Reflections on working with the right-wing Christian power structure and why I resigned from the board of WHRC USA. A Year of Fighting the Democrats on “Gender Identity” For feminists opposing the assault on the rights and safety of women and girls through gender identity policy and legislation, 2021 has been one long hard slog. When the new legislative session began in January, the Democratic congress, as President Joe Biden had promised, immediately set about trying to pass the
" [...] women are intelligent and creative; that if enough of us put our heads together, we can figure a way to break free of the notion that we must choose between two forms of oppression, and then work towards true female liberation."
I'm ... not entirely sure I agree with you that there are other options. I've gotten so angry and cynical about this, starting in 2008 when I saw supposed "feminists" making sure to raise their voices when they shit-talked Hillary Clinton whenever cute guys were standing around, and they said and did nothing while Sarah Palin was torn to shreds by left-wing misogyny.
When I was in my 20s and 30s I thought the pegboard could be switched out or changed, and now I no longer think that. I wish I did, because absolutely every single thing you're saying here is correct. I honestly think that the only thing that can really be done is to save individual women one at a time anymore.
Sorry I've never seen this until just now. So many of your comments ring true to my experience with the organizations discussed. I'm ready to put my head into the circle. Can we talk?
Thank you for this very informative essay. You are an excellent writer and include an enormous amount of helpful background and overview of organizations and key documents. Thank you.
I think our biggest hurdle is informing and persuading large numbers of people on the left, especially women, who seem to be a tougher sell once they've been captured by the gender identity crowd than men are, in my experience.
I like that you have created brochures, which is what I've been working on. These are a means of informing people in our offline, local communities as to how gender identity activists are infringing on everyone's rights, more effectively than trying to explain it all in a conversation before the listener turns off.
In the 1970s and 80s, feminists produced loads of fact sheets, myth/fact sheets, and Q and A sheets on colored paper with just typewriters and a copy machine, and left stacks of them in domestic violence shelters, bookstores, cafes, etc. These fact sheets were workhorses of feminist education and consciousness raising beyond just small groups, sharing facts with the larger community and getting women connected to feminist groups.
The one tweak I would suggest for the brochures is to significantly reduce the legal information, and get to the bottom line immediately: how women (and kids, and everyone's free speech and thought rights) are being affected, in practical, daily terms, written more like a news article or ad than a thorough legal explanation (although again, your writing is so clear.) WoLF's site does a great job with that, but we need that combo of info and immediate relevancy, concisely communicated, in brochures and also in PowerPoints.
Then we could each ask to be a guest presenter at all kinds of local feminist (and other) meetings (NOW, Commission on the Status of Women, National Women's Political Caucus, etc.), either on Zoom or in person, show the PowerPoints, and hand out or email the printable brochures. That way, we could spread the word locally, and build offline gender-critical knowledge and groups throughout the country.
What an amazing article to wake up to this morning. Thank you Katherine.
" [...] women are intelligent and creative; that if enough of us put our heads together, we can figure a way to break free of the notion that we must choose between two forms of oppression, and then work towards true female liberation."
I'm ... not entirely sure I agree with you that there are other options. I've gotten so angry and cynical about this, starting in 2008 when I saw supposed "feminists" making sure to raise their voices when they shit-talked Hillary Clinton whenever cute guys were standing around, and they said and did nothing while Sarah Palin was torn to shreds by left-wing misogyny.
When I was in my 20s and 30s I thought the pegboard could be switched out or changed, and now I no longer think that. I wish I did, because absolutely every single thing you're saying here is correct. I honestly think that the only thing that can really be done is to save individual women one at a time anymore.
Sorry I've never seen this until just now. So many of your comments ring true to my experience with the organizations discussed. I'm ready to put my head into the circle. Can we talk?
Thank you for this very informative essay. You are an excellent writer and include an enormous amount of helpful background and overview of organizations and key documents. Thank you.
I think our biggest hurdle is informing and persuading large numbers of people on the left, especially women, who seem to be a tougher sell once they've been captured by the gender identity crowd than men are, in my experience.
I like that you have created brochures, which is what I've been working on. These are a means of informing people in our offline, local communities as to how gender identity activists are infringing on everyone's rights, more effectively than trying to explain it all in a conversation before the listener turns off.
In the 1970s and 80s, feminists produced loads of fact sheets, myth/fact sheets, and Q and A sheets on colored paper with just typewriters and a copy machine, and left stacks of them in domestic violence shelters, bookstores, cafes, etc. These fact sheets were workhorses of feminist education and consciousness raising beyond just small groups, sharing facts with the larger community and getting women connected to feminist groups.
The one tweak I would suggest for the brochures is to significantly reduce the legal information, and get to the bottom line immediately: how women (and kids, and everyone's free speech and thought rights) are being affected, in practical, daily terms, written more like a news article or ad than a thorough legal explanation (although again, your writing is so clear.) WoLF's site does a great job with that, but we need that combo of info and immediate relevancy, concisely communicated, in brochures and also in PowerPoints.
Then we could each ask to be a guest presenter at all kinds of local feminist (and other) meetings (NOW, Commission on the Status of Women, National Women's Political Caucus, etc.), either on Zoom or in person, show the PowerPoints, and hand out or email the printable brochures. That way, we could spread the word locally, and build offline gender-critical knowledge and groups throughout the country.