[BEEP SWOOSH SWISH CRUNCH]
Hi, welcome to this week's episode of Feminist Fridays.
A series where we explore news and pop culture from a feminist lens and also use a lot of F-words.
Okay, so we're gonna need to, like, sit down for this one
because there has been so much happening in the last couple weeks that I didn't get to cover
because, uh, we were on hiatus.
So here's what happened while I was on a mental health break--
not all of it, just like the stuff from the last couple weeks.
In an interview with Piers Morgan, Donald Trump said
"I wouldn't say I'm a feminist."
which shocked exactly zero people.
"I’m for women, I’m for men, I’m for everyone. I think people have to go out ... and they have to win. " Trump said.
Honestly, I'm not even gonna cover this because...
Donald Trump's not a feminist and if he claimed he was that would be weird.
I don't wanna be held accountable for Donald Trump, so I'm cool with that.
Last week The Advocate, which is an LGBTQ+ publication
posted an interview with Sir Ian McKellen
who was celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the day that he came out, which is really cool.
That's awesome.
I'm glad he's living his best life.
However, personally, me and several other people in the community
had some issues with the title of the article and, like, the pull quote they used.
The article title was
"Ian McKellen Has No Regrets About Coming Out — and You Won't Either"
In the interview he says
"I’ve never met a gay person who regretted coming out – including myself.
Life at last begins to make sense, when you are open and honest."
I think it's great that Ian McKellen is at a point in his career
and is surrounded by people who are supportive of him
however I think framing it this way is very dangerous.
[jazz music]
I think it's a nice sentiment to encourage people to be themselves.
And I wish we lived in a world where that was a thing you could do without consequences.
However I found it really tone deaf because a lot of LGBT people
particularly young kids who are still living with, like, homophobic parents
either in the US or just across the world
it is unfortunately very unsafe for them to come out.
They might be sent to gay conversion therapy, which is horribly abusive and statistically does not work.
Obviously.
They might also be punished or subject to years of emotional and physical abuse by their parents
and a lot of kids do get kicked out of their homes when they come out to their parents
or their parents find out somehow.
That is a very real reality for a lot of gay, and queer, and trans kids.
That's not even mentioning the fact that there are several countries where it is illegal to be gay
and punishments range anywhere from being put in jail to death.
So telling kids that there aren't gonna be any consequences
I think is super idealistic and potentially encouraging themselves to be put into unsafe situations.
I also see this a lot in the LGBT YouTube community
where people have really supportive family members and coming out went well for them.
So they'll say the same thing, basically, as Sir Ian McKellen, and I've always found it really irresponsible.
Like, I wish that every kid could come out, and be in a safe environment, and, you know, not be put at risk
because of their sexuality or their gender identity.
But that is not the reality that we live in and we need to be honest with kids
and we need to make sure that they are prepared.
That they know the potential weight of their decisions.
Because it's not just an easy decision.
And treating it lightly is incredibly dangerous.
I just wanna, like, protect all of the kids, and I can't, and it makes me sad.
Anyway, moving on because that made me emotional.
Last week activist Rose McGowan announced that she was cancelling her book tour
because of an incident with another trans activist.
Let me give you some backstory because there's a lot to sift through and I have some opinions.
Rose McGowan recently came in the spotlight for sexual assault activism
and basically being instrumental
in making sure the allegations against Harvey Weinstein were brought to light
and beginning the process of trying to make sure he was held accountable.
We'll see how that actually plays out
but she and several other women put into motion
the national conversation that we're having currently about sexual assault
and power dynamics in the entertainment industry.
Which is a really important conversation
and I'm glad that it's no longer being swept under the rug
either through threats legal action, or intimidation, or manipulation
by Weinstein and other powerful figures in the industry.
So I wanna preface this by saying that I think Rose McGowan is incredibly brave
for challenging her rapist and the most powerful man in Hollywood.
She didn't back down despite Harvey Weinstein's abuses of power and manipulation
and all of the consequences to her career, and I think that's--that's amazing.
However I think as we explore the details of the situation more
it will become clear that Rose's activism throws a lot of other women under the bus.
So for some more background in July 2017 Rose appeared on RuPaul's podcast, What's the Tee.
Rose McGowan: You know, something that's funny I talk to to my trans friends about it I'm like
"You know what you guys have never--"
I say guys, whatever.
"You girls, women have never asked me what it's like to be a woman.
You never once asked me what it was like to grow up as a woman?
What's it like to get a period?
What's it like when you grow breasts and people all of a sudden are screaming at you on the streets?
What's it like when your world gets loud?
What's it like?"
Because they assumed because they felt like a woman on the inside that's not developing as a woman.
That's not growing as a woman. That's not living in this world as a woman
and a lot of the stuff I hear trans complaining about I'm, like, yeah welcome to the world. This is our world.
RuPaul: Mhmm.
and a lot of the stuff I hear trans complaining about I'm, like, yeah welcome to the world. This is our world.
and a lot of the stuff I hear trans complaining about I'm, like, yeah welcome to the world. This is our world.
Then in October 2017, and this is actually why I've been so skeptical of Rose's activism for a while
on her Twitter account Ellen DeGeneres tweeted to bring attention to a recent Mississippi ruling that targeted LGBT people.
A law was passed that basically allowed people to discriminate and refuse treatment or services
including health care to anyone who was LGBT based on religious reasons.
Ellen tweeted:
"Right now in Mississippi, gay people can be refused service, and trans people can be refused treatment.
Mississippi, you deserve better."
and then out of nowhere, completely unprovoked, this was on Ellen DeGeneres's personal Twitter
she was highlighting an important civil rights issue, uh, Rose McGowan replied:
"Right now in America,birth control is being taken away&abortion is almost illegal.
Speak for women as well plz. Huge platform."
Just so you know women exist in the LGBT community.
Me, for example.
Also it's possible to highlight multiple issues without derailing or taking away from each other.
I care about reproductive rights and LGBT issues and I also know that often those two things coincide
because intersectionality is a thing.
If you're new here, and you don't know what intersectionality is
I'm gonna link a video I made about it in the cards so go check that out
because it's important and it's also foundational to most of the way that I talk about social issues
and just generally see the world. So, yeah.
Just there are so many ways
to talk about the intersection between abortion, and healthcare, and the LGBTQ+ community.
Nuance is never a bad thing. It's always helpful to these conversations.
Anyway, there is your context and background.
I'm sure there are other things that, um, maybe can inform your view on Rose McGowan's activism
that I don't know about or I haven't covered
but those are the two main things that stand out to me.
Also apparently Rose McGowan is from Charmed.
Which is a show I did not watch growing up as a kid and doesn't contribute anything to this story
but I just wanted you to know.
It's not even a judgement it's just a neutral piece of information.
Anyway, so basically in response to all of this
a trans activist named Andi Dier was in the audience of one of Rose McGowan's speaking engagements.
I think it was at a Barnes & Noble during her book tour.
Andi Dier asked McGowan to clarify her controversial remarks from RuPaul's podcast
and it escalated from there.
[jazz music]
Andi Dier: I have a suggestion. Talk about what you said on RuPaul.
Trans women are dying and you said that we, as trans women, are not like regular women.
We get raped more often.
We go through domestic violence more often.
A trans woman was killed here a few blocks.
I have been followed home.
Rose McGowan: So have I. So have I. So have I.
We're the same. My point was we are the same.
Do not put your label on me. I don't come from your planet. Leave me alone.
[cheering]
Do not put your label on me. I don't come from your planet. Leave me alone.
[cheering]
I do not subscribe to your rules!
[clapping]
I do not subscribe to your rules!
[clapping]
I do not subscribe to your language!
[clapping]
You do not put labels on me or anybody!
[clapping]
Step the fuck back!
[clapping]
What I do is for the fucking world, and you should be fucking grateful!
What I do is for the fucking world, and you should be fucking grateful!
So shut the fuck up!
Get off my back!
[cheering]
Get off my back!
[cheering]
What have you done?!
I'm not worried I’m fucking mad with the lies!
I'm mad at the stereotypes!
I’m mad that you put shit on me 'cause I have a fucking vagina
and I’m white or I’m black or I’m yellow or I’m purple!
Fuck off!
All right. There is so much to unpack.
Not even gonna touch on the attempt at weird racial colorblindness because nah.
There's the issue of sexual assault
and then the fact that a lot of cis women will speak over
and their opinions are often valued more than trans women
who they hold a level of privilege over just because of society.
There's a conversation to be had about how to respond to call-outs and tone policing.
There is the question of how much space do you give to mental illness and trauma in these conversations
and does it matter when you're being oppressive to other women?
That's just--there so much stuff.
The implication the Dier has done nothing for women kind of implies that trans women are not women.
This isn't about Rose McGowan having a vagina
it's about the way that she talks about trans women and LGBT people.
It's not who she is it's what she says and the type of activism that she promotes.
Like Rose, I am a cis woman.
So I think it's incredibly important that when you were called out by trans women
to listen to their perspective, hear them out and not respond defensively
and try and engage with their response to you critically and empathetically.
Labeling someone cis isn't an insult. It's just a fact.
It's important that cis women acknowledge that we don't experience transphobia
and we don't experience the same disadvantages.
We have similarities for sure because we are women
but also, like, there is an added level of marginalization that trans women experience
and they are more at risk for violence and poverty and lots of other things
but Rose McGowan's activism doesn't allow for that.
During her rant Rose McGowan even tried to minimize the violence that trans women experience
saying that the rates are not that different, when they are.
Trans women experience more violence than cis women and ignoring that is pretty fucked up.
Women of color experience higher rates of violence than white women.
It's just important to include that nuance in your activism.
Otherwise you're just sidelining and minimizing other women who are not like you.
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