Tag: Abuse

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Healthcare Media and Arts

I stopped being an activist for social issues for a while, trying to understand where I was wrong

This matters to me because I am a lesbian, and have been harrassed by trans activists before I even know what a terf was. When I was younger(around 18yo) I was a vocal feminist and lbgt activists on tumblr, and supporting trans people, but a lot of trans messaged me saying I was transphobic because I asked trans people questions to better understand and help them. After that, I faced more and more issues with harassment based on my sex and sexual orientation, so I stopped being an activist for social issues for a while, trying to understand where I was wrong.

Last year, I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t wrong, and made another blog, going back to being a feminist and lgbt activist. Without the T this time.

I also care because when I was young, I fell in love with my female best friend, and I tried being more masculine to woo her, so I know that being a lesbian can be confusing and I want to help young lesbians to not hate and change themselves.

I created a new tumblr, a twitter account, I try to donate when I can, and to speak up when it doesn’t put me in danger. I plan to volunteer at a women’s shelter at the end of the pandemic.

I have been harrassed online (death threats, pictures of dead and abused animals, threats of men saying they would hurt children if I keep speaking my mind…) and I have lost some friends over it. It’s still something I can’t talk to some of my friends because I know they would disapprove without letting me explain my experiences.

Lavande, Lesbian working in publishing, France

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Media and Arts

I nearly died from severe early onset pre-eclampsia

This matters to me for a number if reasons:

1) Because I am a sexual abuse survivor and do not want to be forced into private spaces with males. 

2) I do not think it’s fair that males are taking spaces reserved for females in leadership, training, scholarships etc.

3) My experience as a woman is totally different to that of a transwoman – I nearly died from severe early onset pre-eclampsia and then my work tried to make me redundant shortly afterwards! We are women because of our female bodies and that matters a lot.

4) The reinforcement of the stereotypes of what constitutes femininity and masculity is harmful to women. Women are not defined by clothing, grooming, mannerisms and behaviours – we all have different personalities and presentations.

5) I am utterly sick of the misinformation and inappropriate content being taught in schools and workplaces in relation to this issue.

6) I am concerned that publicly funded bodies are not recording sex, so can longer measure sex inequality.

I’ve challenged policies at work with incorrect protected characteristics.  I’ve challenged monitoring categories for a research project I am working on – sex has been replaced with gender. I’ve spoken to women and men I trust to discuss the issues. I’ve shared information on social media and written to my MP.

I have been denounced as a ‘transphobe’ on social media for stating my belief in the reality of sex and the need to record it.

M, Floating voter swayed by women’s rights issues

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Healthcare Media and Arts

No one can make make me believe it or say that I do

Transgenderism is sexist. I’ve been aware of being treated in a sexist manner since childhood. Trans activists lie, lie and lie again. They bully, harrass and intimidate everyone who dares to disagree with them. I’m also disgusted by the spineless middle-class professionals earning three times my salary who have waved it all through. I’m disgusted at those who have turned a blind eye to the abuse and slander of honest women. I simply do not believe in transgender ideology, any more than I believe that the earth is flat or a virgin gave birth. No one can make make me believe it or say that I do.

I actually find transgenderism pretty boring in itself as I don’t find it remarkable if a man wears a skirt or a woman has short hair – I care about the impact on women and children, the abusive behaviour of activists, and the ‘respectable and reasonable’ individuals and organisations who provide cover for this abuse.

I have been active on this issue since 2015. I organised a public meeting on women’s sex-based rights in my city that was targeted by trans activists. I’ve attended several other such meetings. I’ve been to see two MPs and written to them, and to other MPs and peers. I’ve written to safeguarding professionals, local women’s organisations, political parties, the NHS, local education authority and the police.

I’ve contacted journalists with stories, and if they haven’t picked them up written and published them myself online.

I’ve signed petitions and open letters and donated to crowdfunders. I’ve leafleted on the street at the time of the UK GRA consultation. I’ve posted on Facebook and Mumsnet. I asked my trade union not to redefine the word ‘woman’ but they refused to engage so I left.

A friend of 20 years instantly cut all contact with me because I posted online about Tara Wolf, a man convicted of assault by beating of a woman, Maria Maclachlan. I don’t have a social media presence any more because I am afraid that I will lose work – I don’t care about people’s opinion of me but I do care about my livelihood. I am also frightened of the unhinged and violent men within the transgender movement. When I was leafleting a young woman called me ‘fucking disgusting’. The biggest negative consequence if I’m honest is that I have lost faith in almost all insititutions’ abililty or even desire to uphold women’s rights; politics, the media, academia and the wider professional classes who attempted to impose the abusive nonsense of transgenderism top-down.

E

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Healthcare Media and Arts

Obviously lesbians can’t have penises

It started as bafflement at the perversion of language – obviously lesbians can’t have penises – and grew into a horrified realisation that there is a huge movement to define men as women (and vice versa), which particularly concerns me because it appears to me totally regressive, and I don’t want my children to grow up thinking they can’t be gender non-conforming, and that instead they have to ‘become’ the opposite sex.

I also see a lot of men taking advantage at the expense of women by claiming membership of their sex class, in business, in sport, in shelters, in prisons, in politics – and as a man it appalls me.

They do not seem to care that men oppress and abuse women, and that it’s not even about transwomen – it’s about the bad men who will take advantage of the freedom to ‘be women’ if that right is extended to any man.

I have written things which have had an impact on the debate. I also tweet furiously (but politely) under a pseudonym.

Businesses which were implicated swiftly dissolved their relationship with mine. I believe under pressure from their internal LGBT reps.

MC, Centrist dad

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Parent

My female daughter identified as a man 5 years ago

My female daughter identified as a man 5 years ago. I looked into it, fell down the rabbit hole as I realised the entire ideology was hung on misogyny, porn and cosmetic pharmaceutical lobbying.

I’ve written to 2 MP’s, GEO, and university of misogynistic lecturer who posted raging abuse at women on social media

Consequences: Not really, apart from losing a couple of ‘mates’.

CB, Worried parent

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Healthcare Media and Arts

I can see women’s safe spaces being eliminated

I can see women’s safe spaces being eliminated, loss of legal rights and opportunities, abuse of children.

I’ve talked to lots of people, given money.

I’m terrified of raising concerns officially at work – a Stonewall-captured organisation.

Nicola, #WarInWomen #CisIsASlur

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Voluntary sector

I’m dismayed that decent people who think they’re being liberal and welcoming are unaware of the cost to women.

This matters to me for many reasons. Because women are being erased and redefined, reduced to their bodily functions, recategorised as a sub section of their own classification, having their rights removed and their ability to stand up for and protect themselves reduced. Because I worry for especially young women who are learning who they are and taking drastic actions which they live to regret. Because I’m seeing an increase in homophobia. Because there are troubling safeguarding issues for my daughters.

Because the males who are impinging on women’s protected spaces are affecting vulnerable women and certain religions and because asking why there’s a male in your safe space isn’t protecting women it could get you arrested for a hate crime. Because I’m dismayed that decent people who think they’re being liberal and welcoming are unaware of the cost to women. Because I see so much aggression and vile comments aimed at level-headed women just trying to raise awareness of the issue.

I’ve not done much. Discussed it some with family. Chat in private groups of like-minded women. I was sharing stuff on Twitter but I’ve dialled back on that because I’m freelance and I’m working currently with a third sector organisation and they are notoriously ‘woke’.

A year ago I was right there on the Trans Women are Women side of the fence, but then I started to see how simply raising legitimate concerns and questions about how we could accommodate male bodied people into women’s and girls’ safe spaces got you instantly labelled as a TERF.

And I started to see male bodied people using their self ID to access and beat women out of female specific awards and sports and scholarships that were there to redress the male focused opportunity and privilege, and then I started to see rape crisis centres have their funding cut for trying to protect traumatised women from sharing a safe space with a male bodied (ergo more physically powerful) person, and Jessica Yaniv and male bodied people who self ID abusing vulnerable women in prison. (Obv, not all Trans people.) And again when women tried to raise legitimate concerns about these things – whilst still trying to find a way to support trans people and help them to find a way to live their lives as they want to, safely and free from abuse and incorporated and welcomed – still being shouted at and labelled transphobic. And then I saw lesbians being called bigots for being same sex attracted. And then I saw people trying to pretend that actual biology ergo science was not a tested, provable thing which is a very dangerous route to take. Then I’m afraid my position shifted somewhat.

I started out just asking simple questions about safeguarding and was called transphobic and a TERF very quickly. I saw the same pattern repeated again and again with pleasant, caring women who showed concern for trans women and wanted them to live safe happy lives but not at the expense of women feeling safe and secure because of opportunistic men taking advantage of self ID, being threatened and called bigots and then I realised there was something very wrong with the TRA movement.

Shiv, Woman, mother, freelancer, feminist

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Healthcare Media and Arts

Abuse in plain sight

Women’s sex based rights and what’s happening to confused children, which in my opinion is abuse in plain sight.

I’ve spoken out on social media, spoken out to friends at work. Written to my MP (who I know disagrees with me), raised it with other MPs when I’ve seen unfair things happen.

I’ve been called a terf, bigot, right winged, old out of touch woman, all the usual stuff.

Julie Evans, Feminist, a real one, who knows what a woman is.

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Healthcare Media and Arts

I’m also very concerned about children being seduced into the trans cult

This matters to me because I care about women’s rights. I’m also very concerned about children being seduced into the trans cult. I am opposed to the notion of ‘gender identity’, in particular that it is being taught in schools. It’s unscientific and I believe it’s child abuse to teach children that there is such a thing and to confuse them with these ideas.

I am quite vocal on Twitter. I talk a lot to my family and friends. I have three step-children. I have made them all aware that their children may be taught about ‘gender identity’ in school along with inappropriate sex education. I emailed Keir Starmer, my MP, before the last election asking him where he stood on this (no reply). I’ve recently had an email conversation with Baroness Nicholson.

I am anonymous on Twitter and I am very careful about other social media. I would never discuss this on Facebook, for example, because I work in publishing and many of my Facebook friends I know through work. It would negatively impact my work if my views were known, I think.

MC, I’m a woman – an adult human female

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Healthcare Students

Most of the people I talk to about trans activism just can’t fathom that some people genuinely believe that transwomen are women

I care because the end result of gender ideology will hurt women by depriving them of any word to describe themselves, of the right to self-organise and gather without the presence of men, and of the right to decide who’s allowed to touch them and see them naked.

I also care because I’m deeply concerned about the fact that a tiny minority of activists who hold incredibly fringe views could so easily manage to garner enormous support within academia and political parties in a very short time.

To me the ideas that sex is a colonial construct, that people like Danielle Muscato can be legally female or that some men bare children sound absolutely ridiculous and surreal, and I’m very worried that so many people in high places have decided to comply with them with no hesitation whatsoever.

I’ve talked about this to virtually every person I know in my life (and some of them have talked about it to their own acquaintances afterwards), I’ve shared my thoughts on Twitter, I’ve also written some sort of paper that sums up the issue with a lot of references that I usually send to people who express an interest in the subject, and I’ve tried to get in touch with people who have a little bit more influence to try and open their eyes on this particular topic.

On Twitter I got the usual vitriol from TRAs on some occasions. In real life however, I’ve never been subjected to any form of abuse because of my take on this issue. I don’t run in progressive circles, I don’t know anyone remotely woke, none of my friends and relatives would dispute the fact that only women have periods. I woke up to this insanity very recently, precisely because I hadn’t been exposed to it at all prior to my year abroad in Vancouver. However, even if my views are largely shared within my circle, I don’t always manage to make people realise that something bad is going on.

Most of the people I talk to about trans activism just can’t fathom that some people genuinely believe that transwomen are women and that sex is a spectrum, and they simply think I’m paranoid and exaggerating and it’s only a few weirdos on the Internet that have no influence in real life.

L. R. Richard, 21-year-old female student from France