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Honestly, I'm a little surprised Alba went directly to 'gay people are paedophiles' this early - I thought they'd build up to it.
When the anti-trans people started spreading this nonsense a wee while ago, I looked into it. Here's the reality:
When the anti-trans people started spreading this nonsense a wee while ago, I looked into it. Here's the reality:
Last year, world governments reaffirmed the Beijing Declaration and Platform For Action - a revolutionary global document adopted 25 years before at the Fourth World Conference on Women at the UN - through the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
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Many feminist organisations around the world, while welcoming the recommitment, did not feel the principles went far enough for actual structural change to happen, given the amount of research and changes since 1995.
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A group called the Women's Rights Caucus - a group of more than 200 major feminist organisations, networks and alliances around the world - produced an Alternative Feminist Statement, detailing a much more challenging, transformative roadmap for true gender equality.
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It addresses capitalism, land rights, inheritance, sex education, gender roles, workers' rights, reproductive rights, cultural influences, violence, and so much more.
One of the points is what has been lifted and warped to support the traditional anti-LGBTQ narrative.
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One of the points is what has been lifted and warped to support the traditional anti-LGBTQ narrative.
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In context, it is clearly about bodily autonomy, and what are known as Romeo and Juliet laws - a degree of flexibility in age of consent laws to prevent teenagers under the AoC being permanently branded sex offenders for sexual experimentation with people their own age.
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It isn't blanket decriminalisation, it's just aiming for healthy and informed attitudes to sex which accept the reality of teenagers and try to reduce harm, in the same way the points about access to reproductive rights and good sex education are in the document.
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Yes, a little more clarity in the language might be helpful, but this is not a legal document and the baseline assumption, especially given the focus on preventing child abuse throughout, is that readers will understand that in context and not use a worst-faith interpretation.
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You can read the full Statement here:
https://iwhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Beijing-25-Feminist-declaration.pdf
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https://iwhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Beijing-25-Feminist-declaration.pdf
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It's no surprise that the same people who tried to report me to the police for saying consent education should be given to under-16s because that means I'm clearly a paedophile are pushing this interpretation. The kind of puritanical magical thinking is common there.
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Adolescents need a healthy, well-informed community to be able to develop a healthy and not-harmful approach to sexuality. The failures of abstinence-only approaches - the likelihood of abuse, sexual violence, unwanted pregnancies and health risks - are well known.
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The easiest way to demonise a group is to say 'they're coming for your children'. That's why it's been used against LGBTQ+ people forever. It leads to the kinds of threats and violence which helps reactionary groups. This anti-equality 'culture war' is what Alba is built on.
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Addition before muting: https://twitter.com/FionaSnp/status/1381189959357505540?s=19
