Woman, thou art silenced

I am old enough to remember the days when being a feminist meant supporting equal rights for men and women. I also remember the moment I realized that I was no longer allowed to call myself a feminist, when I had officially been banned from the club.

I am a Christian and a conservative: feminist no-no’s. Yes, I am a woman, but I think and I say all of the wrong things.

Woman, thou art silenced.

“What a pathetic way of thinking. How arrogant of Progressives to think that my hopes and dreams mirror their hopes and dreams. What an absolute bore….”

– A.E. Samaan

Being a feminist is no longer about equality for men and women. Nowadays, any woman calling herself a feminist must desire to topple “the patriarchy,” whatever that means.

She must castigate capitalism despite historical facts: capitalism, after all, is what enabled women to go to work outside of the home, start their own businesses, and achieve financial independence from men.

Furthermore, to be a 21^st Century feminist, a woman must worship the god of intersectionality. For those who do not yet know, intersectionality is basically a rating system for women based on their victimhood status and membership in a “marginalized” group(s).

In practice, intersectionality is a de facto, apartheid caste system for women.

Finally, for a woman to be a feminist, she must relinquish all her knowledge of biological reality, her human integrity and her sense of womanhood to men who believe themselves to be women. No longer can she recognize the uniqueness of the female sex or acknowledge the physical experiences she has in her own body.

She must carefully watch her words. Even the word “vagina” is now deemed exclusionary, not inclusive; some “women” don’t have lady bits. She must balance a tight rope of conformity, and she must be oh-so careful not to offend any men who think they are chicks.

The toxic marriage of the intersectional hierarchy with the inclusion of “trans  women” (men) as real women has created a bizarre, regressive, injurious phenomenon that many women have been unprepared with which to grapple. Women who have (rightfully) spoken out against men being considered women and, thus, gaining entry into women-only spaces, have been chastised and shunned, often publicly.

Woman, thou art silenced.

In December 2017, Quebec’s largest feminist organization elected its new president: a “trans-woman” (a man) named Gabrielle Bouchard. To reiterate, a man is now the president of a women’s organization.

A man now holds a position that was reserved specifically for a woman. 

The Federation des Femmes du Quebec represents around 300 feminist groups and approximately 700 individual members.

Bouchard’s election has generated dismay and concern. The media, however, has remained strangely quiet on these concerns, a phenomenon Campagne-Quebec Vie’s president, Georges Buscemi, refers to as “an awkward silence.”

Buscemi believes “most Quebecers agree with him, and that’s why local media are ‘tiptoeing’ around the event” (lifesitenews). “It’s kind of a polite and embarrassed silence… I think everybody thinks, ‘This is ridiculous, but we can’t say it,’” he continued.

Commenting on the media silence regarding concerns surrounding Bouchard’s election, feminist writer Denise Bombardier stated, “We are all prisoners of a terrible political correctness since it forbids us to express any doubt about the validity of such a reality.”

Woman, though art silenced.

Gabrielle Bouchard, who ran for the presidency unopposed, has stated that his mission as head of the Federation des Femmes du Quebec is “about not leaving anyone behind” and fighting “for a more inclusive interpretation of womanhood,”(ctvnews).

Although claiming to represent all women, Bouchard is quick to attach derogatory labels to any women, especially feminists, who have expressed concerns regarding his ability to lead a women’s advocacy organization (as a man), and has claimed that these women are guilty of “trickle-down feminism.”

His feminist detractors, Gabrielle Bouchard accuses, are transphobic and sexist, and at least one online publication has branded these women “bigots.”

Bouchard told The Canadian Press, “They are saying we’ll tolerate trans women as long as they are not in a position of power.” Criticism, he complained, “presumes the identity barriers I face, the risk of violence I face, the risk of unemployment and not finding housing are illegitimate and not based in sexism.”

Rather than on women, Bouchard’s focus is clearly on himself.

“All the barriers I face are actually based in sexism. They also happen to be based in transphobia. I am living at the intersection of trans identity and being a woman, and it creates a marginalization that some women don’t face,” (emphasis mine).

Woman, thou art silenced.

Still, Canadian women have reason to be wary.

In 2013, Bouchard was the coordinator of peer support and trans advocacy for the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy. In an interview that year, Gabrielle Bouchard stated, “I don’t want to be an activist for whatever identity I have, because I’ve been transitioning for long enough to know that [my identity swings] from one month to another, one year to another,” (emphasis mine). 

[To date, Bouchard has not stated whether he plans on identifying as a man during part of his tenure as president.]

When asked what types of support were needed in the trans community, Bouchard responded, “If I had to say one thing, [it would be that] we need the right to choose. And if I want to be radical, I would say that we need people to leave us the frack alone and stop caring if I have facial hair or not, a penis or not, boobs or not.”

According to feminist writer Denise Bombardier, there are greater issues, more pressing concerns surrounding Gabrielle Bouchard. In a December article, Bombardier wrote, “No debate can be held on what should be called a transgender offensive to explode the reality of both sexes to impose a breathtaking vision where there is no longer man or woman.” 

Specifically, Denise Bombardier pointed to a comment made by Gabrielle Bouchard during a public hearing (April 15, 2015): “It would be fun to abolish the sexes, but it is not something that will happen.”

Later during that same hearing, Bouchard also stated, “There are some guys who will give birth. So, to say ‘mother’ to automatically mean that it is the person who gave birth to a child, already there, that too, it is a step that must also be deconstructed because there are fathers who will give birth. To call it a maternity is to make it (sic)…”

“Maybe that parent, who is the person who is going to give birth, well, maybe he’ll have a beard there, or maybe have a big voice,” (emphasis mine).

Such statements from Bouchard appear to be fully in-line with a significant area of his advocacy: his goal is to open women’s shelters to “transgender women” (men).

In 2013, while serving as Centre 2110’s Peer Support and Advocacy coordinator, he claimed that the practice of identity/sex verification at women’s shelters is discriminatory. “In women’s shelters, if you don’t look the part, then questions are asked. These questions can be fundamentally discriminatory,” he said.

In August 2017, he stated “Most shelters refuse to even acknowledge that they have a problem with this, that there is strong transphobia amongst these organizations and that they need to move to stop that.” 

Perhaps worst of all is what Gabrielle Bouchard believes to be the root cause of the women’s shelter issue: myths that “trans women” make “cis women” (regular women) uncomfortable or that “trans women” may be unsafe additions to women’s shelters. These myths, Bouchard believes, must be debunked.

Here, what are presented as “myths” are no myths at all.

Women seeking refuge in shelters are often fleeing various kinds of abuse at the hands of men. Forcing traumatized women and children to share living quarters with biological males is both frightening and risky.

Still, Gabrielle Bouchard, who claims he will represent all women, is intent on victimizing and silencing the most vulnerable women in society.

This man insists on telling traumatized women that they must accept men into their shelter. This is the height of selfishness and idiocy.

Woman, thou art silenced.

But you don’t have to be…

 “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.”

 – Madeleine Albright

Woman, be thou loud.