The Issue

Discussions of the social and political impacts of “gender identity” ideology and laws and policies that would enshrine it into civil rights laws are being priced out of public discourse by means of violent threats and the subsequent need to hire physical security details.

What You Can Do

Email media outlets. Demand that they report on this growing problem and its detrimental impacts to women, and to anyone who dares to speak the truth about material reality.

Email Script

Dear Media,

Meghan Murphy, founder of Feminist Current, a global leader in feminist communications and media, is being required to pay $2,047.50 in “security fees” in order to speak in January 2018 at a public meeting being held at Vancouver Public Library. This is in addition to the hiring of SEVEN security guards by event organizers to protect Ms. Murphy, attendees, and site facilities. And a forced rescheduling of the discussion to late hours, after the library has closed to the public, which was done subsequent to all the promotional material being generated and distributed – materials that are now worthless. The venue clearly expects this forum to be subjected to violence.

That is an extraordinary array of expenditures and barriers raised for a woman to simply speak on behalf of women.

Yet, this is a growing trend. And it is a trend driven by one demographic: Speaking about “gender identity” ideology and legislation which directly harms women and children is no longer “free” speech; it is rapidly becoming quite costly due to actual and threatened violence by people (mostly men) who think that “gender identity” is more important than protecting women and girls.

In both 2012 and 2014, body guards and police officers had to be provided to protect author, feminist, and environmentalist Lierre Keith to speak at feminist gatherings. In 2018, author and eco-philosopher Derrick Jensen was forced out of the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC), an event he has keynoted in the past. Jensen was later scheduled to speak after that conference at a local library but was attacked with such violent threats, he was forced to hire private security guards.

Throughout 2018, numerous venues in the UK canceled events at which women had been scheduled to discuss the impacts of gender ideology. These venues stated the cost of protecting facilities, staff, speakers and attendees from the bullying and violence of trans activists was simply too high to pay.

Our legal rights will not protect us when ordinary male violence is implicitly sanctioned against anyone who speaks on behalf of women and children, or who questions “gender identity” ideology at all. Women are the canaries in the coal mine – women being silenced means that everyone’s voice is threatened. You have an ethical obligation to report on this, and your silence speaks volumes. You should be ashamed.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

Targets

guardian.readers@theguardian.com, USinfo@theguardian.com, mcgrory@globe.com, readers@washpost.com, acooper@sfchronicle.com , dbaquet@nytimes.com, cosmo.mail@hearst.co.uk, evening@cbsnews.com, NBCNewsMediaRelations@nbcuni.com, readers@washpost.com, Rachel@msnbc.com, betsy.reed@theintercept.com, wsj.ltrs@wsj.com, edit.features@wsj.com, tg.donlan@barrons.com, submissions@truthdig.com, info@truthout.org, counterpunch@counterpunch.org, queries@cjr.org, letters@harpers.org, hrwpress@hrw.org, scoop@motherjones.com, mail@newleftreview.org, comments@newstatesman.co.uk, support@salon.com, slateoffice@slate.com, newsdesk@independent.co.uk, Stephanie.ebbert@globe.com, editorialsubmissions@nymag.com, comments@nymag.com, outreach@democracynow.org, stories@democracynow.org, mike@democracynow.org, producers@democracynow.org, amy@democracynow.org, metro@sfchronicle.com, Charlotte.greensit@theintercept.com, jeffrey_goldberg@theatlantic.com, swati@theatlantic.com, sgaiser@sfexaminer.com, swilliams@abqjournal.com, webteam@postandcourier.com, slateoffice@slate.com, media@thefederalist.com, swati@theatlantic.com, sgaiser@sfexaminer.com, swilliams@abqjournal.com, readers@forbes.com, nermeen@democracynow.org