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QuestionWhat can we do?
Posted November 3, 2024 by Hedge_Witcheroo in GenderCritical

I've been reading a lot of just awful things happening re: men in women's prisons, sports, etc. I've signed petitions and written my senator and such.

What other actions can we take other than voting for a candidate we might not see improvement with for a few years? I've decided Trump is too evil to vote for and his running mate is terrifyingly charismatic and even more religious crazy and not someone I want in if Trump ever does take a bullet. So I'm voting Kamala and hoping she's stealth GC.

I live in the northern US if that matters. Just looking for ways I can do something with my poor health and low income.

22 comments

VeneficcaNovember 3, 2024

Talk to people. Make this visible. People tend to support it when it's an abstraction - then they see real world consequences like Mr. Johnson the math teacher is now Miss Johnson and he's also coaching the cheerleaders and in their locker room. During abortion talks, I bring up the women getting pregnant in prison. Support falters when people see it in real life.

It takes bravery and a willingness to risk the loss of friendship. But more and more people are open to the conversation. Parents are mobilizing. More detransitioners will be suing. We can keep opening people's eyes and that's going to be very effective for women in particular, because so many of our groups and events and communities were given away by other women who thought they were being kind.

Essentially, we can focus on taking back women's spaces and let Democrats know this is not supported by their base. And we can get active locally by seeking leadership positions and then Trojan horsing them just like TRAs Trojan horsed the Left.

[Deleted]November 3, 2024
truthisnthateNovember 3, 2024

You could become a supporter of DIAG (Democrats for An Informed Approach To Gender), it won’t cost you a penny. DIAG is working to educate democratic lawmakers and policy makers at the state and federal levels about the harms of sex-denialism. But to be effective, DIAG needs high numbers of supporters in state and federal districts to convince lawmakers that it is in their own best interest to change course on policies that erase women’s sex-based rights and endanger the health of minors. DIAG also has a forum for supporters that allows them to communicate with other supporters in their state so that they can plan actions and meet-ups.

[Deleted]November 3, 2024
Dressed2K1llNovember 3, 2024

Never be quiet. Never shut up. Make it uncomfortable. Practice telling men that you’re disappointed you don’t hear more from them. Be the not fun kind of feminist.

[Deleted]November 3, 2024
[Deleted]November 3, 2024

You could work on the local level to push your party to sanity. PTA / school board meetings where you protest this ideology etc. You could organise with others in your area to meet with law makers and moderate them.

Honestly- a lot of this policy is made by people in high places. Whoever the secretary for health is is the person who is responsible for holding the WPATH in check. And thats Rachel Levine. People who are appointed as judges in federal courts will decide many of the detransitioner cases and the sex based rights cases. Title IX rule changes that Biden pushed will be what his party continues to push. Trans has never been an organic grassroots movement that can similarly be contended with at grassroots. Across the world it has been a movement that seeks to achieve its goals through institutional / activist capture at the highest level and impose top down authoritarian change. Those are the terms of engagement.

I understand the choice you made. I might have done the same thing. But with that choice I think, comes knowing what one has sacrificed. KH is not stealth GC- thats just wishful thinking.

RusticTroglodytePubebeard KermitNovember 3, 2024

I'm voting third party. Sorry but there is just no way Harris is secretly GC. She was giving rapists and murderers free breast implants years ago

[Deleted]November 3, 2024

Because it was THE LAW, which she was sworn to uphold. She at first fought against this until she was told to do so BY A COURT OF LAW.

SNOPES fact checking. It was FEDERAL LAW during Trump's presidency, which everyone keeps ignoring for some reason. And she STILL signed a letter trying to deny the surgery.

It was Trump's SCOTUS that MANDATED she do this, so it is on HIM, not her.

However, it has been the policy in federal prisons since at least 2016, according to Bureau of Federal Prisons' guidance issued in 2016 and updated in 2022. Both President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden have maintained it. The policy follows the medical recommendations of every major medical association in the U.S. In 2022, a court ordered the first gender-affirming surgery for a trans federal inmate, affirming this long-standing policy. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed an appeal to stand that ruled gender dysphoria could be included in the Americans with Disabilities Act.

These sort of claims promote Trump's and Elon Musk's agenda without considering the facts of the situation and its infuriating: > This X post (archived) had amassed 12.4 million views and 167,000 likes as of this writing. During the debate, Trump added, "this is a radical left liberal that would do this." Later, X and Tesla owner Elon Musk shared a video of Harris asserting the same thing.

The rumor also appeared in a separate TV advertisement for the Trump campaign at the end of September 2024 that claimed "even the liberal media were shocked" by Harris' stance on gender-affirming surgery for inmates (archived):

By definition, people who are held in federal detention facilities for migrants and federal prisons depend on the state for medical care, which is therefore funded with taxes. It is the position of all reputable medical associations in the U.S. that gender-affirming care is health care, and that the course of treatment should be agreed on by a patient (and their family if they are young) and their doctor. The Federal Bureau of Prisons of the Department of Justice issued guidance in 2022 regarding the treatment of transgender offenders, and it outlines the procedure for inmates to request surgery

So she literally had no choice but STILL she did this: Harris sought to deny a transgender woman who was incarcerated gender-affirming health care.

In one brief signed by Harris, she joins other state attorneys in dismissing the significance of Norsworthy’s plea to receive affirming health care: “Norsworthy has been treated for gender dysphoria for over 20 years, and there is no indication that her condition has somehow worsened to the point where she must obtain sex-reassignment surgery now rather than waiting until this case produces a final judgment on the merits.”

Harris has not unequivocally stated her support for providing incarcerated transgender people across the nation with affirming health care.

Trump has said not one word about changing this law, bc he cannot! His SCOTUS has already ruled on it. HIS appointees.

Elle_x_ohNovember 14, 2024(Edited November 14, 2024)

Wow.... I'm not American and just because she's a woman I hoped she'd win too. But listening to Trump saying he would get rid of everything trans that was hurting and maiming young people over there...and not hearing anything from Harris' party on the ideology... I'm glad she didn't win

Hedge_Witcheroo [OP]November 15, 2024

I really didn't want him to win, bit I'm not heart broken about it. I'm not sure I buy into the project 2025 terror. He was president for four years once before. Losing Roe v Wade and having it go to the states was a big blow, but now we have children on hormone blockers that have long term very bad effects, states threatening to take kids away for parents not allowing kids to trans, schools hiding information from parents, nude spas being forced to allow men in, people threatening to bomb synagogues... It's fucking nuts.

OpalsNovember 3, 2024(Edited November 3, 2024)

Every now and then I go through my finances and try to look if I can leave companies that support gender identity ideology - and tell those companies why I am leaving

Might be something possible even on a low income

They will change when it costs them

And for people who are doubtful… look at ABInBev and the ‘Dylan Mulvaney’ scandal. People no longer buying their beer hit them hard

FeministunderyrbedNovember 3, 2024(Edited November 3, 2024)

I don’t know that there’s a lot we can do. I think actively saying anything GC invites ostracism. But the whole trend is fading and people are slinking away in embarrassment at what they used to say and believe. See pronouns in signatures going away and people calling NBs based on their sex and people opposing TIMs in sports. I would recommend just not engaging in any conversation about it.

Once the election is over one way or another, the issue will stop being a matter of party politics. If Trump is elected everybody will have a lot more to worry about than pronouns and hormone treatment. If Harris is elected, she will also have lots to do that isn’t about indulging men’s fetishes. Speaking as a Democrat, having seen surveys, it’s just not a priority for other Democrats. It’s a priority for the right because it’s Democrats’ least popular position and the right has almost nothing that’s popular to run on.

somegenerichandleNovember 3, 2024(Edited November 3, 2024)

I've written to women in prison before. I know it's not safe to publish the names of women subjected to this, but if they ever wanted a sympathetic ear, i'd be happy to be a pen pal.

WoLF is always looking for volunteers though, if you have some skills to offer. They did say some of the names of the women in their lawsuit -- https://womensliberationfront.org/news/cathleen-quinn-domestic-abuse-survivor-forced-to-live-with-violent-men

[Deleted]November 3, 2024

Join and contribute to WDI and WoLF. Get their updates; volunteer. Sign the Women's Declaration. Write letters to media outlets that misrepresent men as women.

3CatsInACoatNovember 3, 2024

I am in no way an experienced activist, but the same question bothered me for a while, so I've done some research. This is the answer I came to.

The way I understand the situation right now, the strategy to defeat the gender cult is:

  1. Make the decision makers on all levels understand that pandering to the cult is a horrible idea;
  2. Raise awareness in general population so that they stop supporting the cult, and apply more pressure to the decision makers to achieve pt. 1.

These are two very broad goals, and there is no one silver bullet to get there swiftly and surely. However, you can help advance to these goals in myriad of small ways. The exact thing to do will hugely depend on your country of residence, a skill set, your willingness to go public and engage with people, your willingness to face the juridical system, the amount of free time you have, etc.

  • You can write to your representatives or policy makers on all levels, from your local authorities to the UN, and express your grievances and concerns. The goal is not to persuade them with that letter, but to make them notice that it is a thought on people's minds. The more people do this, the harder it gets to ignore.
  • You can volunteer at a feminist organisation (like WoLF, WDI, your local organisation), or reach out to the admins of feminist resource that you like and offer your help. There is always a shortage of committed volunteers.
  • If you are able, consider supporting cool initiatives financially (starting with this very site). What I understand is, even very small but regular donations make their lives much easier because regularity helps with planning.
  • If you are artsy, making inspirational or thought provoking art can be very powerful and more impactful than most people realise.
  • Stickering could be an option if you make sure not to get caught.
  • If and your local laws are permissive enough and you accept a risk of arrest / attack, street protest like picketing could be an option. Or something Russians call "quiet picket", where you go to a crowded area wearing clothing or an accessory with a short, powerful message.
  • If you are outgoing and social, you can gather a group of radfems to do all of the above in a good company!
  • If you can't do anything of the above, but you know someone who does any of it, you may be able to support this woman, and I don't mean financially. Activist burnout is a thing, and offering a supportive conversation, some homemade food, a card, anything of emotional and sentimental value may postpone or even prevent that burnout, thus increasing the amount of goodness that gets done in the world.
  • Probably more things I'm forgetting...

Long story short, we're playing the long game and every little bit helps. You are not powerless and your actions matter. We won't get there tomorrow, but every tiny contribution brings us ever so closer to the downfall of the cult.