Thread by @Passie_Kracht

So as long as I'm on Twitter I want to write a few words about what Twitter means to me and what it means when @twitter bans women for speaking our minds.

I joined Twitter in 2009 - omg that's 10 years ago!! - let's call this my Tenth Twitterversary Thread then.

An 'early adopter' friend suggested I join this new thing called Twitter, and I did for fun. I joined under my full name and tweeted mainly about work-related issues. I made accounts for my kids who tweeted up to me from downstairs. We just had fun with it.

After some years my interest died down - until I came across #YesAllWomen somewhere on the Internet in 2014, and clicked on the link. I was engrossed in the outpouring of experiences and emotions by women all over the world. 2.5M tweets in a few days. It was an experience.

I suppose that was the first time I felt like I was part of something bigger. A feminist community, if you like. A community of women, whether they called themselves feminists or not, that spoke out about the violence committed against them by men.

It was also the first time I was the target of harassment. The hashtag, started after a mass murder by a white male supremacist who hated women for not having sex with him, was viciously attacked by thousands of men. It was clear many men felt sympathy for the killer.

I made some lovely friends on Twitter during that time. Yes, you can make friends on Twitter even though you've never met. It's amazing.

From then on out I was hooked and tweeted daily about feminist issues. I slowly expanded my 300-something followers to the triple digits and made more and more connections. The #YesAllWomen hashtag awakened something in me, a realisation I had for the first time well into my 40s.

I had lived under patriarchy my entire life. I took for granted that I lived in fear of rape and murder - as well as the "minor" attacks and aggression women live with on a daily basis. It was just a fact of life.

Reading all the gruesome stories, big and small, on #YesAllWomen made me want to share my own experiences, and I did. And it made me remember so many instances of violence, harassment and sexism that I'd forgotten about.

It was shocking. I hadn't realised how many of these things had happened to *me*. I'd always considered myself "lucky" for never having been raped (that thought alone... lots to unpack there). But all the experiences added up and I realised the huge influence on my life.

Add to this the realisation that all the women in this online conversation had had similar experiences, often from a young age. The millions of tweets really drove home the message that #YesAllWomen go through this.

As a woman I was part of this. This was what being a woman under patriarchy means. I'd never *really* understood what patriarchy meant until then, I think. It felt like something that didn't touch me so much, given my many privileges (including never having been raped).

Though I was always a feminist and was always acutely aware of the inequalities women suffer, I did feel blessed to have grown up without major violence, had an education, been able to choose my partner and have reproductive freedom, find a good job, etc.

Twitter offered the platform for that realisation. It changed my life and my view of the world.

Fast forward a few years later when I started reading about transgender issues. Twitter made me aware of this issue and being the feminist that I am I felt compassion for this oppressed group and tried to educate myself on their plight and advocate for them.

I got angry about people misgendering transgender people, I empathised with their feeling of being 'born in the wrong body' and felt they should have the right to be treated as the sex they thought they were on the inside.

Fast forward another few years and I started coming across feminists on Twitter who were critical of these ideas. Many of them were lesbians, many but not all called themselves radical feminists. I was initially not impressed, but intrigued.

Why would feminists attack an oppressed group? What was going on? I decided to keep reading, without commenting much on the issue. I started noticing these women were viciously attacked. Mainly by men who called themselves "transwomen". They didn't sound female at all.

In fact, they behaved very male. I recognised their behaviour from the #YesAllWomen hashtag as well as every abusive man I've ever met. What was this 'female essence' they were talking about then?

The women, on the other hand, sounded quite reasonable and seemed to have sound arguments. I started to question the ideology of gender being an identity.

I started following some of these women to learn more. Still not commenting. Somehow afraid to get it wrong, and not feeling educated enough on the issue.

Then a man who said he was a woman I followed posted a dick pic. Probably posting something about his lady dick or something. It was one of my first peak trans moments. This was *definitely* not feminism.

Anyway, this is how I discovered lesbian and radical feminist Twitter. And general 'lovely women who care about other human beings' Twitter. I started following these women, some followed me back. Thanks to them I became more educated on the matter.

I need to take a moment here to thank all the women who have so generously shared their knowledge and insights on Twitter. For free. You are amazing.

Now I have friends here. I'm part of a community. We don't all think alike but we all care about women and are willing to fight to defend the rights of girls and women.

This community has taken years to build. Twitter has offered the platform for that. It now has a responsibility towards its users. We have made friends here - often not knowing people's full names or contact details. But we know each other, and we connect through Twitter.

I've seen many women being temporarily or permanently banned from Twitter for speaking about gender ideology. I was banned twice myself, and it infuriated me. I felt incredibly frustrated at not being able to express myself.

I was angry that I couldn't connect with the people I saw on Twitter. It was like standing behind a soundproof glass wall and shouting to them, but they couldn't hear or see me.

I can only imagine how it must feel for women like Meghan Murphy and the dozens of others who've been permanently banned. She had thousands of followers and used Twitter to express her views, question male supremacists and interact with others.

Twitter has no right to take that platform away and cut people off from their communities. Especially when they are people who are connected through a shared oppression. Women need Twitter.

Twitter is a company. This is private property. Nobody can claim a right to use this platform. That's what some say when you complain about getting thrown off Twitter. No. Twitter has a social responsability. All companies do. They're part of this global society.

So fuck you, Twitter, I love you.

Fin.