The lack of knowledge of these issues is very clear, and coming from people who talk so condescendingly to the rest of us, as though they are the experts and we are 'theorisers' and bigots it gets more wearing by the post.
I posted a link upthread to an article about the way in which lesbians are routinely abused for not wanting sex with men (when that pretty much defines what a lesbian is). It was one of many on the first page of Google hits, so there is more evidence out there, but as usual GagaJo ignored it - despite the fact that she had demanded that I reference my claims, as she didn't believe me because despite her self-proclaimed 'life experience' (backed up with thank you cards from her grateful clients), she does not know anyone who has suffered from this behaviour - her excuse being that she doesn't know every single lesbian.
trisher has posted an article from Pink News, which is mildly interesting, but at best is a partial account of the experience of one woman who needed to be 'rescued', so was clearly vulnerable and therefore susceptible to getting too attached to her rescuers. The article talks about movements and alliances and so on, as though life were one of those war games where generals move toy soldiers round with little pushers. There is nothing in the article that can be verified or cross-checked. It is an opinion piece in a generalist publication aimed at a cross-section of gay readers.
Most of us don't live like that. We deal with life as it comes, and are not constantly strategising and forming movements and alliances. We see ourselves and one another as individuals, who agree on some things and not on others. It may suit the needs of those who get pleasure or affirmation from 'organising' and 'fighting' and all the things that we have been exhorted to do on this and other threads, but many of us have been there and done that. We belong to family groups, or ones we have joined because of shared interests, not warring political factions.
Also, whereas many of the implications of women being subsumed into a group of 'non-men' -or of us being forced to allow men into our spaces - are clear, others only become apparent when they affect us, or someone we know, and the best we can do is keep a watching brief to see how things unfold, resisting things as they happen.
The obfuscating about how transwomen don't make the law is just that. A meaningless statement that addresses none of the issues we all keep putting forward.
The (at best) amoral assertion that lies are not lies unless they are uttered in direct response to a direct question says a lot about the people who hold that view, and frankly it doesn't seem worth pointing out the inherent ethical issues to people who can't or won't understand.
The idea that it is even possible to put the needs of men alongside those of women is naive at best. In an ideal world we would all just be 'people', but we are dealing with society as it is, not as we would like it to be, and there is a need for female spaces, and that need was created by men. Only some of them, of course, but still.
Finally, the lack of empathy shown towards rape victims is offensive. A rape crisis centre's whole purpose is to help to make life bearable for women who have been raped by men. Yes, there are men who have been raped by women, and yes, there are rare occasions when women assault other women sexually, and it is also the role of RCCs to help these victims, but the vast majority of cases are women who have been raped by men. People with penises, if you prefer. How little compassion must someone have not to see that for many women in that position safety means being amongst other women?
The fact that TRAs believe that TWAW is a given, and it is an opinion to which they are entitled, but can they not see past their own self-importance for long enough to recognise that it is not always their opinions that matter? That the opinions of the traumatised clients of a rape crisis centre should come first?
