The Dangerous Tales of MREs and Their Allies

This blogpost is cross-posted from Sisterhood is Powerful and is written by Ruby Fruit who is one of the organisers of RadFem2013.

I don't think it matters what you're individual stance on radical feminism is, surely all women should be extremely worried that MREs are causing such extreme harassment that they can get a  venue to cancel a feminist event. If the MREs are dictating policy, are any feminist events safe?

And, frankly, if you're one of the "feminists" who thinks that the MRE harassment of radfems is a "good" thing, you need to reexamine your feminist principles because silencing women is not a feminist  stance.

The Dangerous Tales of MREs and Their Allies

* MRE = Male rights extremists.

This post is intended to shed light on all that has happened, so far, to radfem2013. What has happened should be important to those on the radical left and all feminists everywhere – but thanks to alliances made between trans/queers with MRE‘s, it’s very difficult for us to be heard in the public domain without the distortions flooding our truths and drowning them out.

There is a reason why, whenever I go to refer to anti-RF blog posts, the sticky “L” on my keyboard leads me to write “bog”. That is far more apt. Bogs which are full of misleading lies, distortions, inaccurate interpretations of what radical feminism, as a movement, is, including a continual misapplication of the law in order to attempt to censor our beliefs. Bogs which pull you down more and more into the mud of obfuscation and red herrings so that the political significance and/or consequences of the MRE ‘s (Male Rights Extremists) actions are lost

DISPELLING MYTHS ABOUT RADFEM2013

I want to dispel some myths floating about right now in the social media about radfem2013 and very clearly lay them out as, it seems, that some trans/queer activists and their allies are missing both the facts and the wider implications about what has happened, so far, in relation to radfem2013.

Stavvers, a vocal anti-radical feminist blogger, did a bog post which was re-tweeted (so far) 59 times. I haven’t checked to see how many men that includes but I am sure we can assume that extremist right wing men are among them – despite her rather weak attempts to paint some distance between her political position and MREs. Her jubilant support of yet another venue folding under pressure in relation to a radfem conference booking hinges completely on her mistaken belief that radfem2013 has been rejected by London Irish Centre/the company with whom the booking is with -Off-To-Work – on the grounds of “hate speech”

I can categorically assure her that this is absolutely false. The real reason (detailed below) is due to MRE intimidation of the venue and its staff. I would also encourage her, and anyone else, to look at our conference website and see we are completely transparent with what we’re about. We wish to discuss male violence, and gender, within an international context. We want to provide a creative, supportive space for women. We support the rights of autonomous disadvantaged groups to meet. We claim a right to meet around specific issues relating to biology such as reproductive rights. None of this is unreasonable. It is far from the false accusation of “hate speech”. Our analysis of gender is not rooted in “hate”, it is rooted in the way in which gender has been structured under patriarchy to oppress women.

THE STAVVERS BOG AND ITS SMEARS

Stavvers starts her bog by tweeting “Please read and share why the #radfem2013 venue pulled out. There’s been a lot of myths spread”. The bitter irony of her last sentence not lost on me, I @rubyfruit2 attempted to explain to her that she was wrong. She merely repeated this rumour about hate speech and blocked me. That is how nonsensical the targeting of radical feminists has become. Someone in the know tries to explain rationally, and someone in complete ignorance shuts down any possibility of dialogue. You don’t have to agree with our politics, but the implications of stavvers’ words and behaviour, and that of her allies/friends, is that radical feminists are not allowed to critique gender, and the role it plays in oppressing women, without being targeted with hostility and hatred. In a dangerous reversal, she states: “To some women, the RadFem2013 conference organisers and speakers are a persistent and dangerous threat.” As one of the organisers, perhaps you’d like to tell me exactly how *I* am a threat to any other woman. That is a despicable statement and one straight out of a MRE handbook. I find this bog and its false claims based on a MRE smear campaign unacceptable and so should you, whoever you are.

MRE HARASSMENT OF VENUE

The real reason for the company’s concerns about the booking is confirmed by Off To Work, (the company which took the booking). In a facebook statement, it says the concerns are “about staff safety”. There were numerous incidents of intimidation, within less than a week, which targeted the centre, with the clear aim of putting so much pressure on the venue that it would capitulate and withdraw its commitment to honour the booking. It is no secret that the MREs claim responsibility for these acts. They say so on their website and boasted of their intentions to intimidate the venue until it caved in. In a post dated 15 April, MRA London stated, as a direct threat to the centre: “we will publically manacle you to their hateful ideology”(sic). Police reports made as a result of MRA intimidation are still under investigation. We’re not at liberty to reveal further details about the intimidation tactics which may make someone, who has inadvertently become caught up in this simply because they’re doing the wrong job at the wrong time, vulnerable. I have the utmost sympathy and compassion for the targeted staff and would, in all matters, wish to protect and support them.

Off to Work have put a statement on their Facebook page, which you can see here: https://www.facebook.com/offtowork/posts/10151561719698958 and there will be more to say at a later date either by the company or the organisers of radfem2013, but this statement makes clear that Off To Work confirms our version of events, rather than stavver’s:

“Our cancellation of the booking was a very difficult decision, but one that we have made to protect the safety of our venue staff……We wish Radfem a successful conference.”

MRE HARASSMENT OF RADFEMS

We too are targets for the MREs. Despite being a responsible and considerate organiser who has fought against social injustices all my life, I don’t doubt that I am already a target-in-waiting for the MREs. Threats have turned to us as organisers and to our attendees. There comes a time in our lives when it is right to openly speak truths. For me, that time has come. I will not stay silent when a group of thugs attempt to bully and harass their way into disrupting a peaceful, lawful conference to talk about the rights of women. They are bullying women who are already survivors of multiple abuse and who are living with trauma. That the irony of this is lost on those so blinkered by hatred towards radical feminists (and yet consider themselves champions of “intersectional” social injustices) resonates with me

There are examples all across the net of how feminists and radical feminists are targeted by this male extremist group. They offered a reward of one thousand dollars to find out the real name of a woman and, once they got it, they “doxxed” her. They showed a video of another woman and harassed her with death threats and other nasty tactics so badly that she disappeared. There is story after story on their website about how these thugs consider themselves “victims” of a feminist conspiracy of power and how (radical) feminists are out to destroy the male class through “mass genocide“. The reality and truths of women’s lives is twisted to paint men as victims and feminism as a dominant force in society

MALESTREAM PRESS DISTORTIONS

In her bog post, Stavvers relies on a quote in an article in The Sunday Times to make her argument about why radical feminists are not the innocent victims of an MRE intimidation campaign. We are currently investigating with Off To Work and London Irish centre how such a false and misleading quote came into the public domain because no one is claiming responsibility for it. So far, we’ve drawn a blank as to how it happened and have launched a series of formal press complaints about the article. It should be clear from the Off To Work statement that concerns about “hate speech” did not lead to their decision. The following statement; “We have made this difficult decision based entirely on our available infrastructure and the wellbeing of our staff [...] without pressure from any group concerned with the subject matter of the conference”. In other words, accusations of “hate speech”, breaches of equality and diversity policies, or legislation, were not part of the decision-making process. I draw you back to this: The venue has made the decision “to protect the safety of our venue staff“. There is also a failure to protect a vulnerable group who have made a booking transparently and in good faith. The way the Sunday Times article is written with a first paragraph stating that there were complaints that some involved with radfem2013 “advocate violence against men”, when there’s absolutely no evidence of any such thing, suggests that MREs are working behind the scenes somewhere and it was a put up job to shit-stir, using a malestream media, to create problems for the venue and organisers and mask the truth about bully boy tactics.

COLLABORATION BETWEEN TRANS/QUEER/ALLIES AND MRES

As I watch the tweets and the bog posts mushrooming, both this year, and last, I observe collaboration between those who are uncritical about gender and MREs and similarities in approach between the 2. Here are some of them:

* Presenting the political views of radfems in an inaccurate, unfair and ludicrous light

* Once they have established the false presentation of what radical feminism is, arguing with that false presentation as if it’s fact

* Singling out individual women who call themselves radical feminist and claiming that they represent radical feminism or all radical feminist views (In fact, the movement is diverse and many claim to be radical feminist but, of course, as a movement for social change, we’d wish to discuss those differences internally)

* Shutting down debate, or opposing presentations of radical feminism, by calling an individual names (e.g. “bigot” in the case of queer allies and “man-hater” in the case of MREs)

* Using a range of intimidation tactics to prevent us from meeting such as writing emotive but untrue emails to anyone who‘ll listen, doxxing, claiming they know that what we do is unlawful or contravenes policies etc

In an incredible reversal relating to just who is aligning themselves with MRES, stavvers’ bog states: I hope RadFem2013 giving MRAs the credit for something they didn’t do isn’t the beginning of an alliance forming. Allying with those who seek to intimidate you. Yes, that makes sense.

WIDER POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS 

In my view, cancelling the booking is the wrong way of “protecting venue staff”. There are numerous ways staff could be protected but cancelling a booking for a group of women who’ve done nothing wrong sends out a very dangerous message. It says bully boy tactics get you somewhere. It has long term implications for feminism, radical feminism, and the ability of “neutral” venues to freely provide a platform for events about social injustice without fear for their own safety. Did your mum give you the same advice mine gave me when I was at risk of attack from school bullies? She said “Fight back, if you shrink away, they will do it all the more until they get what they want”. And so I did and they backed off. Businesses have a responsibility to cater for, and protect, vulnerable groups and, despite the unacceptable pressure brought to bear, that is a reasonable expectation, particularly, as everything was thoroughly discussed beforehand.

That a venue is being bullied out of offering a booking, that radfems are in fear their real life details will be revealed and “doxxed” leading to death threats, should be of grave concern for those for whom radical change matters. Instead, stavvers and friends/allies focus on myths, lies, and distortions about radical feminism, even equating radical feminism, (concerned with the well-being of females), with MREs themselves. It would be hard to find two sets of agendas more opposed – but stavver’s attempt to align the politics is an example of how queers/allies have colluded with the MREs to mask the real threat in this story. And the real threat is that women coming together to politically organise, and anyone who supports them, have, and are, bombarded with terrorist tactics until something caves.

I know it’s such a cliché but I can’t get out of my head “First they came for the radical feminists but I was not a radical feminist…” Then they came for the socialist feminists and so on across the different strands of feminism until “And then they came for the non-political non-gender conforming people and there was no one left to speak for me”. You don’t have to like all radical feminists or the politics of radical feminism but what has happened, so far, with radfem2013 sets a dangerous precedent for all women, all feminists and all those involved in the struggle for radical social change. There’s a lot of myths flying about. Stavvers, do the radical left a favour and withdraw yours.

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Taking Back Feminism: A Manifesto. for Women's Liberation

Written by No Anodyne (via Elaine Charkowski)

For all kinds of reasons, the concept of “feminism” has been stretched beyond all useful meaning by people with counter-agendas, as well as know-nothings. It’s tempting to abandon the word now that it has lost so much of its power, but rather than giving into that despair, it’s time for those of us who really care about the concepts of feminism, misogyny, and the patriarchy to dig deep for our righteous indignation and save the concepts many people hope women will abandon.

It’s way past time to shift the frame for “feminism” back to something with real meaning and with that shift, stand firm about what “radical feminism” means as well.

Seeing the grotesque harm of rape and sexual abuse and demanding justice for women who are raped and sexually abused doesn’t make you a feminist. That’s a mere baseline for being considered a decent human being. Living free of the threats, fear, and reality of rape and sexual abuse is a human right and all humans should have that right and support that right.

Believing that women who are prostituted by men are human and therefore deserve human rights does not make you a feminist. That’s a mere baseline for being considered a decent human being. Living free of being prostituted, bought and sold, trafficked, and enslaved is a human right and all humans should have that right and support that right.

Noticing and calling attention to the fact that some men treat some women badly does not make you a feminist. That’s a mere baseline for being considered a decent human being. Living free of every type of abuse is a human right and all humans should have that right and support that right.

Understanding that the continuum from sex discrimination all the way through sexual harassment harms women’s access to economic equality does not make you a feminist. That’s a mere baseline for bring considered a decent human being. Economic fairness and justice are human rights and all humans should have them and support those rights.

Noticing instances of sexism, even calling them out, doesn’t make you a feminist. That’s a mere baseline for being considered a decent human being. Being free of being singled out for maltreatment, debasement, or dismissal because of a recognizable trait is a human right and all humans should have that right and support that right.

The frame of “human rights” should be very clear and easy to understand. But understanding these simple principles does not make you a feminist.

Feminism is the word that was coined to advance the idea that females are inherently at risk because of a specific system, the patriarchy, they live within. And it is the movement, based on that idea, that seeks to dismantle that system.

A feminist understands that pornography is a tool of the patriarchy, created, owned, and controlled by men, used to depict women as the sex class and is therefore systemized dehumanizing of women.

A feminist understands that prostitution is a tool of the patriarchy, created, owned, and controlled by men, used to position women as the sex class and therefore systemized dehumanizing of women.

A feminist understands that the right to bodily autonomy is central to women’s liberation and further understands that all efforts by men and patriarchal institutions to control women’s reproduction is systemized oppression of women as the sex class.

A feminist understands that gender is a social construct used by men and the patriarchy to keep females locked into the sex class and that any reinforcement of gender serves only to solidify women’s position in that class.

A feminist understands that heteronormativity and mandatory PIV sex are tools of the patriarchy, created, owned, and controlled by men, and are used to position women as the sex class and therefore systemized dehumanizing of women.

Recognizing and understanding the concept of a systemized and institutionalized misogyny (i.e., the patriarchy) is what makes one a true feminist. Further, a feminist understands that prostitution, sex trafficking, pornography, sexual abuse and violence, rape, sexual harassment, gender-essentialism, heteronormativity, mandatory PIV sex, and control of reproduction are specialized subsystems of the patriarchy that serve as its functioning units to control women’s lives.

Every feminist also understands that all human institutions (religious, educational, military, medical, industrial, science, cultural, entertainment, technological, legal, corporate, social, governmental, financial) have significant aspects of male dominance that, when combined in society overall, not only enable the patriarchy, but make it impervious to permanent reform.

Radical feminists understand that it will only by completely dismantling all of that, and rebuilding, that women will be completely free to be simply human.

Radical feminists also understand that each and every man has a fundamental stake in the patriarchy’s existence; that men as a class create and maintain, and men as individuals rely on and benefit from, the patriarchy’s subsystems and institutions. There is no way in hell that men could contribute to that complete overhaul — given that it’s the patriarchy that protects, defends, enables, and feeds men every day of their lives from their moment of birth to their moment of death (and ridiculously, beyond death and previous to life). There is no way that men are going to knock the very foundation of their status out from under their own feet and efforts to include them in the feminist movement is a waste of women’s precious time and energy.

Recognizing all of this, radical feminists do not get confused between what the overhaul looks like and what it looks like for women to survive in the meantime. Finding ways of mitigating the damages of the patriarchy’s subsystems and institutions is what we all must do just as a fact of living under the patriarchy. But we must also be the ones who keep a very clear vision beyond our current conditions to what it could be like if the patriarchy were completely destroyed.

Language — our language — is one of our most precious and powerful tools in this fight. In these times of backlash against feminism, many people are using our tools, including our most precious words, in ways that destroy the core concepts or make them meaningless and thus, useless.

Women must fight to keep our tools our own. Our tools help us maintain our vision and help guide us in the hard work toward our own liberation. We must be determined to not allow others to misuse them, or worse, use them against our movement for women’s liberation.

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It's Femen. Again. This Time They're Running About the Vatican.

Yep. That's an image of Femen taken yesterday at their protest in the Vatican in support of gay rights. Because the best way to interact with a homophobic and misogynist patriarchal institution is to have young women bare their breasts  and shout. 

Who precisely were Femen addressing with this protest? This is my fundamental problem with their form of "protest". I'm not sure who they are actually targeting. Or, what they are targeting. If they are protesting a homophobic march in Paris, why are they in the Vatican? If they are targeting the Catholic Church, well, let's be honest here, the Vatican doesn't actually give a shit what women think. They are highly unlikely to change the minds of those visiting the Vatican. Instead, they have put themselves in a situation where they could have been very badly hurt. 

This really isn't feminism. It is a mockery of it.

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Hilary Devey's Women on Top

I watched exactly ten minutes of Hilary Devey's Women on Top. The premise is interesting: a successful British business woman who didn't understand the gendered barriers to women's equality within capitalism traveled to Norway to investigate their practise of quotas of women's participation in employment. 

I stopped watching after they said women in Norway "embrace their feminine side" with 1 years maternity pay. Because women in business must have babies otherwise they aren't actually women. Or, something equally stupid. 

Perhaps, the BBC might want to actually think about gender stereotypes before embarking on these types of programs and don't reinforce the same misogynistic bullshit that they claim to be "investigating".

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I am Pro-Woman not Pro-Choice

You see, unlike all the penises who believe they have the right to dictate the contents of a woman's uterus, I happen to believe that women are not only fully human but are also capable of making decisions for themselves. Without the help of a penis. 

I support unlimited access to abortion on demand because I believe women are human. I believe women are more than capable of making decisions for their own bodies. 

I believe no woman will have an abortion at 37 weeks for shits and giggles. 

I believe that we need more sex education for children that their parents can not opt out on.

I trust women to make the decision to have an abortion or to continue with a pregnancy for themselves.

I trust women to make the decision without political interference. 

I trust women.

The people I don't trust are the anti-women nincompoops who want to curtail women's rights to access abortion. I don't trust male politicians who will never have to make the choice to write the laws which will effect my body. My "pro-choice" MP didn't think it was important for him to show up to the debate in parliament today since the debate was "purely for expressions of view, and do not make binding policy. There are no votes at the end of these debates." His refusal to attend meant that the voices of the anti-choice women-haters were the loudest. His refusal meant that the men who claim that fetuses are "fully human" were heard and not the voices of those who believe that women are fully human. 

These men dictating their right to control the contents of a woman's uterus are the same men who voted for cuts to benefits. It is the same men who are currently carving up the NHS. Who do they think will pay for the incredibly expensive neo-natal care of a fetus born at 22 weeks? As one of the anti-choicers pointed out today in the debate, people were already fundraising for special care baby units. Where will this money come from now that the NHS is being destroyed? Who will pay for the long-term care of these children? Who will pay for their housing as housing benefit is slashed? Who will pay for their education as the schools budget is decimated? Who will pay for their childcare as benefit payments are destroyed? 

Anyone who is anti-abortion and who also votes to cuts to the welfare state, in any shape or form, is a hypocrite. I'm sick to death of the hypocrites. 

I am pro-choice because I believe women are human too.

Some excellent blogs on abortion: 

I'm a civilian, not a ship's captain.

How I lost faith in the pro-life movement

40 Days of Choice

Please join Abortion Rights today.

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We're a Culture Not a Costume:

I love Halloween. It is my favourite holiday ever. When I was a child, Halloween was about making the most original costume possible. Witches, skeletons and cats were dull. I have been a ladybug, a broken heart, a cabbage patch kid and a punk rocker; my mother being far more artistic than me. Unfortunately, the push to be creative at Halloween involved costumes based entirely on offensive and racist stereotypes. I frequently find myself with clenched teeth handing out candy to small children dressed as "Indians" wondering why their parents thought it was a good idea to dress their child up as a racist stereotype.






Last year, a group of students from Ohio University's Students Teaching about Racism started a campaign called "We're a culture, not a costume' on this issue. These are some of the brilliant posters from this years campaign whose tagline is "You wear the costume for one night. I wear the stigma for life". For me, this is a feminist issue. The Patriarchy requires racism as much as it requires misogyny to keep functioning. We can not destroy the Patriarchy whilst this type of racism remains socially acceptable.

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War on Women: The Abortion Battle.

Nadine Dorries has secured a 90 minute debate spot on abortion on Wednesday October 31 at 9:30. She is asking for the limit for abortions in the UK to be reduced from 24 weeks to 22 weeks. This is just a debate. There will be no vote, however, Dorries is using this as the second stage of her attack on abortion rights. Her next stage is a full parliamentary debate in the Spring of 2003 where Dorries would like to decrease the time limit on abortions to, at the most, 20 weeks. Considering the support Dorries already has from the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, this is quite clearly a concerted attack on women's bodily autonomy. Women in the UK already do not have the right to abortion on demand. Women in the UK need greater access to abortion without judgement. We can not allow Nadine Dorries continue her War on Women's bodies. 

Please write to your MP today to ensure that they vote to keep the abortion limit at 24 weeks. There is an excellent form letter available here on Edinburgh Eye's blog.

Petition here to end the legal requirement for two doctors signatures for a woman to access an abortion.

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The Netmums Survey: Mark 2

I know I have already blogged about this but it has made me very, very cross. There is so much wrong with this survey. It's poorly worded and deliberately and maliciously negative, as Salt and Caramel pointed out here. So, I'm going to break my complaints down by image. It's not very exciting but, let's be honest here, malicious smear campaigns about feminism aren't very exciting either. Mostly, they are tedious and dull. So, to start with, that bit about this being a "new movement ... to reflect women's personal choice", well that's either some serious reinvention of history or extreme stupidity. I haven't decided yet. Normally, we call this Third Wave Feminism. I'm not quite sure how Netmums managed to miss this but, apparently, they did. And, if 36% of youngsters (and WTF is a youngster on a parenting site? I was a teenage mother. The last thing you are is a "youngster") can't imagine a time when men and women were not equal, I would suggest they have never actually engaged with the media in any way, shape or form. Also, I'd be questioning their education. I'd be sending OFSTED in, pronto, for a quick inspection.

Now, I'm willing to concede that only 14% of respondents wanting to self-identify as feminists is a problem. If this were a real survey, I would be concerned but it's not. It's a group of self-selecting women on a specific internet site choosing to take the time to fill out the survey. It's about as accurate as those fake surveys hair care and make-up companies are forever peddling in women's magazines and then claim they are scientific. This only works if you are a dingbat. Even I, who effectively slept through high school math, can tell that this is a bad statistic. It just doesn't work. 

I still don't know what they mean by "old-fashioned" feminism and how "old-fashioned" is different from "traditional". Or, how "old-fashioned" feminism is too "divisive" and that 39% of women "don't want to be equal - women are different to men and we should celebrate the differences" whilst simultaneously claiming that it is "old-fashioned and not relevant to their generation". Which old-fashioned is it? Because that is the same answer to two very different statements.

And, frankly, anyone who thinks feminism has gone "too far" when women still are paid less than men, women are more likely to live in poverty than men, and rape is still a daily occurrence is a nincompoop. 

This statistics in this chart make sense but how they are the downside to feminism is beyond me. Too much is expected of women. We are expected to hold full time jobs and do all the housework and all the childcare. That isn't the fault of feminism. That is the fault of men who refuse to give up their privilege and act like adults. That is the fault of the patriarchy who insist that women pass the Patriarchal Fuckability Test 10 minutes after giving birth. When all men are doing 50% of the childcare and 50% of the wifework, I might consider the question of the possible downsides of feminism success. 

And, for the love of Sappho, does no one know what "chivalric behaviour" really means? It's not opening frigging doors. That's basic kindness. Shutting doors in the face of the person behind you is a nasty thing to do. The sex of the person holding open the door is irrelevant. But, holding them open isn't "chivalry" either. It's a military code romanticised in literature where rape is a common theme. In fact, rape is practically a reward for being a knight.

I've already deconstructed the whole "my daughter isn't aware of feminism" motif as highly suspect but I'm equally perturbed by the fact that 36% of their daughters couldn't "imagine a time when men and women were not regarded as equal." Either their daughters are very dense or their parents don't ever talk to them because only someone deeply stupid could not imagine such a thing. Again, 20 minutes on the news looking at rape in warfare would make the point pretty obvious. Basic history lessons at primary school cover the issue of women not being allowed to "work outside the home". If their daughters don't know this, they need to watching Horrible Histories. Or, change schools. Probably both.

We've already established that their is, in many ways, more pressure on women now than 50 years ago. Again, this isn't the fault of feminism. This is the fault of the capitalist-patriarchy who refuse to acknowledge their privilege. So, more than 69% think feminism's biggest fight is to reinstate the "value of motherhood". It's a parenting website. Of course, they are going to worried about issues like this. Frankly, that's just the stating the frigging obvious. We live in a society that consistently denigrates women's roles, regardless of what that role is. It's no wonder that women are worried about it. I am slightly perplexed that 58% want "New Feminism" to "ensure women have 'real choice over their family, career and lives." That's the whole point of feminsm. It's to liberate women from oppression so that we have real choices.

This section is so odd since it seems to contradict earlier sections. The only way this bit makes sense is if the 1300 women [and men? it doesn't give a gender breakdown but I assume there are men on Netmums. They are all over the place on Mumsnet] is if they genuinely don't have a clue what the word feminism actually means. Now, you don't need to be au courant with feminist political theories. The basic dictionary definition covers all of the above. So, they have answered the question "what does feminism mean to you" with the dictionary definition but didn't know that's what it meant in previous sections? The piss-poor wording of this survey is just unbelievable.

I like this bit. Obviously, there are already feminist activists campaigning on all of the issues but I like to see what different feminists want to focus on themselves. There is so much to destroy within the patriarchy that we do need women tackling it from every angle. Yes, there are only 1300 respondents and it wasn't a very well done survey but this is still interesting, particularly since many of the issues overlap.

This bit is just really, really sad. Modern women are required to look feminine and glamourous to be taken seriously. The Patriarchy immediately punishes any woman who doesn't pass the Patriarchal Fuckability Test by labelling them unfuckable and ugly and fat. Once you are unfuckable, you have no relevance. Just look at the way Harriet Harman and Hillary Clinton are treated. Yeah, a bunch of them claim marrying for money is wrong but what about the men who "buy" wives or who buy prostitutes? Why do they never get called on their behaviour in these surveys? Why is it always the women?

In conclusion, Netmums might want to check with their members because they don't seem very happy with the way this survey was done or how the results were presented. Netmums have managed to make their members look stupid, which I have a problem with because I use Netmums and they aren't stupid. Some of them are unpleasant and racist and disablist and homophobic, but, you know what, so are many people everywhere. But, using a minority of nincompoops to represent a dynamic group of women is just nasty. Dismissing an entire community in this manner just fuels the anti-woman rhetoric. 

I may mostly post on Mumsnet but I can see the same patriarchal arsehattery involved in deriding NMers for being stupid as I can when MNers are labelled vipers. I'm sick to death of women being misrepresented in this manner. 

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Reddit: Free Speech is the Privilege of Men

I promised myself I wouldn't write about this case. There is nothing I can say that a thousand other Feminists haven't been saying for years about Reddit's stance on misogyny. They are all for it. I mean, I've never used Reddit but it's a social media platform. It doesn't matter which one you mention, they all support misogyny [and racism, disablism and homophobia]. They all hide behind the construct of "free speech" to protect the right of men to say and do what they want without any thought to the harm their actions/ speech cause. It is the very essence of male entitlement and privilege. As I've said elsewhere, publishing photos, nude or otherwise sexualised, without consent is sexualised violence. This is an issue of consent and of the right to privacy. It is not something that should be covered under the construct of "free speech". Free speech is the legal protection for the right to critique the government and other political/ cultural structures. The right to free speech is not the same as the right to be a jackass. The fact that a large number of men are confused by this is their problem. We shouldn't indulge their desire to allowed to be as violent as possible just because they want to. There is no right to "Free speech" for those who are actively harmed in the perpetuation and perpetration of rape culture. We need to stop pretending that the right to free speech is more important than anything else. 

It is the issue of "creepshots" which has brought Reddit to the attention of mainstream press but not because rendering women into objects by uploading photos their sexualised bodies without consent is wrong. Nor is it because the issue of creepshots creates some serious legal implications in terms of the right to privacy and what constitutes a criminal offence. Nor is it because of questions the the construction of "sexuality, entitlement and public consumption."  That's not why men are having whiny-arsed tantrums and the media is running stories on it.* Nope, the issue has come up because Feminists have taken the step to publicly out the men perpetrating sexualised violence.

The hypocrisy of these men whining about their right to privacy having been violated by being named online when they have deliberately and maliciously participated in the sexualised violence of women by posted "creep" shots of them without consent is unbelievable. I am so very glad that someone with the computer skills tracked them down and named them. Yes, the expectation of privacy whilst in public is non-existent but that's but that's because we perceive women's bodies as public objects. Women have as much right to privacy as does the statue of Nelson in Trafalgar Square. The level of male entitlement to women's bodies of which they should have no access is unbelievable. If we complain about being objectified, then we are abused and humiliated; labelled whores and fat and ugly and stupid and frigid.

We need to hold these men accountable for their sexual predation. If the law won't support us in criminalising these forms of sexualised violence, then we too should have the right to free speech without limit. We should be legally entitled to name and shame these men as they have named and shamed us. Michael Brutsch didn't want to be publicly identified as Violentacrez because of his family. Yet, he did not care about publicly humiliating women or perpetrating rape culture. If he did not want his real life name attached to Reddit sites  publishing photos under the terms: jailbait, rapebait, incest and misogyny, then he shouldn't have put them up in the first place. His behaviour is the problem. Not the Feminist activists who are holding him publicly accountable for the sexualised violence he perpetrated. If James Silverwood and Dominic Terry were actually concerned about their right to privacy, they shouldn't have started a Facebook page called "12 year old sluts". These men need to be held accountable for the harm caused by their behaviour and we should have the right to call them on it. Otherwise, free speech is nothing more than a joke; a privilege of men denied to all others. 

So, a huge thank you to my Feminist sisters who have called these violent sexual predators out.

This is nothing less than a War on Women.

It is a war whose battlefields are women's bodies.

We have every right to fight back with every piece of technology available; after all, men are using the same technology to destroy us.

*The vast majority of news stories I've come across have been written by Feminists like Kira Cochrane. However, I do not believe the media would be running these stories in mainstream press if it weren't for the fact that Feminist activists have started outed the sexual predators involved in taking and distributing the photos. These sites have been running for years without any real comment on the level of misogyny they perpetuate. 

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I Thought This Was Kind Of Obvious: Women Organising For Women

Now, I haven't actually read the full study yet, mostly because I can't remember my JSTOR password (or even know if the journal is covered by JSTOR), however this brief announcement leads me to believe this is one of those things that is totally self-evident to feminists and only needed to be undertaken as research owing to the preponderance of stupid MRAs running about. Turns out, the biggest factor in causing positive change in the War on Women is the feminist movement. The study, published in the American Political Science Review, the largest of its kind, was "conducted over four decades and in 70 countries reveals the mobilization of feminist movements is more important for change than the wealth of nations, left-wing political parties, or the number of women politicians." 

This is the release:  

The study in the latest issue of American Political Science Review (APSR), published by Cambridge University Press for the American Political Science Association (APSA), found that in feminist movements that were autonomous from political parties and the state, women were able to articulate and organize around their top priorities as women, without having to answer to broader organizational concerns or mens' needs. Mobilizing across countries, feminist movements urged governments to approve global and regional norms and agreements on violence. 

Strong, autonomous feminist movements were the first to articulate the issue of violence against women and the key catalysts for government action, with other organizations sidelining issues perceived as being only important to women. Strong movements commanded public support and attention, and convinced the media the issues were important for public discussion. In countries that were slower to adopt policies on violence, feminist movements leveraged global and regional agreements to push for local policy change.
S. Laurel Weldon, co-author of the study, said: “Violence against women is a global problem. Research from North America, Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia has found astonishingly high rates of sexual assault, stalking, trafficking, violence in intimate relationships, and other violations of women’s bodies and psyches. In Europe it is a bigger danger to women than cancer, with 45 per cent of European women experiencing some form of physical or sexual violence. Rates are similar in North America, Australia and New Zealand and studies in Asia, Latin America and Africa show that violence towards women there is ubiquitous.” 

The scope of data for the study is unprecedented. The study includes every region of the world, varying degrees of democracy, rich and poor countries, and a variety of world religions – it encompasses 85 per cent of the world’s population. Analyzing the data took five years, which is why the most recent year covered is 2005. 

Mala Htun, co-author of the study, adds: “Social movements shape public and government agendas and create the political will to address issues. Government action, in turn, sends a signal about national priorities and the meaning of citizenship. The roots of change of progressive social policies lie in civil society."  

So, basically, women organising for women's rights and the end to VAW is the single most important factor in change. I hope we all remember that the next time MRAs try to derail women-only conferences and activism. Of course, they may never hear about this study since it's unlikely to get massive media attention.

And, if anyone can access the study for me, I'd be profoundly grateful. 

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Free Speech: The Right to be a Jackass?

Free speech is a fallacious construct which is designed to keep the masses in denial of their lack of power.

It doesn't actually exist. It never has, but, if it did, it wouldn't be the right to be a jackass.

There is no guarantee to free speech in the UK. There never has been. People who insist we do have free speech are confused or watch way too much American television. The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America is technically the guarantee to free speech, you know, in the United States of which the UK is NOT a part [in case anyone remains confused about that tidbit]:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Originally, it only applied to laws enacted by Congress but this changed with the Gitlow v New York case wherein the Supreme Court of the US applied the First Amendment to all states via the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. Obviously, this is only interesting if you're a history nerd like me. The real point here is that the US, supposed protector of Free Speech, has enacted numerous laws which limit free speech. These are the obvious exceptions like child obscenity, incitement to hatred or violence and the much repeated axiom of not being allowed to shout fire in a crowded theatre. Limits to free speech exist because some people are simply arrogant arseholes lacking both empathy and intelligence.

Even if we had the legal right to "free speech", [or believed that "free speech" actually existed] it doesn't mean we should use it. The right to free speech isn't the right to be a jerk. Free speech shouldn't mean that people get to use misogynistic, racist, homophobic or disablist language because they want to without any consideration of the hurt caused to others. It doesn't mean that comedians like Daniel Tosh should be allowed to make jokes about rape just because they can [and this is a brilliant critique of Tosh's arrogance]. The right to free speech is the right to criticise and challenge. It is not the right to be a jackass because you want to be a jackass.

I have to say the only people I ever hear going on about the right to free speech are those privileged self-entitled nincompoops who want to silence the opinions of others. It's the rape apologists who whine about the right to call rape victims liars who demand "free speech". It's the racists who insist on the right to use the words "Paki" and "Chink". It's the homophobes who think "Gay" should be an insult and those disablists who want the right to use "spaz" and "retard". Those of us with empathy and critical literacy know that the theory of "free speech" is something that is the preserve of the powerful and the ignorant; we know that it is used to control the people.

Those of us who use the social construct of free speech in order to critique and challenge do so without behaving like a bunch of abusive nincompoops. That is the real challenge in a civilised society: using the theory of free speech whilst recognising that we will always need to limit it because of the arrogance and ignorance of a few. We will always need to limit "free speech" to prevent the abuse and objectification of vulnerable people. We always need to limit "free speech" when there are nincompoops like PETA running about.

Turns out, the real theory of "free speech" is just the preserve of the powerful who use it to silence those who demand basic human kindness.

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Dale Spender on Being a Feminist

Another great quote that came via Facebook:

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It Doesn't Make You a Special Fucking Snowflake:

This came from Being Feminist on Facebook. I just love this quote: 

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Mike Tyson: Convicted Rapist but Still a Hero. Apparently.

UPDATE: TYSON'S INVITATION HAS BEEN CANCELED


PETITION 

Yeah, I get that Mike Tyson is rich and famous and rich and famous people aren't supposed to be rapists. Or, something equally stupid: see Ched Evan's fans for the actual stupidity test required to believe this. Whatever rape apologists want to claim, Mike Tyson is a convicted rapist and we should not be celebrating his achievements. I've signed the petition but, now, more than ever, we need to stop supporting and canonising celebrities who perpetrate Violence Against Women. There is no excuse. Rape is a crime and rape victims deserve our support; not over-paid, self-entitled narcissists who don't believe women deserve bodily autonomy.

This is the text of the petition:

Mike Tyson is a convicted rapist having served a sentence in 1992 for raping an 18yr old. Portsmouth was awarded White Ribbon status for ending violence against women in 2010. The Safer Portsmouth Partnership has listed domestic violence as one its top priorities for violent crime. By inviting a convicted rapist to speak at one of the leading venues in Portsmouth this goes against the hard work that has gone into the city for ensuring that survivors of rape feel valued, safe and believed. Aurora New Dawn are asking the Guildhall to cancel this event and show support to survivors of sexual violence rather than billing a convicted rapist as a hero in the city. Please sign this petition in recognition of all survivors of sexual violence and abuse. We can't think of any other violent crime where a celebrity would be allowed to be celebrated in this way.

Please sign and pass it on via Twitter and Facebook. 

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Petition to Scottish Government to Prevent Cuts to Charities Supporting Rape Victims

This is a link to a petition to the Scottish Government  concerning cuts to services for victims of abuse and rape in Northern Scotland. The text below is taken directly from the petition.

PETITION

Scottish Government is cutting 50% of the funding to the only charities that support abuse and raped women from Aberdeen to the northest point of Scotland.

The only available abuse and rape charities up north, which provide a vital and important service to victims of abuse, rape and sexual violence are now facing closure after losing 50% of its Government funding.
In particular, RAS of Aberdeen (accredited Rape Crisis Centre that operates in Aberdeen and Fraserburgh) and Scottish Women's Aid Caithness and Sutherland.

(Read the full article about RAS at this link: http://louisethorntonpr.com/ras-facing-closure/)

"The charity offers a specialised service to victims and works closely with the NHS and Grampian Police."
"Dawn Brown, director of RAS, is hugely disappointed with the funding cuts. ‘The loss of funding will directly impact on the service being able to operate as without the additional funds the charity will be forced to close before the end of the year. RAS was the only Scottish centre who lost existing funding from the Violence Against Women Fund. The government has been extremely short sighted in cutting this funding as without the service, women in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will lose a vital avenue of support to help them recover from their ordeal."
(quotes from the article mentioned above)

Well RAS Aberdeen is the northest Rape Crisis Centre in Scotland. Many abused and raped women, me included, benefited of the huge and incredible support and work done by this charity to help us out.

There's NO other accredited Rape Crisis Centre in the Highlands that supports raped women. From Inverness to Shetlands raped women are often left alone and abandoned, no help and support to get out of that ordeal. NHS doesn't provide any free counselling services in Caithness and Sutherland directly aimed to rape victims and everything is left in the hands of volunteers. Now the Scottish Government wants to close down the few charities that operate in the area, this implying they're not of any use. Thanks to their decision, an area as big as the US state of Massachusetts will be left without any rape or abuse centre.

Maybe the Scottish Government should notice that the number of rape and abuse reports is so low in the Highlands because we receive NO support anywhere else. Police often misjudges the victims and in many cases police even turns on the victims.
There's NO meaning to report a rape unless the victims possess incredible evidence the crime happened. We suffer prejudice, slander, we've to leave our houses and we're let down by everybody.

Only FEW raped women are able to come forward because they know they'll be IGNORED and NOT BELIEVED from the start. If accidentally we decide to report what happened to the police, we face another ordeal that becomes a nightmare added to what we already suffered.

The only help and support we receive is from the charities Scottish Government is so eager to close down.

Please help Scottish Women to save these charities signing the petition.

Thanks a million xx

PETITION

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