A man claiming to be a woman ought to be pretty shocking.
A man insisting he’s a lesbian should be even more shocking.
But when a social media company like Facebook calls “hate speech” on a woman standing up for the right to define herself, all our jaws ought to be on the ground.
In what has become an all-too-common event, a woman’s posts defending the existence of women as a category were removed because Facebook deemed them “hate speech.”
In response to a Partners for Ethical Care video showing autogynephilic men who claim to be lesbians, a woman commented, “Nothing biological or real about this male claiming to be a woman.” Facebook removed the comment, labeled it “hate speech,” and suspended the commenter’s Facebook privileges for 30 days.
Facebook is engaging in censorship of thought.
Another comment that Facebook labeled be hate speech: A woman stated that men cannot be women, let alone lesbians. She said, “No they aren’t. It’s homophobic to suggest that males can be lesbians. It’s absolutely gross in fact. ‘Trans woman’ is a medical identity. It’s false, it’s totally fiction. It’s just a fetish. There is no such thing as ‘trans’ -- its autogynephilia or a medical identity. It’s total hogwash. Take your pronouns, splash some water on your face, and join the real world, sis.”
Granted, the message was not a polite one.
But why should it be? Lesbians are told they must subject themselves to what is essentially reparative rape by men who are impersonating women in order to access not just women’s spaces but lesbian’s bodies.
We are way past the point of polite conversation, especially when women are told that our unwillingness to consent to men’s every wish is hateful and bigoted.
But is it really hate speech to tell the truth?
Is it really hate speech to insist on protecting lesbians from men who fetishize them?
Absolutely not.
Erin Brewer is a partner with Partners for Ethical Care. Contact Dr. Brewer via support@partnersforethicalcare.com.