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TERF: Difference between revisions
→Real-life vandalism, harassment, and assaults
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In May 2020, a blog post was published on Medium.com equating so-called TERFs with Nazis in a credible-sounding tone and explaining how various methods such as infiltration, censorship, property damage, and physical violence should be used against them.<ref name=medium-izaguirre/> The account posting the article was suspended from Medium.com on the same day and the content re-uploaded on WordPress soon after.<ref name=wp-izaguirre/> | In May 2020, a blog post was published on Medium.com equating so-called TERFs with Nazis in a credible-sounding tone and explaining how various methods such as infiltration, censorship, property damage, and physical violence should be used against them.<ref name=medium-izaguirre/> The account posting the article was suspended from Medium.com on the same day and the content re-uploaded on WordPress soon after.<ref name=wp-izaguirre/> | ||
== Real-life vandalism, harassment | == Real-life assault, vandalism, and harassment == | ||
In February 2017, the newly opened Vancouver Women's Library was met with a small group of vandals, including a very obviously male person who claimed to be a female sex worker. They ripped off a poster, poured wine on a book, and harassed those trying to partake in the opening celebration. Their stated reason was that the library included books which they deemed to support so-called "TERF" and "SWERF" ideology.<ref name=vwl/> | In February 2017, the newly opened Vancouver Women's Library was met with a small group of vandals, including a very obviously male person who claimed to be a female sex worker. They ripped off a poster, poured wine on a book, and harassed those trying to partake in the opening celebration. Their stated reason was that the library included books which they deemed to support so-called "TERF" and "SWERF" ideology.<ref name=vwl/> | ||
In September 2017, Maria MacLachlan was physically [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_d3ozhSE-U assaulted] by a transgender activist. A group of feminists wanted to hold a meeting to discuss proposed changes to the [https://www.feministcurrent.com/2018/09/14/never-mind-reforming-gender-recognition-act-theres-no-need-gender-recognition-certificates/ Gender Recognition Act] (GRA) in the [https://newxlearning.org/ New Cross Learning] community Library in London. The library had to cancel the event after harassment by transgender activists. The organizers of the meeting decided to meet at Speakers' Corner, before going to the newly chosen meeting place, which was not announced to protect it from harassment. At Speakers' Corner, they were met with a group of transgender activists shouting slogans, notably "when TERFs attack, we fight back." Maria MacLachlan, who was filming the protesters with her digital camera, was attacked by someone running out of the trans activist group, who then tried to grab her camera. As the unsuccessful attacker ran back behind his friends, MacLachlan tried to get closer to the group to get his face on camera. Several of the activists started assaulting her in that moment. One of the attackers, later revealed to be Tara Wolf, was ultimately charged with assault by beating. Prior to the event, he had posted that he wants to "f*ck up some terfs" on social media. The event could be considered a cornerstone in the escalating hatred transgender activists show against feminists, as no such clearly documented assault in relation to the slur "TERF" existed before, and the event gained widespread attention in the news, being covered by The Guardian,<ref name=guardian/> The New Statesman,<ref name=statesman1/><ref name=statesman2/> The Telegraph,<ref name=telegraph/> The Times,<ref name=times1/><ref name=times2/> The Evening Standard,<ref name=standard/> and The Daily Mail.<ref name=dailymail/> Of course, it was also covered by Feminist Current.<ref name=fc1/><ref name=fc2/> In the aftermath of the event, many transgender activists online defended or even celebrated the assault, leading Meghan Murphy to publish the piece [https://www.feministcurrent.com/2017/09/21/terf-isnt-slur-hate-speech/ '' 'TERF' isn't just a slur, it's hate speech'']. Some publications in support of transgender activists have tried to claim that the assailant was really acting in self-defense, and tried to prove this claim by uploading carefully edited cuts of the recording showing the assault,<ref name=planettrans/> or by framing the assault as "standing up to bullies" who "provoke" transgender activists (by having opinions they don't like, we have to presume).<ref name=queerness/> | |||
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_d3ozhSE-U | |||
In December 2018, human rights lawyer Prof. [[Rosa Freedman]] found her office door covered in urine after attending debates surrounding proposed changes to the UK's Gender Recognition Act. She also reported being called a "Nazi" (she is Jewish) who "should be raped" (she is a survivor of sexual violence) and receiving abusive anonymous phone calls.<ref name=freedman/> | In December 2018, human rights lawyer Prof. [[Rosa Freedman]] found her office door covered in urine after attending debates surrounding proposed changes to the UK's Gender Recognition Act. She also reported being called a "Nazi" (she is Jewish) who "should be raped" (she is a survivor of sexual violence) and receiving abusive anonymous phone calls.<ref name=freedman/> | ||