How gender politics trample women’s rights

Terf Wars – The Rising Tide of Misogyny

It hasn’t made the dictionaries yet, but #terf is now one of 2023’s most popular words. Who knew a frock and size 9 kitten heels would grant transvestites unprecedented access to indulge themselves in the safety and comfort of hitherto sacred female spaces?

With their inability to define women, the TQ plus crowd and their corporate enablers have allowed all manner of perverts into women’s changing rooms and even jails, where inmates are raped. Some are even charged with ‘misgendering’ the rapist.

Women who complain are branded bigots by men in dresses and their supporters, who applaud their demand for access to perve like they’re Rosa Parks defending her place on the bus. Who knew standing up for hard-won women’s rights to privacy and safety would get us into so much trouble, but here we are. There was a time when decent, masculine men – gay or straight ‒ defended our rights because a society that does not protect its women and children is doomed. Only deluded minds believe a woman has a penis because a man in a dress is a man, no less. Prove me wrong.

The war on women has raged since Nimrod was a lad, something I covered in Reign 16 Secrets. Read the first three chapters free in the Kindle version but never has it been so insidious.

I may as well nail my colors to the mast. I am not a cis birthing person or a chest feeder. I am a woman, an adult human female, something brave women like Posie Parker and real journalists like Julie Bindel or Abigail Shrier, author of Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters (2020), get vilified for saying.

Desperate for male approval, some women have sold out their sisters to virtue signal, but that’s how internalized misogyny works. The war for your attention is fierce. You can identify as the sugar plum fairy – knock yourself out – but you don’t get to stand on our cake.  You don’t get to cancel women with your language and sly misogyny masquerading as care. We see your true colors shining like Lucifer. Duck You! (Pesky spellchecker!)

Here’s the thing, forelock tuggers: corporates dgaf about your rights even if they pretend they do. No, it’s usually at the cost of another marginalized group’s freedoms – ‘free-dumbs’ as some churnalists like to spell it. If companies like Woolworths were so worried about gay rights, they’d take their campaign to Nigeria, but they haven’t. Corporates worship money. Some say Baphomet, others say Black Rock. Whatever, it’s a free world; oh wait. Choose wisely.  Stand for sovereignty. And #standwithwomen.

Eight corporate own goals

Offending religious groups. Take the ongoing Pride debacle. Yes, pedophilia is rife in politics and religion, but celebrating BDSM booty smacking and drag queens twerking in the faces of children might be a step too far.

Messing with your customers’ values. A rainbow flag is one thing. Adding all sorts of letters after the LGB is asking for trouble. As Ben Cooper tweeted: “I’m amazed PR companies aren’t telling their clients, “Do NOT wade into this issue, you will get ratioed up the wazoo and end up with everyone on both sides hating you, which does not enhance shareholder value.”

Fomenting fights and name-calling among your customers. Never a good move. May I suggest you try the hyggelig approach? I write about hygge in all three books, which I’ve reworked into a more expansive concept of love flowing along currents of genuine care.

Blocking customers: Slamming the door in the face of their concerns smacks of fear, loathing, and tyranny that will only exacerbate the alienation and harm your company’s image.

Believing bad publicity is better than no publicity? Wrong! That old chestnut hasn’t worked since lockdown days.  Compassion is not ‘kind’. It’s fierce af. You strike the woman, you strike the rock. All decent men and women know this.

Retweeting or liking tweets that call lesbians transphobes because they prefer dick-free dates or applauding elective mastectomies in teenage girls who’ve been encouraged to think they’re in the wrong body. How dare you? We see you.

Not learning from the mistakes of others: Google the falling stock prices of Bud Light, North Star, Nike, Tampax, and all the companies that thought it cool to celebrate a mincing Matilda doing his interpretation of womanhood. How do you not see what a slap in the face that is to women? In the South African vernacular: Tsek!

Hiring idiot interns to do your PR: Seriously. No words. Wtf are you thinking?