I wrote the following post on GCdialoguesQT yesterday:
I’m a radical who has come to believe very strongly in the necessity for unity among all those on the left to combat the rise of the neo-reactionary right. We are on the same side. The right has been using wedge issues where leftists disagree (including the issue of trans rights) in order to split us; they are open about this strategy. They have been very successful because we haven’t realised the urgency of the threat. I speak for myself: I underestimated the cost of disunity. But I also didn’t understand what unity meant: I thought it meant I had to be silent and refrain from speaking my mind or criticising my allies. I thought that liberal leftists were worse than the right wing, and a lot of that came from self-hate and low self-esteem: it’s easier to hate what you recognise. Now that I’m recovering from mental illnesses and gaining self-esteem, I am able to have compassion for even my ideological enemies, and more for my allies.
One of the things I’ve always avoided doing is reading literature that I disagree with, because it was offensive, because it made me feel bad (i.e. ot was harmful for my mental health), and also because there was a part of me that was very insecure in my own beliefs. I was scared of exposing myself to threatening beliefs. At some subconscious level, I was scared I might be influenced to agree. It is a normal fear because one is very susceptible to propaganda and brainwashing in a vulnerable mental state.
Now that I am making strides in my recovery from anxiety and depression, I’m no longer threatened by disagreement or dissenting opinions. I am now capable of reading the opinions of those I strongly disagree with, and one of two things end up happening: I either admit that they’re right about something, or my opinion that they’re wrong ends up being strengthened. An ideology which is just and describes reality correctly will never be shaken by disagreement or opposition, but instead it will be strengthened. Please ask yourself if my description of my (recent) past self describes you, and then ask for help to improve your self-esteem. This will improve your ability to hear disagreement and read things you disagree with (even repugnant things), and make many other positive changes in your life.
Full disclosure: I was a postmodernist academic who supported queer theory (without really understanding it), and am now a radical feminist gender abolitionist. I read what my “enemies” wrote and realised that many of the things they said were true and reasonable. I was able to read critically literature about queer theory and realise the flaws in what I used to believe. I am also able to admit that there are flaws to radical feminist literature and disagree with my own “camp”. Unity doesn’t mean being silent or refraining from voicing your opinion. The fact that we disagree with each other so strongly should be taken as a good sign – a sign of the vibrant, thriving, dynamism of our movements. Unity means keeping the door open for dialogue, and not ostracising people, scapegoating people or “cancelling” people who are on our side.
I define feminist as a woman who loves women, centres them, uplifts them and prioritises them. The fact that many feminists disagree with this definition (and disagrees with my definition of woman!) doesn’t change how strongly I believe in it. I am going to start practising that ideal; my door and my heart and my ears are open to all women.
So to get to the crux of my point: I had an idea, based on my experience, to create a reading group with radical and liberal feminist literature and have a mutually respectful dialogue. Let’s actually read the horrible, evil literature we’ve heard about and dismissed because of its ideological incorrectness (and a subconscious fear that they may be right). Let’s actually speak up and discuss what we feel without fear.
Here is a goodreads account I made with the literature I’m reading in my feminist journey. Some relevant books I picked from the list:
Gender Hurts by Sheila Jeffreys
The Transsexual Empire by Janice Raymond
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
Undoing Gender by Judith Butler
Trans* by Jack Halberstam
The Will To Change: Men, Masculinity and Love by bell hooks
If you need a copy of any of these books, PM me and I’ll direct you to a copy. Please suggest more books to add to the list so we can have a well-rounded appreciation of the actual issues and the “debate” as it stands. Let’s try to understand where the other person is coming from, and stop misrepresenting each other, and respond to the best of each other’s arguments rather than straw-women. 😉
Woman and Wilderness 