Women’s March refuses to back down after aggressive anti-trans pile-on

The feminist organisation Women’s March has received extreme backlash on social media, simply for stating that trans women are women.

The Women’s March movement was launched on 21 January 2017, the first day of Donald Trump’s presidency, staging the “largest single day protest in American history”. Across the world, millions of protesters joined marches in solidarity.

According to the women-led organisation, its mission “is to harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change”, and to dismantle “systems of oppression through nonviolent resistance and building inclusive structures guided by self-determination, dignity and respect”.

Women’s March’s mission should be hard to argue with for any feminist, right? Wrong.

Igniting pure rage among self-described “gender-critical feminists”, on Wednesday (20 July), the Women’s March Twitter account shared: “Trans women are women. That’s it. That’s the tweet.”

Trans women are women. That’s it. That’s the tweet.

— Women’s March (@womensmarch) July 20, 2022

While anti-trans author Helen Joyce demanded that Women’s March “have some self-respect”, Bev Jackson, co-founder of the anti-trans lobby group LGB Alliance, responded: “And that is the way to continue eroding women’s rights on the left, while others are busy eroding them on the right.

“Do you have any idea how many women feel dismayed and alienated by this betrayal? Maybe the tiny number of likes, compared to follower numbers, provides a clue.”

Anti-trans former University of Sussex professor Kathleen Stock described the tweet as “performative self-harm”, and journalist Sonia Poulton tweeted: “We are the Women’s March. Our priority is men. That’s the tweet.”

And that is the way to continue eroding women’s rights on the left, while others are busy eroding them on the right. Do you have any idea how many women feel dismayed and alienated by this betrayal? Maybe the tiny number of likes, compared to follower numbers, provides a clue.

— Bev Jackson (@BevJacksonAuth) July 21, 2022

Have some self-respect

— Helen Joyce (@HJoyceGender) July 21, 2022

I have lots of arguments against this stuff, of course, but at the end of the day, the basic point is: Grow a spine. Be proud and strong, not supine. Back yourself. Send that message to women and girls everywhere, instead of this performative self-harm, you idiots. https://t.co/rHHtv30gWS

— Kathleen Stock (@Docstockk) July 21, 2022

We are the Women’s March. Our priority is men. That’s the tweet.

— Sonia Poulton (@SoniaPoulton) July 21, 2022

Interestingly, none of the criticism from so-called feminists detailed why Women’s March should not include trans women, nor how the tweet “eroded” women’s rights.

What was abundantly clear, however, was that Women’s March was not going to back down on inclusion.

On Thursday (21 July), the organisation’s Twitter account responded to the anti-trans backlash.

Stay mad ❤️. pic.twitter.com/D0b9V6gONY

— Women’s March (@womensmarch) July 21, 2022

It tweeted “stay mad”, alongside a graphic featuring “Little Miss F**k the TERFs”.