We need a movement for all of the 'people'—who share some crucial but verboten characteristics—who are directly affected by the end of Roe v. Wade that includes exactly none of the 'people' who aren't, and we can rebuild feminism for women from there.
One of the central edicts of patriarchy is that women must not be able to recognize or speak about our oppression. This is accomplished with a multi-pronged approach: tell women they're not oppressed (you have 'cis privilege ', you're loved/protected/desired by men), tell women if they are oppressed, it's their fault (she was wearing/saying/doing the wrong thing), and discredit us (she's crazy/a witch/a bigot). All of this is meant to detract from one central fact -- women and girls are oppressed on the basis of sex and no other reason.
It will be interesting to see. Suddenly, I see a lot of progressive types actually saying "woman" instead of "birthing people." I wonder if people realize that while things seemed in the bag, they could get away with this b.s. but now that reality hits, they have to change their tune. Time will tell.
One of the things that baffles me is how men - even those who are generally supportive - are willing to hijack conversations between women about very important things to demand we mindlessly speak the shibboleth "not all men tho".
I just had someone attack me for saying abortion is a woman’s issue, so take their transagenda elsewhere. The response from someone was “ah-ha,” you are excluding women who call themselves men, and non-binary women who, I was told, could use a little solidarity from me.
But I want no solidarity from any woman who calls herself male, non-binary, or gender-fluid. They have abandoned being female. They play on the other team - the team that is trying to disappear women.
Pretending is a choice. Choosing to not pretend forces each of us to take positions that are opposed by people around us, making us targets for ridicule or worse. So not pretending requires courage.
The central question in life is "will I choose truth, regardless of the consequences, or will I compromise, comply, and collude with those who pretend that reality isn't real?"
The only people claiming to be or to support any other kind of women are irredeemably bourgeois, protected from the insecurities of regular life by bourgeois theory, bourgeois attitudes and bourgeois incomes. The class war is taking place within feminism.
Jun 25, 2022·edited Jun 26, 2022Liked by Eliza Mondegreen
I think that your last paragraph is the most powerful in this piece.
Regarding Roe vs. Wade, which was just struck down by five misogynists, there are a couple encouraging things. First are the sixteen states that continue to protect abortion rights. However, there is another fact which is encouraging. When the Roe decision was issued in 1973, there was only one state which protected abortion rights: New York. Fifty years of Roe has left us with an additional fifteen states. However, it is also true that in 1973, the idea that abortion should be legal was just taking shape in the country, and more states would have legalized it had Roe not legalized it everywhere. (What I'm trying to say is that it's hard to know whether Roe helped or hurt vis-a-vis the current status of abortion. It certainly galvanized the Right.)
Many years ago there was a state -- I think it was Wyoming -- in which the legislature and governor enacted greater abortion restrictions. The next year, the voters overturned that law in a referendum; but then the legislature and governor re-enacted the law. So I would say that referendums might be a useful tool in some states, but then the conservatives in power can always overturn referendums -- or they could end referendums altogether.
The president of the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List was interviewed on PBS last night and kept talking about what "the people" want, but what the people want is legalized abortion. When Judy Woodruff pointed out to her that polls say the people want legal abortion, the woman from SBAL pointed out that the same polls say that people want SOME restrictions. Of course, the SBAL doesn't want "some" restrictions -- they want it to be entirely illegal.
I think that the polarization of our politics won't last forever. If pro-abortion women will vote on this issue, I think there's a good chance that abortion rights will spread to more states.
Eliza, I'm adding this thought because I think it might be useful in defeating transgender ideology.
Donald Trump, as much as I despise him, showed us one thing: If you append a label to someone ("Crooked Hillary"), that label can do a lot to defeat that person (Hillary may have won the popular vote, but she still lost the election). For this reason, it's time we coined a term for transgenderism. What I have started to realize lately is that transgenderism has huge similarities to a cult. Cults promote bad ideas (as does transgender ideology). Cults depend on indoctrination (trans activists are busy spreading their ideas.) Cults depend on moralizing and shaming ("cancel culture" is closely tied to transgenderism). Cults are loath to lose any members (detransitioners come in for a lot of shaming).
There are more aspects to cults. I just found this list on the internet:
- A charismatic leader
- Ideological purity
- Conformity and control
- Mind-altering practices
- Isolation and "love-bombing" (creating a surrogate family for new members)
- Us-vs-them mentality
- Apocalyptic thinking
- Time and energy (followers are expected to devote time and energy to the cult)
Now, transgenderism doesn't fit ALL of the things on that list, but it comes close. The more people like us emphasize the cultish aspects of transgenderism, the less people will tend to respect it. Trans people definitely rope in new "converts" using the internet. I have watched video after video by detransitioners who said they joined some trans community on the internet at a time when they were feeling lonely and adrift.
From now on, in my talks with people, I am going to say, "I have started to view transgenderism as a cult", and then take it from there.
I thought I would share this minor but humorous anecdote. I bought a potato peeler from Amazon a while back. Another customer asked a question about the peeler, and Amazon invited me to answer it: "If the peeler is made in China, how can the blade be 'Japanese steel'?" I explained that the blade is "transnational". "The blade is made in China, but it identifies with Japanese steel, so that makes the blade REAL Japanese steel -- just like a man who feels like a women becomes a REAL woman." We'll see if Amazon leaves my attempt at humor up.
The thing is, women are the ONLY demographic that is biologically hard-wired to mate with their oppressors. Therefore, women are uniquely vulnerable to being indoctrinated from childhood to believe they must physically and emotionally depend on men for their needs. It's why otherwise strong, intelligent girls and women get attached to abusive men and find it hard to leave.
This is why lesbians are crucial to the women's liberation movement. They're able to avoid the patriarchal pressure that indoctrinates women to believe their well-being is completely dependent on men instead of seeking support from other women. Women are alienated from each other by feeling the need to compete for a suitable mate only to find out that we could have picked an alpha male, got pregnant then raised the child with other women. At adolescence, male children could then be taken under the wing of the menfolk and taught the necessary skills to support and defend themselves. They would have been raised by women who weren't indoctrinated to be weak but instead have healthy self-respect and who would pass on basic life skills like cooking, cleaning, sewing etc.
The fact that the central unit of social cohesion is mother and child and extends outward from there with men being peripheral to that relationship subconsciously drives men crazy. This opens up the mental illnesses we see in adult men to become fake women and erase actual women. To do this they've had to strip women of their autonomy and teach them as little girls that only men have the strength and endurance to fend for women when clearly that's not true. Matriarchal cultures have long existed without the need to make either sex neurotically dependent.
As older women, we've seen through the lies and many come to discover a rewarding level of independence we didn't know was possible. This is what all women need to realize if we have any hope of succeeding in overcoming the insanity.
Thank you! I just had a conversation with a friend who insists to "be kind" and "inclusive". Your words put some order in my thoughts (you are so good at this!), and gave me fresh ideas. Tomorrow I'll have some work to do...
One of the central edicts of patriarchy is that women must not be able to recognize or speak about our oppression. This is accomplished with a multi-pronged approach: tell women they're not oppressed (you have 'cis privilege ', you're loved/protected/desired by men), tell women if they are oppressed, it's their fault (she was wearing/saying/doing the wrong thing), and discredit us (she's crazy/a witch/a bigot). All of this is meant to detract from one central fact -- women and girls are oppressed on the basis of sex and no other reason.
It will be interesting to see. Suddenly, I see a lot of progressive types actually saying "woman" instead of "birthing people." I wonder if people realize that while things seemed in the bag, they could get away with this b.s. but now that reality hits, they have to change their tune. Time will tell.
There is no other way - the only way to negotiate reality is by not giving an inch; otherwise it's simply not reality any more.
The line must be drawn, and it must remain there. Resolute actions are determined, not hateful.
I'm so sorry about Roe v Wade - I fear that they will come after gay marriage next. We won't budge.
Thanks for your writing, Eliza.
One of the things that baffles me is how men - even those who are generally supportive - are willing to hijack conversations between women about very important things to demand we mindlessly speak the shibboleth "not all men tho".
I just had someone attack me for saying abortion is a woman’s issue, so take their transagenda elsewhere. The response from someone was “ah-ha,” you are excluding women who call themselves men, and non-binary women who, I was told, could use a little solidarity from me.
But I want no solidarity from any woman who calls herself male, non-binary, or gender-fluid. They have abandoned being female. They play on the other team - the team that is trying to disappear women.
Pretending is a choice. Choosing to not pretend forces each of us to take positions that are opposed by people around us, making us targets for ridicule or worse. So not pretending requires courage.
The central question in life is "will I choose truth, regardless of the consequences, or will I compromise, comply, and collude with those who pretend that reality isn't real?"
This is exactly the point.
Working class women know who and what they are.
The only people claiming to be or to support any other kind of women are irredeemably bourgeois, protected from the insecurities of regular life by bourgeois theory, bourgeois attitudes and bourgeois incomes. The class war is taking place within feminism.
I think that your last paragraph is the most powerful in this piece.
Regarding Roe vs. Wade, which was just struck down by five misogynists, there are a couple encouraging things. First are the sixteen states that continue to protect abortion rights. However, there is another fact which is encouraging. When the Roe decision was issued in 1973, there was only one state which protected abortion rights: New York. Fifty years of Roe has left us with an additional fifteen states. However, it is also true that in 1973, the idea that abortion should be legal was just taking shape in the country, and more states would have legalized it had Roe not legalized it everywhere. (What I'm trying to say is that it's hard to know whether Roe helped or hurt vis-a-vis the current status of abortion. It certainly galvanized the Right.)
Many years ago there was a state -- I think it was Wyoming -- in which the legislature and governor enacted greater abortion restrictions. The next year, the voters overturned that law in a referendum; but then the legislature and governor re-enacted the law. So I would say that referendums might be a useful tool in some states, but then the conservatives in power can always overturn referendums -- or they could end referendums altogether.
The president of the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List was interviewed on PBS last night and kept talking about what "the people" want, but what the people want is legalized abortion. When Judy Woodruff pointed out to her that polls say the people want legal abortion, the woman from SBAL pointed out that the same polls say that people want SOME restrictions. Of course, the SBAL doesn't want "some" restrictions -- they want it to be entirely illegal.
I think that the polarization of our politics won't last forever. If pro-abortion women will vote on this issue, I think there's a good chance that abortion rights will spread to more states.
Eliza, I'm adding this thought because I think it might be useful in defeating transgender ideology.
Donald Trump, as much as I despise him, showed us one thing: If you append a label to someone ("Crooked Hillary"), that label can do a lot to defeat that person (Hillary may have won the popular vote, but she still lost the election). For this reason, it's time we coined a term for transgenderism. What I have started to realize lately is that transgenderism has huge similarities to a cult. Cults promote bad ideas (as does transgender ideology). Cults depend on indoctrination (trans activists are busy spreading their ideas.) Cults depend on moralizing and shaming ("cancel culture" is closely tied to transgenderism). Cults are loath to lose any members (detransitioners come in for a lot of shaming).
There are more aspects to cults. I just found this list on the internet:
- A charismatic leader
- Ideological purity
- Conformity and control
- Mind-altering practices
- Isolation and "love-bombing" (creating a surrogate family for new members)
- Us-vs-them mentality
- Apocalyptic thinking
- Time and energy (followers are expected to devote time and energy to the cult)
Now, transgenderism doesn't fit ALL of the things on that list, but it comes close. The more people like us emphasize the cultish aspects of transgenderism, the less people will tend to respect it. Trans people definitely rope in new "converts" using the internet. I have watched video after video by detransitioners who said they joined some trans community on the internet at a time when they were feeling lonely and adrift.
From now on, in my talks with people, I am going to say, "I have started to view transgenderism as a cult", and then take it from there.
I thought I would share this minor but humorous anecdote. I bought a potato peeler from Amazon a while back. Another customer asked a question about the peeler, and Amazon invited me to answer it: "If the peeler is made in China, how can the blade be 'Japanese steel'?" I explained that the blade is "transnational". "The blade is made in China, but it identifies with Japanese steel, so that makes the blade REAL Japanese steel -- just like a man who feels like a women becomes a REAL woman." We'll see if Amazon leaves my attempt at humor up.
The thing is, women are the ONLY demographic that is biologically hard-wired to mate with their oppressors. Therefore, women are uniquely vulnerable to being indoctrinated from childhood to believe they must physically and emotionally depend on men for their needs. It's why otherwise strong, intelligent girls and women get attached to abusive men and find it hard to leave.
This is why lesbians are crucial to the women's liberation movement. They're able to avoid the patriarchal pressure that indoctrinates women to believe their well-being is completely dependent on men instead of seeking support from other women. Women are alienated from each other by feeling the need to compete for a suitable mate only to find out that we could have picked an alpha male, got pregnant then raised the child with other women. At adolescence, male children could then be taken under the wing of the menfolk and taught the necessary skills to support and defend themselves. They would have been raised by women who weren't indoctrinated to be weak but instead have healthy self-respect and who would pass on basic life skills like cooking, cleaning, sewing etc.
The fact that the central unit of social cohesion is mother and child and extends outward from there with men being peripheral to that relationship subconsciously drives men crazy. This opens up the mental illnesses we see in adult men to become fake women and erase actual women. To do this they've had to strip women of their autonomy and teach them as little girls that only men have the strength and endurance to fend for women when clearly that's not true. Matriarchal cultures have long existed without the need to make either sex neurotically dependent.
As older women, we've seen through the lies and many come to discover a rewarding level of independence we didn't know was possible. This is what all women need to realize if we have any hope of succeeding in overcoming the insanity.
This new assault on women's rights is utterly perverse.
Thank you! I just had a conversation with a friend who insists to "be kind" and "inclusive". Your words put some order in my thoughts (you are so good at this!), and gave me fresh ideas. Tomorrow I'll have some work to do...