The Gender, Sexuality, and Race Room
(Thought I'd start out by recommending this especially to @Peter1469, @FindersKeepers, @Helena if you're still around, and @slackercruster, as the four of you seem to be my main allies on this topic.)
On March 15th, a panel discussion entitled Gender Hurts: The Feminist Fight Against Gender took place in New York City at a secret location divulged only to ticket-buyers but two hours in advance. The discussion was followed by a Declaration of Women's Sex-Based Rights, marking the formal beginning of a movement here in this country analogous to the increasingly powerful gender critical women's movement that we've seen emerge in the UK in the recent years. The whole event had an almost clandestine feel to it despite the fact that none of the activities were illegal in any way. The organizers felt that, due to harassment and threats from the transgender movement, these steps were necessary to assure the safety of the participants and attendees...a fact which by itself shows you the importance of having such events as these! It shows you the extent to which one narrative about the concept of gender identity and of gender itself has come to dominate our political landscape, and hence the merits of dissenting opinions being shared. I submit for one as a casual observation that comparable harassment and threats from feminists do not, by contrast, accompany events organized by transgender activists.
The panel talk was organized by the Women's Liberation Front (WoLF for short) and hosted by its noted representative Natasha Chart and features my personal favorite feminist speaker and thought leader: long-time lesbian feminist activist, scholar, and author Dr. Sheila Jeffreys, who is known for her unorthodox, controversial, and intellectually challenging positions on a wide range of topics. At present, Jeffreys' body of work is especially influential in South Korea's burgeoning Ditch the Corset movement and among Western gender abolitionists. Here she chronicles the historical backdrop against which these gender identity events are taking place. The talk also features three detransitioned and desisted women (Chiara, Jesse, and Helena) from a group called the Pique Resilience Project who share fascinating first-hand insights about the specific dangers that today's young women and lesbians in particular face from the gender identity movement, as well as a forwarded statement by Lierre Keith of the environmental activist group Deep Green Resistance and a question-and-answer session.
I'd characterize Gender Hurts as the single best and most interesting talk that I've seen to date on the topic of gender identity. Some of the most salient points that one comes away with include the point that transgender politics are a new phenomenon, NOT something that have just always been with us historically (a powerful reality check that Jeffreys brings out at length), and the fact that the females of the transgender movement ("trans men") face significant discrimination from, and social disadvantage relative to, the males ("trans women"). Helena reveals that the latter discovery marked the beginning of her move toward detransitioning, as it turns out that male privilege doesn't care how you identify yourself. (Indeed one casually observes the curious absence of "trans male" CEOs and politicians and thought leaders and media representation in general. It's as if being biologically male gives you some sort of social advantage that women don't enjoy!)
Below you will find a video recording of the full discussion and Q&A session. Care was taken to avoid showing footage of the ordinary attendees themselves, likely out of safety concerns. (Only the panelists are shown, though one still hears the audience's questions, some of which reveal a bit of their demography.) It contains much useful information about the gender critical movement, including resources you can check out.
Being as the transgender movement opposes so many of the rights of women that have been traditionally understood even by conservatives, ranging from the right of women to privacy, to safety, to fair play, to freedom of speech and assembly, and has reached the cultural mainstream today, I feel that public discussions and events like these form a timely beginning to the fight against gender here in the United States. Just wanted to share!
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Originally Posted by Private Pickle
