Thread by @Womans_Place_UK

Fantastic opening address from Katherine Hales for @WeAreWithWomen talking about the rights of women to sex-based language. #WPUKWithWomen

And rousing applause for @8RosarioSanchez who is chairing the meeting tonight here at University of Bristol #WPUKWithWomen

Introducing the aims of WPUK and then introducing @ProfMHester #WPUKWithWomen

Professor Hester talking about the room in which we are sitting. Talking about the portraits around the room commissioned to celebrated international women's day and correct male bias in the university. #WPUKWithWomen

The decision to become a mother is a decision that faces every women. Talking about the events in US re Roe v Wade and the centrality of the right to choose whether or not to have children, when to have children, how to have children. #WPUKWithWomen

One of the early demands of the WLM was for free contraception and abortion on demand. #WPUKWithWomen

Talking about Ukraine and vast quantities of morning after pill being sent to Ukraine in that context. #WPUKWithWomen

Talking now about research into domestic abuse and the women who have talked to her about mothering through domestic abuse. How men will use motherhood as a key aspect of how men control women, through our bodies and through our children. #WPUKWithWomen

Mothering is part of the frontline of women's fight for equal treatment. #WPUKWithWomen

I always remember one of the early interviews with a woman talking about how to stop a violent man having contact with her children...talking about being 8 months pregnant and her husband jumped on her stomach. I have never been able to get that out of my mind. #WPUKWithWomen

Domestic abuse becomes more severe in pregnancy and in early motherhood. It's about control. One woman said her husband insisted she stop breastfeeding because her baby was taking up too much of her attention. #WPUKWithWomen

Talking about poor birth outcomes associated with domestic abuse - prematurity and low birth weight. But also postnatal depression. #WPUKWithWomen

Talking about research where their partners had used control of contraception to either get them pregnant or to prevent them getting pregnant. Either way - it's about control. #WPUKWithWomen

Talks of a woman raped by her boyfriend, who prevented her getting morning after pill, prevented her going to the doctors alone. #WPUKWithWomen

Other, counter examples, of women who have been forced to have abortions by violent or coercive partners. #WPUKWithWomen

Violence against women begins or increases when women become mothers. Women who are mothers are at least twice as likely to experience domestic abuse as women who are not mothers. #WPUKWithWomen

Abusive men use all kinds of tactics against women. But they are often aided by professionals, who may think they are helping, but often blame mothers. #WPUKWithWomen

Men target women's bodies, our ability to reproduce #WPUKWithWomen

That's why it's so important to keep shouting about and documenting what's happening in relation to female bodies and sex based rights. #WPUKWithWomen

Now introducing @MaraMatria. Holding coat hanger aloft says, for our sisters in the US "We won't go back to this". #WPUKWithWomen

She likes to thank @FiLiA_charity and her aunt who passed away two weeks ago at age of 95. She wanted to be a doctor but she was told she belonged in the apron. Women's place is wherever we want, it's our choice. #WPUKWithWomen

Unfortunately that's not the case when it comes to birth. My aunt became a midwife, in a small place in the north of Spain, at the moment when birth was moving out of the home and into the hospital. #WPUKWithWomen

One of the first things midwives had to do was to swear not to practice abortions. #WPUKWithWomen

Talking of origins of obstetrics with male midwives - tells of case documented from 1797 of woman called Mary who birthed with a midwife, but had a retained placenta - removed by male midwives, and died of sepsis.

That woman was Mary Wollstonecraft. As obstetrics developed many women died of sepsis, and women were blamed #WPUKWithWomen

Talking now about the very many vaginal examinations in labour and increased risk of infection. Talking about Spanish obstetric practices being taken to UN for many practices against will and interests of women. #WPUKWithWomen

Obstetricians in Spain were very offended. But @MaraMatria is not so concerned about the offence taken by the obstetricians, what about the women who are offended by these practices. Our place is with women. Woman's Place is With Women. #WPUKWithWomen

Giving examples of obstetric violence, and women on social media asking about practices which are not necessary. Women blame themselves. #WPUKWithWomen

Women should own their own bodies and the knowledge of our bodies. We are terrified of ourselves. And it shouldn't case. #WPUKWithWomen

Now hearing from @glosswitch. It's not accidental that we are finding it hard to name female bodies. and connection to the marginalisation of older women and young women in flight from femaleness. #WPUKWithWomen

The way we are trying to remedy this in a body positive movement isn't working. In the name of being inclusive we are not talking about the specificity of being female #WPUKWithWomen

#WPUKWithWomen Female bodies are utterly extraordinary but there's a lot of misogyny - and luck - in birth experiences.

Giving birth is about femaleness in its entirety - it's not individual pride. I'd like it to become a collective pride for our sex class - not a vessel class #WPUKWithWomen

#WPUKWithWomen We see discussions about abortion as though women are not involved in the process - male potency v women's passivity. There is a constant effort by men to interrupt the continuity of women's reproductive lives

#WPUKWithWomen Women are amazing but pride in femaleness is potent and threatening. Men know how amazing female bodies are.

Now we welcome @millihill - thrilled to be here. Thank you to WPUK and @WeAreWithWoman for inviting me.
#WPUKWithWomen

Amazing to see birth being talked about in context of feminism #WPUKWithWomen

#WPUKWithWomen The idea of not using the word woman in a book about childbirth was not on anyone's radar before. In 2019 everything had changed.

#WPUKWithWomen Who had decided on the phrase 'birthing people'? Who wanted to be called it?

#WPUKWithWomen 'Assigned at birth' does not make sense. Why are experts using this phrase? The punishment for asking questions about language is being cast out from friendship groups or professional life/reputational damage.

#WPUKWithWomen Asking nuns at school difficult questions, they would tell me 'Have faith, my child'...

#WPUKWithWomen Inclusivity is something I have always stood for. In maternity care, everyone should be treated with dignity and respect but changing the meaning of words at a population level has gone too far.

#WPUKwithWomen Childbirth, breastfeeding and menstruation stand in the way of the idea that anyone can be a woman.

#WPUKWithWomen Being tolerant of others beliefs is fine but this ideology is having an impact way beyond this

#WPUKWithWomen This 'have faith my child' mentality is causing a lack of critical thinking. Student midwives at Napier given a model to practice catheterising a penis...

#WPUKWithWomen We are losing our grip on biological reality - we live in a world where there is already huge confusion over biology.

#WPUKWithWomen Keir Starmer saying that 'only women have a cervix' is something that shouldn't be said but many women don't know where their cervix is.

#WPUKWithWomen Taboos around women's bodies - to name and describe them - have a negative impact on women's health

#WPUKWithWomen New taboos - we have to watch our words. Refers to new paper on importance of sex based language - desexing language delivers unintended consequences for women and children.

#WPUKWithWomen Paper lays out clear consequences of move to desexed language - dehumanising for women - sidelining of women's bodies as faulty - male body as standard. Desexing language threatens recent progress.

#WPUKWithWomen De-sexed language risks excluding women from accessing healthcare and other services and opens up possibility of others determining what happens to a woman's body.

#WPUKWithWomen Why would we think that leaving out the word 'woman' from important health conversations and services was justified?

#WPUKWithWomen It is only when something is under threat that we consider its value.

#WPUKWithWomen Is 'mother' a word we need or will 'parent' do?

#WPUKWithWomen You don't have to look further than #RoevWade to see that biology and sex matters. 'Birthing bodies have the right to freedom' ' the right to be a parent....

#WPUKWithWomen Words are not just words on a page. They define who we are and enable us to fight for our rights. We don't have to apologise why we need to keep clarity around them.

#WPUKWithWomen Moving to Q&A

#WPUKWithWomen Comment on panel and importance of language: 'If we were to think of you as warriors, your weapons would be words. How do we resist this degeneration of language, these words being taken from us? How do we fight for meaning?'

#WPUKWithWomen Language is sacred. We are women.

#WPUKWithWomen In 80s, women were talking about the process of 'gendering'. We were using sex/gender. 'Gender' as a term has been hijacked. We have to keep pulling our words back into what we want them to be. Patriarchy keeps popping up and we have to keep taking these words back

#WPUKWithWomen 'How can we help younger women understand the power of being a woman when they are constantly faced with the pornified, sexualised images of vagina-havers'?

#WPUKWithWomen You can't escape from your body or from ageing. This fear of other women - and what you are for - younger women is very sad.

#WPUKWithWomen Panel talking about how we can talk about the commonalities of being a woman when individuals do have different experiences.

#WPUKWithWomen We need to make young women understand that we not fighting, we are defending our rights.

#WPUKWithWomen The propaganda is yours not mine. Our bodies are so amazing. Here we are.

#WPUKWithWomen Question re #RoeVWade - woman in audience talking about being on demos for abortion rights in 1970s

#WPUKWithWomen There is a danger of losing our rights if we are not clear about language

#WPUKWithWomen There is a sense that if something goes wrong with childbirth or the baby that it is the woman's fault. The man did his part ok. The woman is to blame.

#WPUKWithWomen Talking about getting positive ideas about being female out to girls and young women.

#WPUKWithWomen 'Why do the gender ideologists think that women are subject to so much violence? What is their reasoning if it isn't sex-based?'

#WPUKWithWomen Lesbians and mothers are in front line of attacks on women who female-only spaces. Lesbian mothers often suffer poor treatment. Who has access to our bodies? Lesbianism is denied or invisible. Our space to be with other women is denied.

#WPUKWithWomen We are reclaiming our words. We are reclaiming our worlds. We are reclaiming our sisterhood.

#WPUKWithWomen @8RosarioSanchez is going to address the elephant in the room...

@8RosarioSanchez #WPUKWithWomen @8RosarioSanchez speaking about the abuse and harassment she has faced for organising with and for women on women's rights.

@8RosarioSanchez #WPUKWithWomen It does hurt to lose a legal case but you realise that life goes on. I have a recognition that what happened to me was unacceptable. I said 'No' and I'm so proud that I said 'No'. (Applause)

@8RosarioSanchez #WPUKWithWomen I will attain a PhD. But I owe it to myself and to every one who has supported me - I cannot have a graduation ceremony here in this hall - that dream is now gone. So I thought let's have a @Womans_Place_UK meeting right here in this great hall...

@8RosarioSanchez #WPUKWithWomen In my mind, in my life, tonight has been my graduation ceremony @8RosarioSanchez (Standing ovation and cheers)

#WPUKWithWomen My response to 'be nice' is 'we already are'. We are gathered here because we did not sit around and wait for permission. None of us waited around for govt, established orgs or the courts.

#WPUKWithWomen A lot has changed for women since 2018. We became wiser, we wrote guidance, articles, held meetings, wore ribbons and suffragette colours... when things did not go according to plan, we became creative and engineered new ways to challenge

#WPUKWithWomen Instead of grieving, we celebrated. Thank you for your solidarity. Tonight is a celebration of the strength and tenacity of women. This is a movement. We are the women's rights movement. Let's keep moving.

Shout out from chair to @JKRsBarmyBooks Bristol chapter organising tonight... #WPUKWithWomen

@JKRsBarmyBooks Thanks to speakers, volunteers, stewards, sound & vision experts, fantastic security and @WeAreWithWoman #WPUKWithWomen

Please support our sisters in Scotland. See our website for guidance on how to respond to @scotgov consultation on self-ID #WPUKWithWomen if you live across the border. See @ForWomenScot and @mbmpolicy for guidance for those living in Scotland

@scotgov @ForWomenScot @mbmpolicy We are now all going to the after party #WPUKWithWomen (in the bar) Cheers!