[LeatherTrumpet]

Royal Academy apologises to artist Jess de Wahls in transphobia row

The Royal Academy of Arts has apologised to artist Jess de Wahls after
removing her work from its gift shop following complaints that she had
expressed transphobic views.

Her embroidery was removed after a backlash over comments she made in
2019 saying "humans can not change sex".

De Wahls, who denies transphobia, said she "appreciates" the apology.

"We had no right to judge her views," the prestigious London institution said

in a statement on Wednesday.

"We have thought long and hard since then about this and the wider issues it
raises.

"One thing is clear to us now - we should have handled this better. We have
apologised to Jess de Wahls for the way we have treated her and do so again
publicly now. We had no right to judge her views on our social media. This
betrayed our most important core value - the protection of free speech."

De Wahls said the apology was "common sense and I am glad we are getting

back to that", adding: "I hope this makes other institutions wake up and take

note."

The German-born textiles artist wrote in a blog in 2019 that "a woman is an
adult human female. (Not an identity or feeling.)"

She told BBC Radio 4 on Monday she had received lots of support in the light
of the Royal Academy's original decision to remove her work.

"The feedback I'm getting from the general public is quite the opposite [from
the Royal Academy's stance]. This isn't going to go away. This is a
conversation that needs to happen in public."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-57578732

[arista]

Transphobia,
gets Toxic in Debates

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

Royal Academy apologises to artist Jess de Wahls in transphobia row

The Royal Academy of Arts has apologised to artist Jess de Wahls after
removing her work from its gift shop following complaints that she had
expressed transphobic views.

Her embroidery was removed after a backlash over comments she made in
2019 saying "humans can not change sex".

De Wahls, who denies transphobia, said she "appreciates" the apology.

"We had no right to judge her views," the prestigious London institution said

in a statement on Wednesday.

"We have thought long and hard since then about this and the wider issues it
raises.

"One thing is clear to us now - we should have handled this better. We have
apologised to Jess de Wahls for the way we have treated her and do so again
publicly now. We had no right to judge her views on our social media. This
betrayed our most important core value - the protection of free speech."

De Wahls said the apology was "common sense and I am glad we are getting

back to that", adding: "I hope this makes other institutions wake up and take

note."

The German-born textiles artist wrote in a blog in 2019 that "a woman is an
adult human female. (Not an identity or feeling.)"

She told BBC Radio 4 on Monday she had received lots of support in the light
of the Royal Academy's original decision to remove her work.

"The feedback I'm getting from the general public is quite the opposite [from
the Royal Academy's stance]. This isn't going to go away. This is a
conversation that needs to happen in public."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-57578732

Finally, stepping back and applying some thought to what is going on rather than bulldozing ahead

[Elliot]

Notice how it’s always always always white women? Transphobia is white supremacy. I hope desperately appealing to white patriarchy by throwing trans women under the bus works out for these middle age white women

[bitontheslide]

Originally Posted by Elliot

Notice how it’s always always always white women? Transphobia is white supremacy. I hope desperately appealing to white patriarchy by throwing trans women under the bus works out for these middle age white women

i can't even imagine how you came up with this point of view, it has nothing to do with the subject at all

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Elliot

Notice how it’s always always always white women? Transphobia is white supremacy. I hope desperately appealing to white patriarchy by throwing trans women under the bus works out for these middle age white women

No it actually isn't, Karen Davis is one Black woman who regularly speaks about this topic from the top of my head. Trying to turn a women's rights issue into racism is very disingenuous but I'm sure it helps smear and shut down women.

If anything your post here is racist, misogynistic and ageist

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Elliot

Notice how it’s always always always white women? Transphobia is white supremacy. I hope desperately appealing to white patriarchy by throwing trans women under the bus works out for these middle age white women

I highly doubt you can actually justify any of this, I doubt you'll even try, and will use the excuse that "you refuse" or "you simply won't" uder the guise of that being a moral stance.

I would ask though that if you actually realise that you can't rationalise any of it into an actual debate, and you're operating from a place of pure feeling/moral absolutism, you give that some thought on your own time.

Your business of course it doesn't affect me either way if you do or not.

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

"We had no right to judge her views," the prestigious London institution said

"Views" ?

It's not a view, it's a literal fact that transwomen aren't biological women, and that you can't change sex

[Toy Soldier]

I would however point out that there is ample circumstantial evidence that white patriarchy and systems of power actually benefit from several aspects of trans rights and can, has and will (disingenuously) latch onto several aspects of the debate, on the side of transwomen, to pursue misogynistic and patriarchal agendas. The "strength of feeling" I mentioned above has been used to very successfully blinker the community to the fact that it is being used, weaponised, further marginalised and will eventually be discarded in a worse position than it was before.

Happening in far more areas than just the trans rights debate, of course, but it's becoming clear as day that this is the current script.

The LAST thing patriarchal structures of power want, is women and transpeople getting together to have nuanced, calm, mutually beneficial discussions... and right now the trans and gay communities - and I'm going to be quite frank here and say the YOUNGER elements of the communities who have neither the education nor experience to understand what's actually happening sociologically - is being played like an angry fiddle.

It's a ****ing tragedy and not least for the older generation (of both women and LGBTQ+) that's losing a lot what was fought for over decades.

You wonder why a lot of "middle aged" women are involved? Because they better remember a time when much of the progress for women that has happened over the last 20 years was not a thing and thus they FAR BETTER understand that it could easily slip through their fingers, and are rightly far more concerned about that than people whose living memories don't go back further than the year 2000.

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Elliot

Notice how it’s always always always white women? Transphobia is white supremacy. I hope desperately appealing to white patriarchy by throwing trans women under the bus works out for these middle age white women

so in your view only black women should have a voice?

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Cherie

so in your view only black women should have a voice?

Keira Bell also, who's neither white nor middle aged has one of the loudest voices of all, famously winning her case against the Tavistock

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/...s-for-children

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Keira Bell also, who's neither white nor middle aged has one of the loudest voices of all, famously winning her case against the Tavistock

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/...s-for-children

Thanks for that, I doubt Elliott will respond

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Cherie

Thanks for that, I doubt Elliott will respond

Alison Bailey (also a BLM supporter btw........)

https://filia.org.uk/latest-news/202...ng-free-speech

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

I would however point out that there is ample circumstantial evidence that white patriarchy and systems of power actually benefit from several aspects of trans rights and can, has and will (disingenuously) latch onto several aspects of the debate, on the side of transwomen, to pursue misogynistic and patriarchal agendas. The "strength of feeling" I mentioned above has been used to very successfully blinker the community to the fact that it is being used, weaponised, further marginalised and will eventually be discarded in a worse position than it was before.

Happening in far more areas than just the trans rights debate, of course, but it's becoming clear as day that this is the current script.

The LAST thing patriarchal structures of power want, is women and transpeople getting together to have nuanced, calm, mutually beneficial discussions... and right now the trans and gay communities - and I'm going to be quite frank here and say the YOUNGER elements of the communities who have neither the education nor experience to understand what's actually happening sociologically - is being played like an angry fiddle.

It's a ****ing tragedy and not least for the older generation (of both women and LGBTQ+) that's losing a lot what was fought for over decades.

You wonder why a lot of "middle aged" women are involved? Because they better remember a time when much of the progress for women that has happened over the last 20 years was not a thing and thus they FAR BETTER understand that it could easily slip through their fingers, and are rightly far more concerned about that than people whose living memories don't go back further than the year 2000.

Thank you. I have no idea how standing up for women's rights(all women not just white women) = helping out the Patriarchy what so ever but it would be interesting to hear Elliot explain that

[Swan]

Originally Posted by Elliot

Notice how it’s always always always white women? Transphobia is white supremacy. I hope desperately appealing to white patriarchy by throwing trans women under the bus works out for these middle age white women

Bringing race into something that has nothing to do with race just makes your weak argument even weaker.

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i can't even imagine how you came up with this point of view, it has nothing to do with the subject at all

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

I highly doubt you can actually justify any of this, I doubt you'll even try, and will use the excuse that "you refuse" or "you simply won't" uder the guise of that being a moral stance.

Originally Posted by Swan

Bringing race into something that has nothing to do with race just makes your weak argument even weaker.

To be furrrr I have heard this argument before ... cba to look it up, but if I recall correctly it's a load of half-baked guff which goes something like ... some cultures believed in there being more than two "genders" so enforcing the binary is erasing the beliefs of POC.

I think that's what it was, anyway. Which I guess also means that stopping people from performing ritualistic sacrifice is also white supremacy?

Either way, most transphobia is actually routed in homophobia, because some people don't like to see males not conform to sex roles.

And in some cases, it's not even transphobia. Posie Parker doesn't do what she does because she hates transwomen, she does it to protect female spaces. Oh wait, I mean she's a white supremacist