There is for me a real problem happening in the U.K. currently. One driven by the medium of social media and one grabbed, inflated, exacerbated and prolonged by social media. That problem is “If you disagree with me you hate me and you are hateful “ I think that needs addressing. Back in 2019 I hadn’t really engaged with the trans rights v women’s rights debate at all. I’d followed Mermaids as many of us did then & in the preceding years 2010-2017 seen tussles between tweeters & people accused of transphobia (once, memorably Owen Jones) usually wrongly.

As I’ve been deemed a Nazi again (an odd accusation given I campaign on learning disability rights & the visibility of women over 45 in media) & I’m simultaneously still on ‘the naughty step’ for my vocal allyship 4 years ago -
I thought it useful to clarify ⬇️

https://twitter.com/mrsnickyclark/status/1622127923711905792

I’m a bleeding heart lefty, “woke”moderate. I have nothing but admiration for all women standing up for our rights. Changing our minds is important when we’ve been wrong.
I publicly support women being bullied whether I politically align with them or not. Unpopular but vital. ❤️

After a fun 24 hours of being called a nazi I thought I’d do what I never do & that’s defend myself against Twitter BS. Because the ludicrousness of social media has no bounds when it comes to misinformation targeting women.
Ok. So first my views of Gary Lineker …. Gary Lineker is great. I agree with his view on asylum seekers. We need to do much more & government policy on this needs to be challenged. The problem I have isn’t political. We totally agree on that. It’s about his comparison his star power & the shift in focus by social media

Online I talk to lots of people. I RT lots of women & men I like, I think are funny or who write beautifully. They’re deemed hateful & so I’m deemed hateful for amplifying or speaking to them.
I believe I’m expected to apologise.
I would but I’m not 12.
💜🤍💚 We’re seeing government, broadcasters, NHS, sports bodies and arts organisations bending and shaping their policy to fit the demands of 0.2% of the population. 99.98% are expected to accommodate a tiny minority. This is unprecedented in the entirety of equality history.

Yesterday I was on @BBCRadio4 show “AntiSocial” It was a very enjoyable experience & an opportunity to talk about competing rights in a calm way. I feel we achieved that. Of course not everyone agreed. A tweeter decided to share their thoughts on me. I don’t think they listened as if they had they’d have known I didn’t mention ego gender at all. I’d never heard of it until the show yesterday. I had only heard of people who identify as bunnies quite recently. So this field is vast & often unknowable. Anyway back to my point..

I’m really shocked by the interview by Sir Andrew Pollard on @BBCr4today There were several statements he made in respect of eligibility for vaccines & the scripted remarks of the presenter by introduction. BBC has a duty of care to the public including learning disabled adults I’m going to start with Andrew Pollard’s last comment because this is the most important thing he says in respect of learning disabled people excluded from the spring booster. “The booster responses whether covid or influenza last for a matter of months”

The lives of learning disabled adults, especially women have never been of much interest. So the very worst abuse is done to them often sadly by those paid to care for them. @jk_rowling has put this issue front & centre today. She has nothing to gain yet even that is deemed wrong The issue of LGBTQ+ rights, of who gets them & of who matters, has many champions. Businesses, corporations, politicians & celebrities all speak often about their solidarity & allyship. But no one speaks in support of learning disabled people, just make jokes or use IQ as a slur

An appreciation of nuance is not something usually afforded to women on here so I’m going to choose my words carefully (not that it will help tbh) and I’m going to mention TV shows (which you & I may otherwise love ) it’s not personal, so warily but with that love, here goes …. TV & film has a woman problem. Not all women,just women who aren’t young. For the longest time, discrimination was just something we lived with. People of colour, women, disabled people, gay people -to name ‘just’ many millions,were struggling to see ourselves accurately onscreen

Have I ever told the story of when I stood to be Labour parliamentary candidate ? Well it was wild…. Basically the Sharks and the Jetts had nothing on the division here at the time. I had lofty ideas on being a unity candidate and as I was the only woman from here on the all women shortlist I thought this is what’s needed here - less raging more hoping to win, that type of caper

So let’s chat about the take by some that if “you can’t afford kids don’t have them” so my parents both grew up poor then through education & training (mum nurse, father various ended up in advertising) able to afford a detached house 3 kids at private school. Then my dad left - He saw no reason to “fund our lifestyle” (his kids) my brother was diagnosed with terminal heart & lung condition. My mum was struggling to keep things going. On one wage, hers. Now my father was a good Tory voter. Didn’t believe in the welfare state & “handouts” -

Watching “Rebecca”. I’ve a DEEP attachment to the novel Daphne Du Maurier & original film Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier Judith Anderson, George Sanders (Hitchcock, come on) I am thoroughly enjoying the #Netflix version. Of course it strays from the book, so did my favourite. I’ll bore you with my take once it’s done but feel thus far the criticism is overly harsh.

The perfect storm was a brutal era of austerity, followed by a Universal Credit system with a baked in mandatory waiting period, followed by a global pandemic involving job losses. The government chose now to be stubborn over a £20 million scheme to feed hungry children at Xmas It’s not just that it’s breathtakingly inhumane, it’s spectacularly bad politics and everyone except the government (and people who loathe a social security safety net) knows that.

These two talented actors are aged 6 years apart. Hugh Grant at 59 looks as he naturally is, whereas Nicole Kidman at 53 is showing us “youth face”. Authenticity has never more important except for middle aged women & it’s sold to us as “empowerment”. #GenderedAgeism From “Love Island” to Caitlin Moran’s new book the message is clear. On screen and in our collective consciousness, ageing is a female “disease to be cured”. Authenticity and diversity can and should exist everywhere, except it seems on a woman’s face. Even games, now “fix” women

It’s my birthday tomorrow & I’m feeling a bit reflective so if you’ll permit the self indulgence of a woman much closer to 60 than to forty, I wanted to tell you a few things I’ve learnt. Scroll on if you’d rather, I understand the insignificance of a middle aged woman’s opinion. Nothing you ever do will affect the lives of others more than your capacity to love & be loved. If you weren’t shown how then you can learn. You’ll get hurt, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Being hurt isn’t a justification to cause hurt. That’s an excuse not a reason.

In 2016 I was told an “assessment and treatment unit” (psychiatric hospital) was a Plan B for my severely learning disabled daughter. Her specialist school were expelling her because I found out they were using prone restraint on her.
bbc.com/news/education… With no house no benefits and no care package in place we had only twelve weeks to get all this sorted. We had no help. We were desperate. I knew if Emily went into one of these places she’d never leave. There are NO council properties. Emily was by now 19. An adult.