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Eddie Izzard

(571 Posts)
FarNorth Thu 24-Dec-20 13:11:03

www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/dec/21/eddie-izzard-to-use-female-pronouns-she-and-her

Is Eddie brave in asking for she/her pronouns and staying in girl mode?

I wonder if it will become usual for men to do this.

trisher Fri 01-Jan-21 20:05:29

I like Eddie Izzard, I like her comedy, her acting, her politics, her commitment and her philosophy. If I had to have someone standing beside me and fighting my corner I would trust her completely. She is a complex and many faceted character who has lived her life to the full, looking at how she is living it, what she is doing and changing when she thought someting was wrong.I've just contributed to her fund www.crowdfunder.co.uk/eddie

NiceasMice Fri 01-Jan-21 20:29:30

A crowd funder, running for charity but no mention of which charity.
I wonder where the money is going to go?

trisher Fri 01-Jan-21 21:06:13

The money goes to "Make Humanity Great Again" which supports many charities such as CARE. But if you don't want to give money you can still contribute
Everyone can help ‘Make Humanity Great Again’, whether it’s by running along on a treadmill and joining Eddie’s challenge online; by performing small individual acts of kindness; by joining together with neighbours to create stronger local communities, through engaging in politics and activism, or by donating money via Crowdfunder. Money raised will be allocated to charities making a real difference to disadvantaged and vulnerable people at this difficult time, including CARE International, Covenant House, FareShare, Uniting To Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases & Walking With The Wounded

Iam64 Fri 01-Jan-21 21:19:57

It isn’t about liking or disliking Eddie Izzard.
It definitely isn’t about not recognising that women can behave badly. But to accuse the sisters of “shreaking” because an argument is being made that you disagree with, reminds me of good old fashioned male dismissive attitudes to women.

trisher Fri 01-Jan-21 22:08:11

When you don't like what someone says tell her she's just like a man. Great example of sisterhood!

SueDonim Fri 01-Jan-21 23:00:25

Interesting new interview today with EI, where he says he doesn’t mind whether people use he/she pronouns, though he prefers ‘Eddie’. He also says he doesn’t think JK Rowling is transphobic.

FarNorth Sat 02-Jan-21 02:12:36

Do you have a link to that SueDonim?
Or know where it can be found?

LumpySpacedPrincess Sat 02-Jan-21 07:30:25

www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/what-to-see/eddie-izzard-call-brain-coded-ways/?utm_content=telegraph&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1609571293

trisher Sat 02-Jan-21 10:28:35

If anyone is interested Eddie is reading her autobiography on BBC sounds. It's a moving and interesting story which shows how much thought and effort she has put into understanding herself, gender, sex and sexual orientation. A great example to us all.

petunia Sat 02-Jan-21 12:11:10

I'm sure Eddie, who is clearly an intelligent being, has given a great deal of thought to sex and gender. Many of us have.

JK Rowling has also given a great deal of thought to sex and gender. She came into all manner of verbal assault and threats because of her opinion which recognised the difference.

trisher Sat 02-Jan-21 12:23:18

I think there is a world of difference between giving thought to something from outside the issue and doing it from inside, as someone who has experienced what is being considered.
As a white person I can discuss and debate black issues and racism, I can never bring to the issue the experiences and lived instances that a black person does. Trans issues are the same.
The abuse J K Rowling has received is unacceptable, but we should never consider the views and actions of. a few extremists on social media as the views of the entire trans community.

FarNorth Sat 02-Jan-21 13:21:17

Izzard doesn't care which pronouns are used.

m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/eddie-izzard-jk-rowkling-transgender-community_uk_5ff043f6c5b6ec8ae0b2f1d3/?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90LmNvLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKnA_Hw45GfLmGmCZwTPbirqTVGmpQjtDAQuMLnH1K7YsnxIpVvbZxwy3PKkSY4a9It0PCedpAQImv7CHEydzHqlpMZh0Qkx4Dux_soSwWWvvJm__8RQHxkzJUSn_ieFDV1L0DnLgRLMWyz0CscFM2ve-rppFGV8cqofZw61SlVc&fbclid=IwAR0-Yra6OSirrygsjNMJV66qrmHnTyRYEKk0N4qhPr--bHTgO2LAx7pBqTM&guccounter=2

LumpySpacedPrincess Sat 02-Jan-21 13:26:23

As a white person I can discuss and debate black issues and racism, I can never bring to the issue the experiences and lived instances that a black person does.

...and Eddie can never understand what it's like to be a woman because he isn't one. Can you not see the irony of your post? We are not ideas in men's heads no matter how thoughtful they have been. Adult. Human. Female. That's it, that's all. The rest is stereotypes, sexist stereotypes. Have at it Eddie, wear what you like mate.

FarNorth Sat 02-Jan-21 13:31:42

Here's a video of Izzard, in which he says that he's attracted to women.
We all know that he means female women, not men presenting themselves as women.
If he meant that, he would have said it.

Obviously, he's not attracted to all female women but you'd think he might be attracted to some transwomen, also, if they are all women.

BlueBelle Sat 02-Jan-21 13:46:57

niceasice he came across as a man in drag he had a very long blond pony tail and what looked like boobs ( but I can’t be sure as he was front facing all the time) he sounded male looked male ( albeit dressed up in tight leggings and top and as far as I m concerned is male) That doesn’t mean I have no sympathy or empathy for trans but I don’t want to share a changing room, toilet or anything else with a man however he is dressed, he could be anybody pretending... just to get access to watching girls/women or he may be a trans not feeling he belongs in a male changing room
Perhaps they need a third gender changing rooms and toilets where Issard el al can comfortably go

FarNorth Sat 02-Jan-21 13:47:33

Oops, forgot the link.

youtu.be/tp4iCrzphjw

FarNorth Sat 02-Jan-21 13:50:05

Btw, he also tells us that boys' nails are stronger than girls' nails. hmm

BlueBelle Sat 02-Jan-21 14:05:47

He says in that link that it matters not one jot what gender you are so why oh why does he constantly go on about it rubbing everyone’s noses in what HE wants to be thought of If it matters not one not why doesn’t he just get on with living

petunia Sat 02-Jan-21 14:37:39

You have a point there Trisher. I can never understand what it means to be a man. I don't understand how male hormones, male upbringing, social conditioning etc. shape a man. Because i am not a man. I can read about it, and speak to men about it, but it is not first hand for me. I never will understand what it feels like to be a man.

I do understand what its like to be a woman however. I don't feel like a woman, I am one.

This brings us back to sex and gender. Sex is real, observable and measurable. Gender is much more nebulous. Gender is whatever a person wants it to be.

I know what it feels like to me to be a woman but what happens to a man who believes he's a woman? What is he feeling? Why is he feeling it? On what does he base that conclusion? How does he know that the feelings he has are women's feelings?

And more importantly, for all of us, why do the feelings that man is having override the feelings of a woman when it comes to safety and dignity?

trisher Sat 02-Jan-21 18:05:16

petunia you are presupposing that there is some universal experience that is shared by all women or all men. I think many of the postings on this thread reveal that isn't true. I've been roundly condemned and accused of all sorts of things including "hating all women" because I've posted about some of the ways some women sometimes behave. So how can there be universal female feelings or for that matter universal male feelings? Are my feelings and opinions because I know women who do not behave always as victims not a woman's opinion?
The one thing we can be certain of is that most of us are comfortable- male and female- with the way we present to, and are accepted by, the general population. But there are people who do not share that comfort. Sometimes this is just a feeling that means we are labelled as "more masculine"- usually used about a woman who has authority or "more feminine" usually used about a man who demonstrates more emotions. At the extreme ends of this spectrum are the people who genuinely believe their physical gender does not match the one they believe they are. And for them there is a shared feeling of exclusion. We who are comfortable can never fully appreciate how that feels.
As for the concept that there are male feelings and female feelings I completely reject that. It implies that all women have perhaps sympathy and understanding (there are so many women who have no such things. As an example I give you Pritti Patel). It implies that all men are perhaps agressive or lack empathy. It in fact drives a wedge between the two sexes which cannot be overcome.
I prefer instead to think of a spectrum where some people share certain feelings and emotions at the caring end and some share more at the agressive end. Their place upon this spectrum is not dependant on sex or gender.

FarNorth Sat 02-Jan-21 18:10:55

"trisher*
tldr: personality is unconnected to biological sex.

FarNorth Sat 02-Jan-21 18:11:56

We know that, and it doesn't mean that someone is not the biological sex that they were born, or that they can change their sex.

trisher Sat 02-Jan-21 18:15:54

FarNorth

We know that, and it doesn't mean that someone is not the biological sex that they were born, or that they can change their sex.

They may however change their gender.

Iam64 Sat 02-Jan-21 18:27:51

I didn't read Petunia as presupposing there is some kind of universal experience that men have, which is different to the woman's experience.
Of course men and women share emotions, some men are more sensitive, emotionally aware than some women. To acknowledge that doesn't mean we dismiss either biological or social pressures on boys / girls /men/women to comply to social expectations.
It certainly doesn't mean that the hard fought for equalities women have achieved should simply be chucked away because Eddie Izzard (for example) feels like a girl today.

FarNorth Sat 02-Jan-21 18:37:20

trisher
"They may however change their gender."

What do you mean by that?

If they haven't changed their biological sex, why are so many people insisting that they should be treated as if they have done - regarding sports, hospital wards, prisons, scholarships, etc?