To the women (and men) who made this happen, whether or not we agree on broader feminist or other political ideals: Thank you. thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/c…
To those with whom I share broader feminist & political ideals, but who have stayed silent on the threat of transgender ideology to women’s rights & protections: many of us will neither forget nor forgive your silence (particularly for me,those with a purported interest in MVAWG)
To people who identify as transgender and their allies, I support universal human rights, including yours.
To @Womans_Place_UK and everyone who has supported them: I bloody love you! Thank you. You have helped keep me going, and been a constant source of sisterhood and challenge and learning.
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I went to a small quietly arranged and held conference on/for ‘the materialist left’ yesterday.
It was refreshing to be in a political space where the material realities of sex, class and race were discussed.
The standout speech for me was from Deidre O’Neill, who brilliantly and
poignantly spoke about class from both a personal and the political perspective and addressed show the absence of class from political discourse is not accidental but strategic.
I also particularly enjoyed listening to Chetan Bhatt and his reflection that when we -the electorate-
see our political ‘representatives’ lying, specifically, if they tell us that men can be women, when we know that this is not possible, then it is absolutely logical for us to recognise that we cannot assume that they are telling us the truth about anything else.
So obvious but
I’m quite happy to address this directly and now. I don’t need to dodge something directed at me or my work or collaborations by deflecting attention on to something else.
The founders of the Femicide Census were myself and Clarrie O’Callaghan in 2013.
When the Femicide Census was launched in 2015, it was managed in partnership between myself and a large charity with a different approach to transgender identity than my own. Clarrie was involved but because of her job at the time, could not be a legal partner in the project.
Regrettably I did not have the power to impose my own beliefs so we (myself and the larger organisation) reached a compromise. TIMs were named but excluded from the analysis so that their circumstances did not distort the data. It wasn’t what I wanted but life is full of compromises and I wasn’t going to lose the opportunity to create the Femicide Census.
For several reasons, including political differences on this issue and others, power imbalance, and other things, I dissolved the partnership with the larger organisation and Clarrie and I launched the Femicide Census as an independent legal entity in 2018. No males have been included since, nor will they be in future.
My own smaller project, Counting Dead Women has never included males.
I have never claimed that TWAW.
Hope this clears it up for anyone who was interested.
For the record: I have no problem recognising the humanity of people, including males, with transgender identities and acknowledging the loss that their death means to those who loved and mourn them.
I’ve written about Counting Dead Women, femicide and trans identified males several times.
Here in 2019 when someone didn’t like that I acknowledged the killing of Naomi Hersi on Transgender Remembrance Day
Today's prize for 'do as I say not do as I do' goes to @Oxfam
Oxfam says "Ten harmful beliefs that perpetuate violence against women and girls
Oxfam highlights "Ten harmful beliefs that perpetuate violence against women and girls’ as part of their campaign “to challenge and change the harmful social norms that justify abuse, to ones that promote gender [sic] equality and non-violence.” oxfam.org/en/ten-harmful…
Very bad day in the global fight for women’s rights.
Women in the USA will still seek to end unwanted pregnancies. However safe abortion will be harder to access and disproportionately so for women with low incomes.
This is a real life consequence of an empowered religious right.
I am not in the same movement as those who deny women autonomy over their own bodies. That should never be a right that we ‘set aside’ or deprioritise.
I don’t think we can claim to fight for women’s sex based right if we stand aside when something so basic is eroded, when the step backwards is so huge.
1.Court case: Successful appeal against Re:C so care workers cannot be required to purchase sexual access to women in prostitution for disabled men 2.Best decision by a politician/political party: Diane Abbott affirming stance against prostitution
3.Worst decision by a politician/political party: not a decision but Keir Starmer: cervixgate
4.Journalist of the year: Yvonne Roberts for Observer’s End Femicide campaign 5.Best new book: Tie: Selina Todd: Snakes and Ladders; Kathleen Stock: Material Girls.