Look at this forum. Someone is currently proposing boycotting a company because they are considerate towards trans/nb people's needs.

That's it. Not because the company's harming women (take a look at the very decent provisions for female workers). Just because they don't hate trans people and recognise they may have extra needs.

That is cultish behaviour.

But that's a lie isn't it? That poster has been quite clear they are responding specifically to the company's position on the EHRC guidance, not on any other policy regarding the treatment of trans employees. Indeed they replied directly to you on this point.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5566128-pip-nuts-trans-inclusion-policy?page=5&reply=154133550

Page 5 | Pip & Nut's trans inclusion policy | Mumsnet

https://nitter.net/IsntWorkingPod/status/2087489497139146937 We buy loads of this stuff as we are big peanut butter consumers in my household. Not an...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5566128-pip-nuts-trans-inclusion-policy?page=5&reply=154133550

RapidOnsetGenderCritic · 14/08/2026 14:42

Seethlaw · 14/08/2026 14:34

You literally answered, "Yes, of course you are" to the question "Are we a cult?" If you meant it only as a comparison, then that passed me by entirely.

Minorities get to describe their persecution and those who persecute them, as they see fit.

But we don't get to redefine words. There's no trans genocide going on, and no, trans people don't get to redefine the word "genocide", not as long as there are real genocides going on out there.

Look at this forum. Someone is currently proposing boycotting a company because they are considerate towards trans/nb people's needs.

That's it. Not because the company's harming women (take a look at the very decent provisions for female workers). Just because they don't hate trans people and recognise they may have extra needs.

That is cultish behaviour.

No, that's extremist behaviour. Again, nobody gets to redefine words, and everything extremist is not necessarily cultish.

It's also the behaviour of people who want trans people not to exist anymore. Though quite what you'd do with your life if they didn't - what would you do with all that extra time?

Well, I wouldn't exist anymore, would I? So no extra time for me.

The keeping people in a state of terror and paranoia as means of control?

Erm, what? I'm afraid of what TRAs might do to me if I publicly said what I say on this forum. But I would meet any woman here in a heartbeat.

The othering of anyone who speaks against the group's beliefs?

This group doesn't have beliefs. It has scientific facts. And GC people are not the ones calling people who disagree with them all kinds of names and insults.

The repetition?

What does that have to do with being in a cult or not?

The removal of friends who might extract you?

Whaaat? My friends don't need to be removed, because they wouldn't try to extract me from something I can walk away from any time I want.

The single subject of study?

What on Earth makes you think that this is the only thing I do in my life? Right now, I'm doing other things at the same time.

The consultation of sacred texts?

... Wait, there are GC sacred texts? Why has nobody told me about them!?

The exhortation to pay into crowdfunders and buy merch to keep cult leaders going?

I don't think you understand what it's actually like to have to give part of your earnings to a cult in order to be considered a member in good enough standing. If you did, you would realise how offensive your question is.

The way some people appear to have got very rich by telling their followers to give them money?

Like... who, exactly? I'm serious. I have no idea who you're talking about.

You know how you try to placate an abuser? They don't like the way you dress. Or talk. Or have friends. So you try to change. But eventually, they are so desperate to get to the high of telling you you're evil that they punch you for opening a door too loudly. Putting a plate down at the wrong angle. Even, appearing in a room.

Yeah, I do. My family in general, and my mother in particular, was abusive.

That's where a lot of posters are at on this forum now. Definitely not all, but a hardcore of abusive people who have radicalised themselves and now hunger for news of What The Trans Have Done Now.

I understand why you feel that way. But again I have to ask: what does that have to do with the rest of us being in anything like a cult? We don't have to agree with those people. We don't have to placate them. We don't have to repeat what they say. We are free to say opposite to what they say. So how are we in a cult?

Every abuser hates their target, and feels utterly justified in 'punishing' them.

You mean, like so many TRAs want to kill us, punch us, rape us with a splintery rolling pin?

Seriously, what would you do with those extra hours?

Again: I wouldn't exist anymore, so the question is silly.

Look what they made you do.

You mean, how they made me understand myself better than the TRAs ever did, who insisted I could only be trans in one specific, approved way? Yeah, that's utterly terrible.

Show quote history

Well, I wouldn't exist anymore, would I? So no extra time for me.

Excellent!

PrizedPickledPopcorn · 14/08/2026 14:51

I think there’s a shared humour and style, which has grown because there is very little that actually unites us. We prioritise safeguarding of women and vulnerable people, particularly children. We want spaces preserved that allow women to fully engage with society- sports, changing areas, jobs.
Outside that there’s very little. Every political colour, different faiths and none, all ages, all education levels and earning capacity.

I mean, some people don’t even enjoy JKR’s writing!

So on occasion we revert to recipes, hymns of praise to tunnocks, and poems.

I suspect that there are quite a few people on board who have the capacity to be a bit spiky. That I would suggest is the result of needing to be somewhat dogged and independent minded to resist the endless scolding.

StandingDeskDisco · 14/08/2026 15:04

KinderOfKinder · 14/08/2026 10:39

Just as an interesting aside, do we collectively feel that TRAs are a "cult", or have "cultlike" behavioural models?

Genuine question.

Obviously.
Ever heard of 'projecting the shadow'?

KinderOfKinder · 14/08/2026 15:14

TransParentlyAnnoyed · 14/08/2026 14:00

Nah, it's a comparison.

The reason being GC is compared to a cult is that it's taken over lives. There is study (of each other's ridiculous origin myths for trans people), a significant loss of friends who don't share your beliefs, ignoring of the very significant character flaws in leading figures, and - most of all - loss of outside interests.

The attempts to forcibly detrans trans people via denial of care, and to place them in grave danger of violence by relentlessly vilifying them, are the reasons for the phrase trans genocide.

Minorities get to describe their persecution and those who persecute them, as they see fit.

Look at this forum. Someone is currently proposing boycotting a company because they are considerate towards trans/nb people's needs.

That's it. Not because the company's harming women (take a look at the very decent provisions for female workers). Just because they don't hate trans people and recognise they may have extra needs.

That is cultish behaviour.

It's also the behaviour of people who want trans people not to exist anymore. Though quite what you'd do with your life if they didn't - what would you do with all that extra time?

Perhaps comparison to QAnon would be more appropriate. Reading the Queer Milk panic reminded me of Pizzagate, and of studying The Crucible.

I'm sorry you have experienced a cultish church, that's awful. But don't you recognise some of the hallmarks?

The keeping people in a state of terror and paranoia as means of control?

The othering of anyone who speaks against the group's beliefs?

The repetition?

The removal of friends who might extract you?

The single subject of study?

The consultation of sacred texts?

The exhortation to pay into crowdfunders and buy merch to keep cult leaders going?

The way some people appear to have got very rich by telling their followers to give them money?

It's exactly the same mechanism as something very familiar to me: domestic abuse.

I'm an abuse survivor who's helped others leave their abusers. I know what I'm talking about. I usuall.do it by comparing leaving DV to leaving a cult.

I know this forum gives me PTSD flashbacks, and why: it's packed with people who are so angry at their targets, they'll attack anything they do.

You know how you try to placate an abuser? They don't like the way you dress. Or talk. Or have friends. So you try to change. But eventually, they are so desperate to get to the high of telling you you're evil that they punch you for opening a door too loudly. Putting a plate down at the wrong angle. Even, appearing in a room.

That's where a lot of posters are at on this forum now. Definitely not all, but a hardcore of abusive people who have radicalised themselves and now hunger for news of What The Trans Have Done Now.

They're being treated decently by a nut company! One's appeared on TV! One fell in love with a cis guy on I Kissed A Boy! There's a Pride Progress flag in Morrisons! Someone famous has says they love their nb child! Feeding time!! Come and hurt them!

Every abuser hates their target, and feels utterly justified in 'punishing' them. They demand conformity and say they've been really tolerant up til now but their target's gone too far. The hate gives them validation and peace.

Seriously, what would you do with those extra hours?

Or is the pull of hate too addictive? Because look what they made you do.

Look what they made you do.

Show quote history

Well said.

You've touched on many of the issues that are very clearly observable here to people who are moderate (whether or not they choose to acknowledge those things due to their own bias), but seemingly invisible to many here who are only able to view the situation through the lens of the mantra with which they've been conditioned.

Several posters on this thread have feebly endeavoured to dismantle anything that suggests they might, in fact, be part of the problem precisely because that's what the group-think demands.

I personally know several people who have been isolated and cut off by members of their own families solely and wholly because they espouse extreme GC views that are more about the othering and attacking of the trans community than they are about the actual, genuine protection of women and girls (indeed, that is all too often wheeled out as a convenient excuse for their behaviour).

That's not to suggest for a moment, before the keyboard warriors storm in, that all people who adhere to GC ideology are fanatics, but it's a simple, easily verifiable, fact that many are, and that the rest of us and society in general will react to that accordingly.

Good example, I've lurked here on MN for quite some time now and seen many, many threads started by people along the lines of "X institution has just said they support trans!" or "Y company's policy says trans people are welcome to use the bathroom they identify with", etc.

The general response to these threads is always the same. Always.

A wave of replies from people condemning those institutions or saying they will now boycott that company or whatever it happens to be. This has fuck all to do with protecting women and girls and everything to do with a single member of the cult calling out something they know full well the cult will disagree with, then the cult directing its hatred accordingly. It's as pathetic as it is mentally unhealthy for the people engaging in it.

Any posters who try to dissent, or call for rationality, are themselves attacked. I say again that such posters are brave for making their statements in this particular echo-chamber, knowing full well the character of many of the people who spend their days there.

Pingponghavoc · 14/08/2026 15:19

Good example, I've lurked here on MN for quite some time now and seen many, many threads started by people along the lines of "X institution has just said they support trans!" or "Y company's policy says trans people are welcome to use the bathroom they identify with", etc.
The general response to these threads is always the same. Always.
A wave of replies from people condemning those institutions or saying they will now boycott that company or whatever it happens to be. This has fuck all to do with protecting women and girls and everything to do with a single member of the cult calling out something they know full well the cult will disagree with, then the cult directing its hatred accordingly. It's as pathetic as it is mentally unhealthy for the people engaging in it.

Why do you think objecting to men using female toilets has 'fuck all' to do with protecting women and girls?

Pingponghavoc · 14/08/2026 15:20

If you want to frame safeguarding as a cult, thats up to you. But don't be shocked when people see you.

Shedmistress · 14/08/2026 15:21

KinderOfKinder · 14/08/2026 15:14

Well said.

You've touched on many of the issues that are very clearly observable here to people who are moderate (whether or not they choose to acknowledge those things due to their own bias), but seemingly invisible to many here who are only able to view the situation through the lens of the mantra with which they've been conditioned.

Several posters on this thread have feebly endeavoured to dismantle anything that suggests they might, in fact, be part of the problem precisely because that's what the group-think demands.

I personally know several people who have been isolated and cut off by members of their own families solely and wholly because they espouse extreme GC views that are more about the othering and attacking of the trans community than they are about the actual, genuine protection of women and girls (indeed, that is all too often wheeled out as a convenient excuse for their behaviour).

That's not to suggest for a moment, before the keyboard warriors storm in, that all people who adhere to GC ideology are fanatics, but it's a simple, easily verifiable, fact that many are, and that the rest of us and society in general will react to that accordingly.

Good example, I've lurked here on MN for quite some time now and seen many, many threads started by people along the lines of "X institution has just said they support trans!" or "Y company's policy says trans people are welcome to use the bathroom they identify with", etc.

The general response to these threads is always the same. Always.

A wave of replies from people condemning those institutions or saying they will now boycott that company or whatever it happens to be. This has fuck all to do with protecting women and girls and everything to do with a single member of the cult calling out something they know full well the cult will disagree with, then the cult directing its hatred accordingly. It's as pathetic as it is mentally unhealthy for the people engaging in it.

Any posters who try to dissent, or call for rationality, are themselves attacked. I say again that such posters are brave for making their statements in this particular echo-chamber, knowing full well the character of many of the people who spend their days there.

Show quote history

You've touched on many of the issues that are very clearly observable here to people who are moderate (whether or not they choose to acknowledge those things due to their own bias), but seemingly invisible to many here who are only able to view the situation through the lens of the mantra with which they've been conditioned.

What 'mantra'?

You keep slinging out accusations and never answer when people ask you what you mean.

I know that men cannot change into women.
I know men and boys as a class are a risk to women and girls as a class.

None of this is a 'mantra'. So what do you mean 'the mantra'?

poppsocks · 14/08/2026 15:22

The general response to these threads is always the same. Always.

Does it genuinely need pointing out that the thousands upon thousands of gender-critical people who don't care much about this .... don't read or reply to these threads?

The idea that threads on MN represent the majority of people who believe sex is real and that sometimes it matters is absolutely barking. Honestly, I think most children would be able to see the logic failure there.

UtopiaPlanitia · 14/08/2026 15:26

Hedgehogforshort · 14/08/2026 09:48

I noticed the TRA started using the words, cult and ideology of late.

They are so unoriginal that they nick every statement or words we use to turn it on to us.

It fits entirely with their cuckoo in the nest behaviour with regards to all other aspects of their mimicry of women.

poppsocks · 14/08/2026 15:26

I would bet that anyone talking about 'GC' as a cult can't actually articulate what it is in a way that a gender-critical person would agree is accurate.

I have asked TRAs over the years and have not seen a single correct response.

Which just highlights what a waste of time all this is - arguing and threats and hatred against a thing they literally don't understand.

If someone really did feel they understood it and was wanting to make an actual, coherent argument, they would be happy to do so, to make sure people are discussing the same thing.

And I've seen many pretend to assume what I think, and get it embarrassingly wrong.

KinderOfKinder · 14/08/2026 15:29

poppsocks · 14/08/2026 15:22

The general response to these threads is always the same. Always.

Does it genuinely need pointing out that the thousands upon thousands of gender-critical people who don't care much about this .... don't read or reply to these threads?

The idea that threads on MN represent the majority of people who believe sex is real and that sometimes it matters is absolutely barking. Honestly, I think most children would be able to see the logic failure there.

This has absolutely nothing to do with people who aren't on this board (do you really, genuinely, need to have this explained to you?)
I have my own suspicion as the psychology at work here that's prompted you to write the response you have but, again, that's not the point.

And so I reiterate what I said (although now emphasised to make it easier for you to follow); the general response to these threads is always the same.

TheywontletmehavethenameIwant · 14/08/2026 15:29

A wave of replies from people condemning those institutions or saying they will now boycott that company or whatever it happens to be.

A company who has declared it's going to ignore the guidance issued by the Supreme Court no less, for a law that has been on the books for 16 years doesn't align with my values, it clearly has no respect for my own truth and will hinder me in my journey to authenticity, so I feel fully justified in boycotting it's products.

To quote Birdseye - Potatoes.

Not a cult, it's consumer activism.

KinderOfKinder · 14/08/2026 15:32

TheywontletmehavethenameIwant · 14/08/2026 15:29

A wave of replies from people condemning those institutions or saying they will now boycott that company or whatever it happens to be.

A company who has declared it's going to ignore the guidance issued by the Supreme Court no less, for a law that has been on the books for 16 years doesn't align with my values, it clearly has no respect for my own truth and will hinder me in my journey to authenticity, so I feel fully justified in boycotting it's products.

To quote Birdseye - Potatoes.

Not a cult, it's consumer activism.

"Not a cult, it's consumer activism."

Playing Devil's Advocate* for a moment it can, of course, be both; the one acting as the driver for the other.

For the purposes of discussion, and not as a statement of personal stance. Obviously*.

**It is often tiring that such clarifications even need to be made in the hope of people not misunderstanding and tilting at windmills, but such is the world we live in.

poppsocks · 14/08/2026 15:33

KinderOfKinder · 14/08/2026 15:29

This has absolutely nothing to do with people who aren't on this board (do you really, genuinely, need to have this explained to you?)
I have my own suspicion as the psychology at work here that's prompted you to write the response you have but, again, that's not the point.

And so I reiterate what I said (although now emphasised to make it easier for you to follow); the general response to these threads is always the same.

Show quote history

I am on this board. I have been on this board for a long time.
I, and many many others, are GC, but don't add our views to the threads you describe.

Therefore, to assume anything about GC views as a whole from the thread - do you think this would be sensible, or not sensible?

Original poster
Seethlaw · 14/08/2026 15:34

KinderOfKinder · 14/08/2026 15:14

Well said.

You've touched on many of the issues that are very clearly observable here to people who are moderate (whether or not they choose to acknowledge those things due to their own bias), but seemingly invisible to many here who are only able to view the situation through the lens of the mantra with which they've been conditioned.

Several posters on this thread have feebly endeavoured to dismantle anything that suggests they might, in fact, be part of the problem precisely because that's what the group-think demands.

I personally know several people who have been isolated and cut off by members of their own families solely and wholly because they espouse extreme GC views that are more about the othering and attacking of the trans community than they are about the actual, genuine protection of women and girls (indeed, that is all too often wheeled out as a convenient excuse for their behaviour).

That's not to suggest for a moment, before the keyboard warriors storm in, that all people who adhere to GC ideology are fanatics, but it's a simple, easily verifiable, fact that many are, and that the rest of us and society in general will react to that accordingly.

Good example, I've lurked here on MN for quite some time now and seen many, many threads started by people along the lines of "X institution has just said they support trans!" or "Y company's policy says trans people are welcome to use the bathroom they identify with", etc.

The general response to these threads is always the same. Always.

A wave of replies from people condemning those institutions or saying they will now boycott that company or whatever it happens to be. This has fuck all to do with protecting women and girls and everything to do with a single member of the cult calling out something they know full well the cult will disagree with, then the cult directing its hatred accordingly. It's as pathetic as it is mentally unhealthy for the people engaging in it.

Any posters who try to dissent, or call for rationality, are themselves attacked. I say again that such posters are brave for making their statements in this particular echo-chamber, knowing full well the character of many of the people who spend their days there.

Show quote history

I'm curious. You define yourself as a moderate, from what I understand, right? So what is your opinion about whether transwomen should be freely allowed to enter female single-sex spaces (toilets, prisons, sports, hospital wards, rape support centres, etc...)? I'm just genuinely wondering what a moderate opinion would look like.

OP posts:
Ereshkigalangcleg · 14/08/2026 15:34

KinderOfKinder · 14/08/2026 15:14

Well said.

You've touched on many of the issues that are very clearly observable here to people who are moderate (whether or not they choose to acknowledge those things due to their own bias), but seemingly invisible to many here who are only able to view the situation through the lens of the mantra with which they've been conditioned.

Several posters on this thread have feebly endeavoured to dismantle anything that suggests they might, in fact, be part of the problem precisely because that's what the group-think demands.

I personally know several people who have been isolated and cut off by members of their own families solely and wholly because they espouse extreme GC views that are more about the othering and attacking of the trans community than they are about the actual, genuine protection of women and girls (indeed, that is all too often wheeled out as a convenient excuse for their behaviour).

That's not to suggest for a moment, before the keyboard warriors storm in, that all people who adhere to GC ideology are fanatics, but it's a simple, easily verifiable, fact that many are, and that the rest of us and society in general will react to that accordingly.

Good example, I've lurked here on MN for quite some time now and seen many, many threads started by people along the lines of "X institution has just said they support trans!" or "Y company's policy says trans people are welcome to use the bathroom they identify with", etc.

The general response to these threads is always the same. Always.

A wave of replies from people condemning those institutions or saying they will now boycott that company or whatever it happens to be. This has fuck all to do with protecting women and girls and everything to do with a single member of the cult calling out something they know full well the cult will disagree with, then the cult directing its hatred accordingly. It's as pathetic as it is mentally unhealthy for the people engaging in it.

Any posters who try to dissent, or call for rationality, are themselves attacked. I say again that such posters are brave for making their statements in this particular echo-chamber, knowing full well the character of many of the people who spend their days there.

Show quote history

Not very “impartial” really now is it?

RedToothBrush · 14/08/2026 15:36

KinderOfKinder · 14/08/2026 15:14

Well said.

You've touched on many of the issues that are very clearly observable here to people who are moderate (whether or not they choose to acknowledge those things due to their own bias), but seemingly invisible to many here who are only able to view the situation through the lens of the mantra with which they've been conditioned.

Several posters on this thread have feebly endeavoured to dismantle anything that suggests they might, in fact, be part of the problem precisely because that's what the group-think demands.

I personally know several people who have been isolated and cut off by members of their own families solely and wholly because they espouse extreme GC views that are more about the othering and attacking of the trans community than they are about the actual, genuine protection of women and girls (indeed, that is all too often wheeled out as a convenient excuse for their behaviour).

That's not to suggest for a moment, before the keyboard warriors storm in, that all people who adhere to GC ideology are fanatics, but it's a simple, easily verifiable, fact that many are, and that the rest of us and society in general will react to that accordingly.

Good example, I've lurked here on MN for quite some time now and seen many, many threads started by people along the lines of "X institution has just said they support trans!" or "Y company's policy says trans people are welcome to use the bathroom they identify with", etc.

The general response to these threads is always the same. Always.

A wave of replies from people condemning those institutions or saying they will now boycott that company or whatever it happens to be. This has fuck all to do with protecting women and girls and everything to do with a single member of the cult calling out something they know full well the cult will disagree with, then the cult directing its hatred accordingly. It's as pathetic as it is mentally unhealthy for the people engaging in it.

Any posters who try to dissent, or call for rationality, are themselves attacked. I say again that such posters are brave for making their statements in this particular echo-chamber, knowing full well the character of many of the people who spend their days there.

Show quote history

I think it's important in terms of employment and access to services for women to make other women aware of companies and organisations which are actively and deliberately choosing to not uphold women's legal rights because they wish to virtue signal how inclusive they are.

What women then decide to do with this information is up to them.

But let's be clear here - companies like the peanut butter one have company policies which are unlawful and the company knows this is unlawful and discriminates against women.

It isn't inclusive. The narrative that they are being good and inclusive is flawed and inaccurate because it means that women are being disadvantaged and potentially put into a position that makes their continued employment there difficult.

Women deciding to boycott companies who do this to try and get policy change is fair enough. It's up to individuals.

I personally haven't really engaged on these threads. I don't know that these boycotts really do a lot. But I totally get why women might want to participate because it's a way to make a protest silently which might be the only way some of them can without putting themselves into a compromised situation with their own employment. It makes them feel like they are able to do something tangible if they are otherwise unable to speak out.

I'm not sure why you are framing these boycotts as cult like. Quite the opposite. Most of the women involved in them can't reveal they are participating to a group in order to gain status or to show loyalty precisely because they have to retain anonymity. Nor is it an act that's illegal and there requires silence for this reason - like cricketgate from TRAs. There isn't a purity spiral as such because there isn't a public stage for performance. Just saying 'I didn't go to M&S' on MN isn't really fitting this criteria.