Quote:The balance of purity politics, a double-edged sword that has plagued leftist movements since time immemorial, has seen a resurgence in recent years.

Quote:Frustrated and genuine people in the GC movement may point out how a majority of gender critical feminists do not support extreme right wing views and may often spend their time defending themselves tirelessly, much to the glee of trans rights activists who seek to use this image regardless of the truth to demonize feminists and hold people hostage within their own movement. It becomes increasingly difficult to defend GC movements as progressive or pro-woman when people hold increasing tolerance, or platform fascists on a regular basis.

Quote:There is also a difference between moving the same direction with another movement on a single goal (conservatives, for example) vs actually including them in your movement and allowing them to “wear your skin” and political identity.

Quote:This does not mean engaging in petty infighting or witch hunts; rather, it requires a willingness to have difficult conversations and to challenge each other's assumptions, even our own.

(Apr 28 2025, 9:42 PM)Elsacat

Quote:This does not mean engaging in petty infighting or witch hunts; rather, it requires a willingness to have difficult conversations and to challenge each other's assumptions, even our own.

I agree but I also wonder what that actually looks like in practice.

Joreen, TRASHING: The Dark Side of Sisterhood What is "trashing," this colloquial term that expresses so much, yet explains so little? It is not disagreement; it is not conflict; it is not opposition. These are perfectly ordinary phenomena which, when engaged in mutually, honestly, and not excessively, are necessary to keep an organism or organization healthy and active. Trashing is a particularly vicious form of character assassination which amounts to psychological rape. It is manipulative, dishonest, and excessive. It is occasionally disguised by the rhetoric of honest conflict, or covered up by denying that any disapproval exists at all. But it is not done to expose disagreements or resolve differences. It is done to disparage and destroy.

Joreen, TRASHING: The Dark Side of Sisterhood There is, of course, a fine line between trashing and political struggle, between character assassination and legitimate objections to undesirable behavior. Discerning the difference takes effort. Here are some pointers to follow. Trashing involves heavy use of the verb "to be" and only a light use of the verb "to do." It is what one is and not what one does that is objected to, and these objections cannot be easily phrased in terms of specific undesirable behaviors. Trashers also tend to use nouns and adjectives of a vague and general sort to express their objections to a particular person. These terms carry a negative connotation, but don't really tell you what's wrong. That is left to your imagination. Those being trashed can do nothing right. Because they are bad, their motives are bad, and hence their actions are always bad. There is no making up for past mistakes, because these are perceived as symptoms and not mistakes.

(Apr 29 2025, 10:44 AM)Elsacat I'll have to reflect on this more, given that I just ranted pretty heavily about TRA handmaidens and right-wing Serena Joys in another thread. It probably ticks all the boxes for "trashing." Sometimes I just get really angry and resentful and my mental filter taps out and says "I'll come back when you've cooled down." like no, NOW IS WHEN I NEED YOU, FILTER!

(Apr 30 2025, 1:47 AM)Iota Aurigae Most of the people who I see complaining about purity spirals or whatever are conservatives who think they should be allowed to describe themselves as TERFs because they think it's about ragging on the trans every moment of the day