International Women’s Day? Let’s start with the basics!
Imagine, a world where….
MEN neither win nor participate in WOMEN’S sport.
MEN are banned from WOMEN’S bathrooms and changing rooms.
MEN neither win nor enter WOMEN’S beauty contests and ‘WOMAN’ of the year’.
Imagine, a world where…..
GIRLS aren’t defined by stereotypes of pink dresses and playing with dolls.
WOMEN aren’t reduced to porn inspired caricatures.
WOMEN aren’t blamed for and included in the statistics of the crimes of MEN.
WOMEN aren’t supporting veiled misogyny because of societal pressure, lack of information, misplaced compassion or propaganda.
Imagine, a world where….
FETISHISM is kept private and MENTAL ILLNESS neither celebrated nor actively encouraged.
Ordinary teenage curiosity and uncertainty is not TARGETED and EXPLOITED by those with a monetary or predatory interest.
Terminology is not changed to accommodate the preferences of those in denial about their own bodies.
Imagine, a world where….
Everyone stops playing ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ for fear of offending someone.
We can discuss all of this without the word ‘phobia’ which shuts down open conversations that benefit everyone.
THAT will be the day to truly be celebrated.
Until then……….the work goes on.
I know this is a simple post, but deliberately wanted it to be so, to keep it as accessible as possible.
Ah Julie. Timely as always. A little story about what happened this week. I belong to a country club fitness centre. It’s not posh, it’s a 5 minute drive from my house so nice and handy. The staff are great, you get a good mix of fellow exercises from the weight lifters to the ladies who manage to swim whilst wearing their earrings and lipstick and keeping their coiffed hair in place (how do they do it?)
This week there was a skinny, balding bloke with a ratty ponytail in a bikini with a little skirty thing covering his man bits. Apparently he changed in the womens’ changing room with his female enabler. I hoped I would avoid him but he strutted giggling into the changing room just after me and proceeded to strip off in front of everyone including some elderly ladies. His enabler and he started singing and really drawing attention to themselves, which was clearly an attempt to be provocative. Willing someone to complain so he could cry prejudice.
I picked up my stuff and took myself off pronto. I found the manager and made sure she understood the depth of my sincerity when I told her how completely offensive it was. ‘Ah but he’s transitioning’ came the reply. ‘No he’s a man, he’ll always be a man, it’s biologically impossible to change sexes no matter how much he thinks he wants to. Why are you pandering to the requirements of one without considering the many?’ I responded. ‘Well we’ve sent him an email asking him to use the single family room but he hasn’t responded yet’ she said. So I said I thought they were afraid of upsetting him but not of upsetting the rest of us. I was livid and I could see she wasn’t much happier about than me but just didn’t know how to deal with it. Fortunately when some others saw that I was prepared to take it on, also made complaints. It’s just not going to happen! I couldn’t care less what peoples proclivities are in private but this is deliberately provocative. Rant over. Sharron Davies is doing what she can on this whole thing. She’s good to follow.