This Is What Solidarity Looks Like
15th May 2019
Last weekend, Helen Steel was forced off a protest walk across moors at a camp organised by the Land Justice Network. This happened not because of anything that Helen had done or said at the actual camp, but because individuals objected to views she had previously expressed regarding the impact of gender identity theory on women’s rights. She was told that a decision had been made prior to the camp starting that she would not be welcome. Although Helen had been at the camp from the first day, she was only told she wasn’t welcome after the ‘action’ ramble had left the camp – leaving her to walk back across the moor alone. Fortunately two comrades walked in solidarity with her, one of them (like Helen) a founder member of the Land Justice Network.
Whether calculated or not, the impact of this treatment was to give a very public and demeaning punishment to someone who has voiced opinions which differ from those of the activists who inflicted it. None of the small subset of the organisers who were involved in making this decision were prepared to either publicly explain themselves or to give Helen a right of response. There were others on the site who shared opinions similar to Helen’s who were not asked to leave. The claimed justification for treating Helen so shabbily was that she is a hateful transphobic bigot. We do not believe that Helen is a bigot.
Helen is a feminist who holds beliefs based on basic biology, that humans are a dimorphic species and it is not possible to biologically change sex. Her view prioritises objective facts above personal subjective feelings when looking at how we should try to change society and dismantle oppressive social constructs such as gender stereotypes.
This was the third time that Helen has been threatened or evicted from political events in this way and others have received similar treatment. The idea that questioning gender identity theory amounts to bigotry and ‘hatred’ of trans people is justifying the exclusion of people from the movement. The effect of this is that many are afraid to express an opinion on the issue or even to ask any questions about it, and the end result is that most do not understand different perspectives on the issue. Progressive movements are supposed to work on the basis of mass participation; it is only through the honest exchange of views and varied life experiences that we are able to understand the implications of power dynamics, policies and laws and able to ensure that everyone’s rights are protected.
It is out of order to single out one individual to be excommunicated, hounded, physically assaulted and humiliated for views which many other progressive people in our radical networks share. No comrade deserves to be treated so shabbily, much less comrades whose commitment to social justice is undoubted and who have suffered so many attacks from both Corporate and State power.
This has to stop. It is time to make up your mind. Do you really think Helen Steel is a bigot?
Even if we disagree with some of her views, wouldn't you agree that her motivation is not hatred, but her experiences of sexism and wanting to dismantle it?
Maybe you need to look into the issues and do some reading and thinking before you can decide. Fair enough. But now is the time to do this. [Suggestions and a brief description of a gender-critical perspective on this issue are in the Appendix]
As we’ve said many times before – an attack on one is an attack on all.
If you don’t think Helen is a bigot then you must acknowledge that the way she is being treated by people in our movement is wrong.
We need to talk about this.
It is time to speak up.
Signed:
Cath Bann
& in alphabetical order...
Abigail Elizabeth Rowland
Adele Green
Aida Akmar Kaman
Ailsa Holland
Albert Beale
Alessandra Asteriti
Alexandra Ireland
Alex Hodson
Alice Bondi
Alice Dawnay
Alice Sullivan
Alison Butler
Alison Simmons
Alison Wren
Alix Goldring
Allison Downing
Ally Rogers
Amanda Maclean
Amber Ravenscroft
Amelia ap Ellis
Amy Atkins
Andrea Smith
Andrew Hitchcock
Andrew Willgoss
Andy Healey
Angela Garrigan
Anne Webster
Annie Gwillym Walker
Anne Gray
Ann McTaggart
Arthur healey
B Dahl
Barbara Hughes
Bea Jaspert
Beatrix Campbell
Becky Winstanley
Beverley Dale
Bev Jackson
Bob Lockhart
Brandon Spivey
Brian Morris
Brigitte Lechner
Bronwen Davies
Caitlin Roberts
Cambridge Radical Feminist Network
Carmel Reynolds-Knowles
Carol Ackroyd
Carol Fenwomyn
Caroline Boreham
Caroline Horne
Caroline Kerr
Caroline McCready
Caroline Spry
Caroline Wilson
Cassidy Quinn
Catherine Cavanagh
Catherine Cross
Cathoel Jorss
Cath Picken
Cathie Lee
Cathy Boardman
Ceri Williams
Charlotte Crouch
Cheryl Mckenzie
Cherry Austin
Chinzia Ogilvie
Chloe Wilson
Chris Dickens
Chris Earth
Chris Holt
Chris Moore
Christian Garland
Christina Forte
Christine Camilleri
Christine Clarke
Christine McLaughlin
Claire Calverley
Claire Davies
Claire Hildreth
Claire Graham
Claire Jones
Clare B Dimyon
Clare Dougherty
Clare Eddison
Clare Farren
Clarissa Payne
Claudia Figueira
Claudia Kaplan
Claudia Taudte
Clifford Harper
Cllr Andrew Cooper
Cllr Imogen Makepeace
Cllr Shane Collins
Colin Chalmers
Cristina Gastaldi
Da Choong
Daisy Lee
Dani Ahrens
Daniel James
Darina Roche Kiang
Darren Guy
Dave Lyons
Dave Morris
Dave Smith
Dave King
David King
David Hainsworth
Dawn Laker
Dean Holdsworth
Debbie Epstein
Debbie Hayton
Deb Bradley
Deborah Holland
Dee Searle
Delyth Rennie
Denise Prideaux
Denise Sumpter
Dermot Morrow
Devin Ashwood
Diana Shelley
Diana Toynbee
Diane Brewster
Diane Jones
Dianne Vine
Dinah Stubbs
Donna McLean
Dr Lesley Semmens
Elizabeth Carola
Elizabeth Pitt
Ellie Stradders
Emel Kahraman
Emily Johns
Emily Newman
Emma Bateman
Emma Gibson
Emma Grover
Emma Hynes
Emma Johnson
Emma Long
Emma Wilkes
Esther Giles
Faye McCardle
Fern Eyles
Fiona English
Fiona Tresidder
Fionne Orlander
Fodo Higginson
Frances Connolley
Frances Davidson
Frances McMillan
Frances Wright
Frankie Lawrence
Gab Sinclair
Georgina Toye
Geraldine Halpin
Gerald Miles
Gerry Davies
Gill Barron
Gillian Dunn
Ginny Brown
Glyn Harries
Graham Linehan
Gringo Ben
Gwenan Richards
Harry Backhouse
Hattie Morgan
Hayley Mullen
Hazel Turner-Lyons
Heather Graham
Helen Beynon
Helen Haigh
Helen Roberts
Helen Rogers
Helena Coates
Helena Earnshaw
Helena Wotjczak
Helen Saxby
Helen Thompson
Helen Watts
Hilary Adams
Hilda Palmer
Holly Smith
Ian Fillingham
Ian Mills
Jacob Secker
Jacky Girling
Jacky Gruhn
Jacky Holyoake
Jacqueline Sheedy
Jane Ayres
Jane Clare Jones
Jane Harris
Janet Lallysmith
Janine Pyke
Jay Williams
Jean Cross
Jean Vidler
Jennifer Walsh
Jenny Jones
Jenny Randles
Jenny Ross
Jen Parker
Jerome Baker
Jess Baum
Jessica Goldfinch
Jessie Fenn
Jess Skelton
Jill Gardner
Jill Raymond
Josephine Bartosch
Jo Gaylor
Jo Hamilton
Joanna Bornat
Jocelyn Gaskell
Johanna Lambert
Josie Samways
John Cawthorne
John Child
John Healey
Jo O'Shea
Jo Wilding
Judith Green
Judith Suissa
Julie Davies
Julie Furlong
Julie Lunn
Julie Moss
Julie Scott
Julie Timbrell
Julie Wood
Juliette Fioretta
Kara Newsome
Karen Ingala Smith
Karen Kennedy
Karen Kruzycka
Katarina Visnar
Kate Baxter
Kate Evans
Kate Moore
Kate Styles
Kate Tyler
Kate Wilson
Kaye McIntosh
Keith Dobie
Ken Marshall
Kevin Ovenden
Kiri Tunks
Kris McKenna
Kris Rhodes
Kristina Dickson
Laura Connett
Laura Gale
Laura Tennant
Lawrence Meeran
Lee Nurse
Leonie Nimmo
Le Panayi
Letitia Harrison
Lisa Bishop
Lisa Mackenzie
Lisa-Marie Taylor
Lisa Randall
Liz Panton
Liz Vickers
Lolly Willowes
Loppy Oubridge
Lori Saxe
Lorraine Roberts
Lotus White
Lou Crisfield
Louise Sheridan
Louise Somerville
Lucy Prout
Lucy Winters
Luke Devlin
Lynn Finnegan
Lynton North
Mandy Vere
Marc Hudson
Marcus Grant
Maria Maclachlan
Mariette Labelle
Marina Pepper
Mark Briers
Mark Daniel
Mark Ramsden
Martha James
Martina Koepcke
Martyn Everett
Martyn Lowe
Mary Buttolph
Mary Dallas
Matt Smith
Matt Wilson
Maureen K Doll
Maya Forstater
May Mundt-Leach
Meg Edgoose Clubley
Mhairi Macalpine
Michael Biggs
Michael Conroy
Michael Gribben
Michael Hirsch
Michele Moore
Mick Gallagher
Milda Yadegar
Miguel Orgel
Mike Hannis
Mike Keeling
Mike Tarnoky
Mike Watmore
Miranda Yardley
Mo Hitchcock
M Parker
Nancy Thompson
Naomi Rosenberg
Natasha Perry
Nathan Jackson
Natja Thorbjornsen
Nichola Goff
Nicola Benge
Nicola Kerry
Nicola Watson
Nicola Williams
Nicki Wilkinson
Nikki Clark
Noel Cass
Noel Douglas
Nona Getty
Norma Hurley
Obi - Raymundo Obedencio
OBJECT
Olaf Bayer
Olivia Palmer
Orla Ní Chomhraí
Ornella Saibene
Owen Adams
Paddy Wagon
Past Tense
Patricia Golding
Pat Smith
Paula Hermes
Paula Lamont
Pauline McGuigan
Paul Loader
Penny Kemp
Peter Arkell
Peter Barnett
Peter Good
Peter Le Mare
Peter Lux
Phil McLeish
Pilgrim Tucker
Pippa Booth
Rabya Imaan
RAchel Devine
Rachel Masey
Rachel O'Brien
Raquel Rosario Sanchez
Rebecca Arthur
Rebecca Craddock
Rebecca Durand
Rebecca Gibbs
Rebecca Lush
Rebecca Pennington
Richard Hawkins
Richard Lawson
Rikki Blue
Robbie Pennington
Robert Banbury
Roger Talbot
Ronan Stenson
Rona Stewart
Ronnie Wright
Rosanne Rabinowitz
Rose Reeve
Rose Sanders
Roy Wilkes
Ruth Bennett
Ruth Conlock
Ruth Jacobs
Ruth Sinclair
Ruth Sullivan
Sally Jackson
Sally Woods
Sam Atkins
Sam Williams
Sanja Pitchkarevich
Sara Ettis
Sarah Armstrong
Sarah Bambridge
Sarah Galloway
Sarah Giles
Sarah Honeychurch
Sarah Miller
Sarah Mower
Sarah Pearson
Sarah Sharkey
Sarah Sheppard
Sarah Tanburn
Shaun Firkser
Sheila Freeman
Shelley Williams
Shereen Benjamin
Shernaz Dinshaw
Sian Sullivan
Sibyl Grundberg
Simon Baddeley
Simon Bramwell
Simon Fairlie
Simon Smith
S J Smith
Sofie Corfield
Sophie Allan
Sophie Cowgill
Soreh Levy
Stacey Charlesworth
Stephen Low
Stephen Medeema
Steve Bradbury
Steve Etherington
Steven Durrant
Sue Quinn Aziz
Suki Mason
Susan Flindt
Susan Ford
Susan Green
Susan Moffat
Terri Bell-Halliwell
Theo Simon
Tina Johnston
Tim Allman
Tish Naughton
Toby Hopkins
Tom Benson
Toni Meredew
Tony Smetham
Tracey Smith
Victoria Hood
Victoria Whitworth
Vivienne Boardman
Wendy Davis
Wendy Knight
Women's Voices Matter
Yvonne Manly
Yvonne Say
Ziggy Melamed
(448 names 10/6/19. To be added email solidarityisstrength@gmx.co.uk))
Appendix
NB - This is an outline of gender critical views such as those held by Helen Steel, given here to clarify where she is coming from on this issue, and not all signatories to the letter necessarily agree. This can be a complex issue and there isn't space to fully explore this, please do look into it further.
Gender and its associated stereotypes is damaging to all of society and especially to women and must be challenged, but as women's oppression is based on biological sex, biology is important. Trans people should absolutely be accorded every human right, and these rights must be defended. Their struggle should be recognised, they should be treated with respect and dignity and without prejudice. A compassionate society should treat trans people as if they were their preferred sex up to the point at which this brushes up against the rights of another oppressed group. The point at which these rights conflict with each other is the space in which we need sensitive but thorough debates to occur, if sensible solutions and compromises are to be reached.
However, if we are forced to believe, at the threat of exclusion or accusation of bigotry, that trans people actually are the opposite sex because they believe themselves to be so, not only are we being asked to deny material reality but the logical conclusion of this view leads society down some regressive paths.
Examples of such would be that if transwomen are actually female, then they can also be lesbians (as many claim to be), and female lesbians are subsequently pressured into accepting male bodied people into their communities and their sexualities (if you don't think this is a thing look up 'lady-dick', 'man-pussy' or the 'cotton-ceiling'. Many lesbians are very worried and gay men are also starting to recognise the pressure to be attracted to people with vaginas as an attack on homosexual rights).
Another example would be the societal pressure which may lead gender non-conforming children down trans pathways which may result in lifelong medicalisation, sexual disappointment and irreversible bodily alterations. A final example being the opprobrium directed by some in the transgender movement at trans people who acknowledge their biological sex, labelling them with the slur 'truscum'.
If it is gender and not sex that is to be the yardstick, then sex segregated spaces or sports (for which our foremothers fought) become meaningless. All of society will be impacted, but the burden inevitably falls heaviest on women.
For further reading on this see:
http://notthenewsinbriefs.wordpress.com/ – for an intro to the issue.
http://womansplaceuk.org/ (a campaigning group established by left-wing feminists, socialists, anarchists and trade unionists)
www.janeclarejones.com – for a funny and frank take on trans issues from a feminist philosopher – especially good on picking apart the academic Judith Butler-esque intellectual scaffolding holding up trans issues, with an illuminating article on the difference between gay rights and trans rights.
Mrkhvoice.com – for how intersex issues are entirely distinct from trans.
fairplayforwomen.com (particularly on the sports issue)
Rebecca Reilly Cooper -https://aeon.co/essays/the-idea-that-gender-is-a-spectrum-is-a-new-gender-prison
transgendertrend.com (particularly on the impact on children and young people)
Helen's own words on her views https://helensteel12.wordpress.com/2017/12/26/my-speech-to-a-womens-place-public-meeting-in-cambridge-on-23rd-nov-2017/
Appendix B
More about Helen Steel
Since leaving school at 17, Helen has worrked as a minibus driver, bar worker, trainee electrician, and council gardener.
She has been a dedicated and lifelong unpaid activist in the following movements and campaigns (sometimes playing a pivotal but 'behind-the-scenes' role in some of the core groups involved): environmental, anti-nuclear, animal rights, housing, anti-fascist / anti-racist, prisoner-solidarity, feminist, labour movement (including being a shop steward for many years), anti-poll tax, anarchist, freedom to protest,land rights, family justice campaigns, anti-blacklisting, Earth First!, anti-capitalist, opposing multinational corporations (including being one of the 2 'McLibel' defendants successfully defending campaigners' rights to challenge censorship), local community issues (eg via residents groupsnd Friends of Parks), and most recently anti-spycops campaigning (exposing and challenging the police infiltration of campaign groups, especially the deceitful and abusive intimate relationship formed with women by officers while undercover - Helen was one fo the women affected).
Helen's unstinting opposition to oppression, bullying and censorship, and unwavering solidarity with others up against the rich and powerful or facing the legal system has been an inspiration to many of us.