Thread by @Omaymam_94

Thread
1/ I just came out of a feminist event with Roxane Gay & @CHSommers & am left with a real crisis of faith in Western feminism & the mainstream left, both of which I have been an active supporter of. I'd like to discuss some key problems that I am now painfully aware of.

2/ Prior to the event, reports emerged that Roxane had classed @CHSommers as a white supremacist. She clarified tonight by saying that she was "white supremacy adjacent" for appearing alongside @MiloYiannopoul1 & failing to adequately disavow his problematic views.

3/ She also tweeted that the @splcenter had emailed her & warned her of @CHSommers's association with Male Supremacy. She admitted that she'd only agreed to the event b/c she didn't know who she was. This all explains why the founder of This is 42 was forced to host the event.

4/ He opened the event by describing the responses of self-proclaimed feminists to his invitation to moderate the discussion. It was resounding 'No's all round. By this point I was extremely nervous that everyone had come to alienate & demonise @CHSommers en masse.

5/ I was right to worry. They started out by giggling at her first few points. Then it turned into full blown laughter. Then boos. Then heckles. Then stamping their feet to down her out. I was absolutely mortified.

6/ @CHSommers identifies as a feminist & liberal democrat. The fact that she chooses to define her own moral boundaries (some of which I disagree with) however makes her an outcast. I am struggling to process that a civil discussion WITH ONE OF OUR OWN was impossible.

7/ Then we come to the content of the discussion. Props to the moderator - he was ballsy. He dove straight into the topic of Islamic misogyny. He asked whether we have a responsibility to address international misogyny such as that in Saudi Arabia.

8/ @CHSommers responded in the affirmative without hesitation. Roxane had some qualifiers. She said that it would be rich for a westerner to assume that they knew what was best for other cultures & that we didn't need to intervene in their affairs.

9/ She said that we should wait for representitives of that culture to speak up, b/c after all, the west is also guilty of misogyny. It just isn't enshrined in Sharia Law. No biggie. Ofcourse what she's failing to acknowledge is how decisively Sharia law silences dissidents.

10/ That refusing to speak up on their behalf is an abandonment of the most vulnerable people b/c they don't have access to the same platforms we do. They need support & they're begging for it. But it's falling on deaf ears. The moderator then showed a clip from Indonesia.

12/ It showed Sharia police stopping girls from going to school due to perceived immodesty. It was revolting. When asked about it, Roxane said that it was manipulative to show a clip that is just intended to paint another culture as backward.

13/ That we're imposing our standards of misogyny on them when they may not interpret it that way. The moderator then pointed out that it's clearly oppressive by anyone's standard. However, this was dismissed with no real attempt to engage with the underlying issue.

14/ In contrast, @CHSommers, the supposed male/white supremacist, pointed to Rahaf's case & explained how instrumental our support was in her freedom. That the pressure of accountabilty has untold power. Should we have waited for Saudis to speak up on her behalf then?

15/ She then went on to talk about Nasrin Sotoudeh, who's horrific case is conclusive proof of the systemic oppression silencing feminists in the ME. What are we waiting for exactly? But nobody was there to take any of it on board. They were just there to destroy her.

16/ The reality is that intersectionalism has mandated that people be classified by their group identities & assigned a level of victimhood or privilege on that basis. Muslims have been classified as perpetual victims of whiteness & western imperialism.

17/ Even though intersectionalism was meant to add depth to feminism, it has excluded the experiences of any who don't fit their category's narrative. There is no space to discuss Muslims as the oppressors, which leaves dissenting Muslims & ex-Muslims out of the picture.

18/ I have come away from tonight's event shocked & horrified by the blatant hypocrisy on display. I feel so alienated from the movement that once filled me with hope. I would love to hear other people's experience with this & any strategies you have going forward.