Using our voices to fight for you

Owen Jones on the other hand found that wretched content-free “ooh somebody said” piece of dreck in the Independent a prompt to make another soaring declaration of allegiance.

To trans people, one of the most besieged, marginalised and oppressed minorities in Britain: you have few vocal allies in the media. But we are not going to stop using our voices to stand by and fight for you, whatever happens.

Who says trans people are one of the most besieged, marginalised and oppressed minorities in Britain? What does that mean? Is it true? It’s a claim that people make, in a similarly redundant fashion (most oppressed and oppressed and oppressed), so often and noisily that it’s become formulaic, but is it even true?

I don’t buy it, myself. I can believe that trans people are more subject to random street violence, but what about all the other ways of being oppressed? Are they systematically confined to specific neighborhoods that everyone else is warned away from, with the result that they can’t build equity by buying property? Are they systematically confined to underfunded schools in those neighborhoods, are they systematically confined to low-skilled jobs and kept out of unions, are they denied promotions and raises, are they stifled and stunted and stymied in every way a dominant majority can think of?

No.

I don’t think Owen Jones’s hackneyed formula is even true, and I don’t think the fact that one guy agreed with another guy about trans activism’s conflict with women’s rights is a good reason to recite the hackneyed formula yet again along with a boastful histrionic vow to “fight for you.”

I also wonder if Owen Jones ever gives a single thought to women.

Comments

11 responses to “Using our voices to fight for you”

  1. twiliter Avatar

    Owen “my DM’s are open”, the trans rights hero… he’s another creeper if you ask me.

  2. Colin Day Avatar

    And even if they are the most oppressed, are their views on gender correct?

  3. iknklast Avatar

    Okay, what is a DM? I’ve heard of IM, PM, and PMS, but DM is a new one on me.

  4. KBPlayer Avatar

    Owen Jones is such a pompous little git.

  5. Sackbut Avatar

    DM is Direct Message. I’ve seen it used for any of the in-app messaging systems for Twitter, Facebook, and others. “Private message” I’ve also seen used.

  6. Ophelia Benson Avatar

    Colin Day @ 3 – well it’s not as if I never address the issue of whether their views on gender are correct, so I didn’t think I needed to address that in this one too.

  7. Colin Day Avatar

    @Ophelia Benson

    Of course you understand. I meant that more for Owen Jones (and PZ Myers, etc), but maybe they don’t follow Butterflies and Wheels.

  8. Ophelia Benson Avatar

    Hahaha no I think that’s a pretty safe guess.

  9. Acolyte of Sagan Avatar
    Acolyte of Sagan

    Ophelia, of course PZ follows your blog, or at the very least has one or more of the Horde keeping tabs. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to discuss your ongoing, blatant TERFism and transphobia or be so well-informed as to the views of the commenters here. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them mentions this very comment over there soon, probably in a comment denying that they bother coming here at all so how dare I suggest they’re regular snoopers.

  10. Ophelia Benson Avatar

    Nah, I really don’t think so. It’s all too long ago. I’m not interested in them and I really doubt they’re interested in me. Once in awhile someone must drop in to take a look around and then go screaming back to PZ with fresh dripping evidence, but I think that’s all.