Tag: “TERF”

Categories
survivor

I am a survivor of severe, organised abuse in childhood

First and foremost, I am a survivor of severe, organised abuse in childhood.

Secondly, I have worked for decades for women and vulnerable people, including as a human rights lawyer for victims of violence, as a writing teacher with mothers in prison and the community and in groups campaigning on consent.

Thirdly, I am a bisexual woman and was on the ‘gay scene’ for years.

Fourth, I am a parent and work often in education and concerned with safeguarding. I care deeply about this issue because whilst I think every consenting adult is free to have their own beliefs and make choices about their body, the TWAW lobby is infringing the human rights of others, with harmful implications and it is constantly threatening and seeking to close down freedom of speech.

I have spoken about this issue on social media and in real life for the past three or more years. I have written countless posts and emails and I have kept a diary on this issue to process my own thoughts before formulating my own speech in what can be a fast paced and abuse-oriented environment on social media.

I have been called a “terf” many times. I have been ostracized by a group of women campaigning with me on abortion rights (though remained good friends with others). On social media I have been told directly that I am “fascist scum” or I have been patronized as an abuse survivor who is somehow biased, disregarding my qualifications as a human rights lawyer and background supporting people. Other negative consequences include the mental health toll of constantly being “gaslit” implying that I am the person in the wrong. A tactic used by those who want to reframe reality the world over and I know that, yet still so sad and wearing!

Anna Morvern, Writer, speaker, teacheryer, translator

Categories
Private sector

As a woman in tech, I totally understand what being a minority is

As a woman in tech, I totally understand what being a minority is. I totally get what discrimination is, including plenty of subtle ways that women in tech experience. I know it sucks. I can only imagine how difficult it is for trans people, I feel for them, and I’d love them to be accommodated in any ways possible.

At the same time, I wish advocates of “Trans Women Are Women” opened their eyes to possible abuse if the laws and rights in this matter are not extremely carefully considered. It goes for so many potential issues, from bathrooms, changing rooms, prisons, shelters… I am all for freedoms, respect and rights for underrepresented groups – but these rights cannot come at the cost of rights and safety of another vulnerable group.

I am totally opposed to possibility of ever going to a gym changing room and suddenly seeing a dick and balls on someone next to me.

I am totally opposed to female athletes being beaten by someone who maybe weeks prior was competing in male’s sports. I cannot imagine the horror of a woman escaping to a shelter from abuser – and her getting abused in there by another male presenting as a woman.

I have not spoken out. I wish I had the courage – but I don’t.

 I have witnessed so much abuse going towards the much more powerful women out there, I simply do not want to bring this on myself.

I understand that many of the “trans activists” women have good intentions. I understand their desire to improve lives of other vulnerable groups. But I really, REALLY wish they admitted we live in a “real world”, and for every genuinely vulnerable trans woman, there will also be a man who will put on woman’s clothes only to abuse the situation. For this reason, amongst other things I am totally opposed for self-identification, for ability to just say one day “I’m a woman” and that’s it. It needs to be a proper process – we don’t just let people change nationality on a whim, and surely gender change is an even bigger part of identity than this.

I’m sure there are ways where we can find middle ground, protect trans people whilst ALSO protecting women’s (female!) rights. It’s making me really sad that TRA present this as a black-or-white issue, if you have any concerns then you are a terrible TERF.

I am grateful for your work, and thank you for speaking out for those of us who do not have the courage for this. Even following you sometimes feels like risky business.

L, Europe

Categories
Lesbians

I’ve already been labelled a terf for daring to say that I won’t date a TIM

As a lesbian, I’ve already been labelled a terf for daring to say that I won’t date a TIM {trans identifying male), let alone sleep with one, because I am not attracted to male genitalia or masculine posturing.

I have started to have discussions with close friends and speak up a little more on Facebook.

I’ve been defriended by a friend, and labelled transphobic.

Stephanie, Historian, writer, USA

Categories
Healthcare Others

My housemate is trans

I care because women’s voices are being silenced and children and young people who may be confused about their sexuality and gender identity are being encouraged to undergo potentially dangerous treatments in the name of conforming to rigid gender roles.

I have spoken out on my own political blogs and on social media.

I’ve been “TERFed” more than once. To be clear, I do not hate transgender people. I’ve always been very much a “live and let live” kind of person. My housemate is trans. But I couldn’t stand by while violent rhetoric is being spouted against women who are critical of the regressive left and the trans cult.

cheesy1, An old bat who would love to change the world but she doesn’t know what to do, therealcie, USA

Categories
Healthcare Others

If we can’t talk about it, we cannot fight it

I care because the rights of women and girls matter. Our biology is the cause of our oppression and if we can’t talk about it, we cannot fight it. I care because children are being forced onto life long medical pathways.

I have marched, tweeted, had real life conversations, written to my MP (repeatedly), donated to crowdfunders, amplified the voices of others and committed to peak transing as many people as I can.

I have been called a cunt, bigot, nazi, bitch and TERF repeatedly. I have had my Twitter account suspended after mass reporting by TRAs. I have lost friends and followers.

Helen, Standing with women and girls

Categories
Healthcare Public Sector

I quickly realised it was largely abuse survivors and women worried about their children speaking up

It was, in the first instance a bullying issue for me. I was a Labour Party officer, responsible for membership in our CLP and was appalled at the way a small local group were being allowed to mistreat and slander women.

When I started talking to people, I very quickly realised that it was largely abuse survivors and women worried about their children who were speaking up and in both cases, they seriously needed back up. I was a ‘known terf’ by then and thought ‘oh well, I’m out there – may as well get on with it.’

I have written blog posts, and articles for newspapers.

 I have attended planning groups for women’s organisations, and spoken at a WPUK meeting.

I spent as much time as I could spare visiting women’s groups in different areas, and having one-to-one meetings with people I felt could use more support and/or had something to teach me about the issues involved.

I did try to put a motion through my local Labour Party but, after my branch passed it almost unanimously, the LP withdrew it as ‘controversial’ after a man had a tantrum in another branch.

I have been extensively slandered on social media and in my home town – bizarrely, this has had positive consequences as well as negative ones – a colleague and I organised a WPUK meeting in my town which was an enormous positive overall, but led to members of the local Pride group sending slanderous letters about us to the council and to any venue in town they could think of so, I’m self-employed, and have probably lost business through being ‘controversial’ and have certainly suffered a lot of stress.

I was turned down by the local Labour Party as a council candidate. The stated reason was that there was a complaint about me in process but, when I went to an appeal hearing, the reason given was they didn’t like my blog.

Did I lose friends? Not really – losing false friends leads to finding new and more interesting ones.

Kay Green, socialist feminist, former Labour Party officer

Categories
Lesbians

We banned him from lesbian events for touching women without their consent

I’m a lesbian and was for years active in a women’s centre which acted as a hub for local lesbian activities and groups and support. I and other volunteers held monthly brunch meetings for lesbian women, we had a monthly lesbian feminist group, a monthly cafe event, a newsletter that publicised everything from walks and bike rides and dining clubs and festivals and weekends away to personal ads. We probably reached the best part of 1000 women. We had innumerable women tell us we’d been a life-saver for them. People actually moved to this area because they knew there was this wonderful, open, established lesbian network they could plug into.

Then a trans-rights activist in a wig and lipstick and long nails came to a couple of our events. 

He stood out because he didn’t look like the rest of us. We asked him to leave. He refused. He came to a brunch, made a speech about how he’d come to educate lesbians about transgender issues and, as women tried to leave the room, forcibly hugged them. They made complaints to us. We banned him from lesbian events for touching women without their consent and took the issue to the police who did nothing. The trans-identified man said he’d take the women’s centre down. And he did.

He applied to become a committee member. The committee at that time was dominated by straight white Momentum Labour women who welcomed him. The BAME women, many of whom are not allowed by their faith to attend events where there is a man present, took their funding and left. Many of the lesbians boycotted the women’s centre events in protest. The women’s centre closed down. The lesbian women’s movement fractured as some women took a GC stance and others took the ‘poor transgender people’ stance. Friends fell out. Younger lesbians told off older lesbians for their failure to be kind and reasonable. This fracture in the lesbian community is still festering and I can’t see a time when we will ever be able to rebuild what we had.

I have educated my MP about this, but while she’s sympathetic and makes GC noises to my face she still maintains a supportive pro-trans public persona.

I’ve written 50+  letters and emails to the BBC, the Guardian and other media organisations, occasionally with success (ie, articles have been changed, headlines have been changed) Lots of emails to Radio 4!

I send postcards of support to many women, particularly whose who are fighting alone within their professions/ institutions.

I’m out and proud as GC on my very secure FB page and found that as soon as I started talking about it, quite a few others started saying that they’d felt the same way but had felt uncomfortable about discussing such things.

I’ve taken a firm, rational, non-emotional GC line in lesbian social groups etc and while some people are offended, I usually find that the majority even if they’re silent at the time, sidle up later to say they agree.

I belong to a Resisters group and have stickered and gone out on the streets leafleting. Again, the majority of people agree with a GC line.

Once you start talking to people you realise that 80% are GC, 10% are confused or don’t care and fewer than 10% really take the TWAW line — and even then can’t justify that belief.

I’ve lost several people with whom I thought I’d be friends for life. I had a lesbian GP friend who is now so deeply enmeshed in transgender ideology that she has gone off to specialise in transgender medicine and refers to me openly as a TERF. She spouts all the Mermaids stuff about hundreds of trans teens killing themselves and won’t hear a rational response. It’s brought out a sort of Messiah complex in her: she’s going to rescue and protect all the poor transpeople. It’s profoundly disturbing to realise that even someone like her — clever, educated, years of experience in public service in the NHS — is so emotionally and intellectually susceptible to irrational ideology. 

I’ve also been very badly patronised by younger women friends who think their brand of feminism (intersectional feminism) is better than my 1970s/1980s feminism. It’s come as a real shock to realise that these apparently impeccably feminist young women don’t centre women in their politics. Some of them treat me as if I have learning difficulties. You know: ‘You can’t blame Issilly for her opinions, she comes from the medieval school of feminism where women hate all men…’

The biggest negative consequence has been realising how irrational and misogynistic and homophobic the world still is, under the guise of being ‘nice’. Lesbians are under attack from all sides, including other lesbians. I feel really glad to have had a wonderful 30 years of positive lesbian feminist culture and so sorry for younger lesbians who have nothing that I had to cling onto.

Issilly, who was just a lesbian until she discovered she was actually a radical lesbian feminist

Categories
Healthcare Others

I also care about ‘the wrong type of trans’

I care about this issue because this affects all of us.  From women being allowed single sex spaces and the fight against misogyny for that, to children being medically transed by woke parents.  Child safeguarding is a massive concern within this agenda.  I also care about ‘the wrong type of trans’, these people just want to get on with things and contribute to society in a normal way.

I have lost several twitter accounts due to speaking out about women’s rights.  I have supported small independent rad fem businesses.  I have donated to crowd funders and spread awareness of the issues we face.

I’ve experienced TRA pile ons, dealt with furries, MAPs and a whole load of inbetweens, trying to normalise their behaviour. 

V, Terf

Categories
Men

I am testing the hypothesis that a male bioscientist can say things women get banned for. So far the theory holds

I have three sisters, two daughters, eight nieces, a mother, aunts, cousins. I cannot remain silent, not add my knowledge and understanding knowing their secure spaces are under attack by self obsessed men. So long as I have platforms I will speak.

I have blogged about it. I have joined twitter and I am testing the hypothesis that a male bioscientist can say things women get banned for. So far the theory holds and nobody has called me a TERF, yet. But it’s early days.

Not thus far, the woke brigade and the TRAs either have not noticed me or are inhibited by my profession and postings. I did get engaged by one young woke guy and bio argued him into a corner and got him to admit there is no biological basis to being Trans. My posts get lots of likes and my following grows faster than I can keep up. The tide appears to be turning. Reality will out.

Dr Peter R Ashby, Former Biomedical Scientist, Scottish Yes campaigner, WingsEcosse

Categories
Others

My identity and lived experience as a woman is being challenged, judged and altered without my consent

I care because I feel my identity and lived experience as a woman is being challenged, judged and altered without my consent and any attempt to raise this as a concern is attacked.  This matters because important legal rights that protect me are being eroded – making space for everyone should not mean removing protection and disadvantaging others.

I have spoken to friends and interacted with people on social media.

I have been told to shut up because I don’t know or understand what I’m talking about. I have been told I am a TERF so therefore nothing I say is valid.

C M