User:MishMich/Sandbox/bindel

comments on page and discussion
Describing her as a 'marmite writer' – you love her or hate her is a quote. It is used in an interview she gave – http://www.writewords.org.uk/interviews/julie_bindel.asp - as well as the podcast with Christine Burns. It probably needs to be a quote attributed to the first interview (although where they got it from I have no idea), but Burns could be referenced.

NUM Resolution: “That the women’s officer or members of the committee shall not share a platform with Julie Bindle or other transphobic speakers.”

The associated links on other aspects of Bindel's work are inappropriate as they stand for the subject (Bindel), as they feature books by others, such as the Southall Black Sisters, do not mention Justice for Women or Bindel (synthesis), although it is clear that "They have not merely offered welfare advice, but spearheaded many high profile campaigns on domestic violence, abused women who kill [...] immigration rights, and the dangers posed to women by the rise of religious fundamentalism" – but no mention of Bindel other than in citing within the books. The block of references is eccentric, because these books contain few quotes by or references to Bindel and are not by or about her, so it is not obvious why they should be referenced.

This comment highlights a problem, advancing this thesis: "She is a figure that is controversial for making transphobic remarks" is not appropriate and cannot be substantiated by the evidence. She is controversial and did made remarks that offended many in the transsexual community, but is not notable on that basis, as her work was reported on in the media over five years beforehand. The thesis highlighted seems be the premise which underlies much of the approach to the page to date.

The original pre-Nov 2008 statement was more representative, better sourced, and clearly the change from that to 'mariticide' to 'matricide' has lost something significant in the editing. The timeline needs to be clear. The first item was for the Telegraph Mag, and did not receive much attention, then there was one item in which language was subsequently acknowledged as poor, which is said is transphobic, the protestation, the explanation and apology for the language, then subsequent writings which stated opinions, the nomination for an award, the protest against that, the response to the protest, and the response to the response. this all took place over a five year period. Need to be clear whether dealing with the first protestation and the letters received by the Guardian, which could be said to be about the comments in question (cast of Grease, Gender Benders, etc.) - so, there are sources to back up the response to that (Tatchell, PfC, etc.). It is important not to confuse the timeline in relation to later events, and the protest against Stonewall - which was about the nomination and not Bindel (according to the organisers) because of her earlier writing and other expressions of her views on transsexuality (that did not use derogatory language). The NUS motion has to be set in that context, as well as Stryker's comments I believe. Presenting two quite separate sets of events as if they were one event does not represent the situation accurately. Bindel said bad things, all sorts of people complained, Guardian and Bindel explained/apologised, nomination, NUS motion failed to pass, protest of trans people and others, Guardian response, NUS motion passed. While this issue represents about 1% of her output, it has received much more attention than much of her other writing.

I have looked at Lesbilicious, it was established feb 2008, and the first content dealing with Bindel was promoting the protest.

First mention of Bindel:

Oct 30th 2008

http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/campaigns-politics/protest-against-transphobic-stonewall-awards/

Announces/advertises protest against Stonewall using anti-Bindel rhetoric.

Nov.7th 2008

http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/campaigns-politics/150-people-protest-at-%E2%80%98transphobic%E2%80%99-stonewall-awards/

Reports on protest without rhetoric, but links to the previous article with “Stonewall's perceived transphobia”

Nov 11th 2008

http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/campaigns-politics/bindel-offends-bisexuals-cat-fanciers-devil-worshippers/

Discusses her Guardian piece on the LGBT movement in response to the Stonewall campaign – quotes Zoe as a spokesperson:

“We’re quite happy to leave her alone,” said Zoe O’Connell from the London TransFeminist Group. “The protest was very much against Stonewall and not Bindel."

Jan 30th 2008

http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/campaigns-politics/%E2%80%98lesbianism-is-a-choice%E2%80%99-%E2%80%93-julie-bindel/

Notes Julie Bindel is controversial, in the context of her Guardian piece on lesbian feminism (no mention of trans).

Maybe the last quote (by Zoe) could be included by us ( if she keeps insisting on using Lesbilicious as a source) to explain that the protest was said to be about Stonewall rather than Bindel herself?

I think Gabriel Griffen (edited one of the books below) was somebody I knew during and after my University days – but haven't seen her for at least twenty years, so I don't think that's a COI.

stuff for section on her career and journalism
This is the initial draft of the way I see the section on her journalism going, it will be reduced substantially once the citations are all formatted.

Julie Bindel has been a feminist and lesbian since she was a teenager. She attended Leeds University as an undergraduate, and became involved in working for women's rights as a radical lesbian feminist. Her involvement and writing on feminist issues and violence against women features in numerous books and reports she has written, contributed to, edited or had articles quoted in:


 * Bindel J, 'Neither an Ism nor a Chasm', in All the Rage: Reasserting Radical Lesbian Feminism, Women's Press, London 1996
 * Bindel J, The Map of My Life: The Story of Emma Humphreys. Astraia Press, 2003
 * Bindel J and Fleming J. Women Overcoming Violence and Abuse: Information Pack on Topics Covered at the International Conference on Violence, Abuse and Women's Citizenship. University of Bradford, Violence, Abuse & Gender Relations Research Unit, 1996.
 * Kelly L & Bindel J; Sheila Burton ; Dianne Butterworth ; Kate Cook ; Linda Regan. Domestic Violence Matters: An Evaluation of a Development Project, Home Office Information and Publications Group, 1996 http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=179638
 * Bindel J, Profitable Exploits: Lap Dancing in the UK, London, Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit of Metropolitan University, 2004
 * Bindel J & Kelly L, A Critical Examination of Responses to Prostitution in Four Countries: Victoria, Australia; Ireland; the Netherlands; and Sweden, Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit of London Metropolitan University, 2003
 * Bindel J. ‘Flushing the Johns’ Trouble and Strife, No. 38, 1998, pp. 35–6.
 * Bindel J. Letter in ‘Streets Apart on Approach to Kerb Crawling’ The Guardian, 18 August 1999.
 * Griffin G, Feminist activism in the 1990s pgs 65-78, Taylor & Francis, 1995; ISBN 074840290X
 * Plante R, Sexualities in context: a social perspective; Basic Books, 2006; ISBN 0813342937
 * Kinnell H, Violence and Sex Work in Britain, Willan Publishing, 2008; ISBN 1843923505
 * Gupta R, From homebreakers to jailbreakers: Southall Black Sisters; Zed Books, 2003; ISBN 1842774417
 * Marsh I & Melville G, Crime, Justice and the Media; Taylor & Francis, 2009, ISBN 041544490X
 * Anderson I & Doherty K, Accounting for Rape Psychology, Feminism and Discourse Analysis in the Study of Sexual Violence; Routledge, 2006; ISBN 0203087542

Bindel's journalistic writing began while she was Assistant Director of the Research Centre on Violence, Abuse and Gender Relations at Leeds Metropolitan University.


 * Bindel J. ‘Out of the gutter’ The Independent, 12 November 1998. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/out-of-the-gutter-1184335.html

According to her own writing (Guardian, 23rd July 2008) the death of her friend Emma Humphries in 1998 led her into journalism. Julie had campaigned for Emma to be acquitted and released from prison following her conviction for the murder of a violent pimp.


 * http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/924996.stm

In 2001 she began writing an occasional column for the Guardian, which covered sensitive and sometimes controversial topics, including gay and lesbian issues, child abuse, prostitution and violence against women.


 * Gay men need to talk straight about paedophilia, 3rd March 2001
 * Into the arms of a stranger (domestic child abuse) 16th August 2002
 * Losing the game (violence and prostitution) 24th Jan 2003

From October 2003, her contributions in the Guardian became more frequent, and she continued to write about the main themes that concerned her: rape, child sexual abuse, domestic violence, men who murder women, sex offenders and prostitution, gay and lesbian issues, transsexualism and reassignment surgery, a Sylvia Pankhurst memorial, Andrea Dworkin, Sheila Jeffreys and other sensitive topics. Her style is controversial, at times can appear tongue-in-cheek, at others very clear.


 * Rape is never glamorous, 2nd Oct 2003
 * He certainly was not Soham man (sex offenders) 19th Dec 2003

Her first article on transsexualism was an in-depth report written for the Telegraph in 2003; this was the first to cover a narrative of 'transsexual regret' in the UK mainstream media:

(available online here: http://www.parakaleo.co.uk/article9.html, not sure that is a source that can be used, I did read the original piece when published and have an electronic copy provided to me by the Telegraph and this confirms the accuracy)
 * I changed for all the wrong reasons, and then it was too late, Sunday Telegraph Magazine, 15th December 2003.


 * Gender Benders, beware (transsexuals) 31st Jan 2004

This second piece on transsexualism and reassignment surgery was seen as offensive and received over two hundred letters of complaint from a variety of people, including transsexual people themselves, doctors, therapists, academics and others. In response the editor wrote that while many appeared part of coordinated lobbying, a substantial number were not, and provided an explanation in which Bindel is credited as understanding that there were problems with the way the article was written:


 * Mayes, Ian (14 February 2004), "A change, of course", Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2004/feb/14/pressandpublishing.comment

Because of the style of her writing, in August 2004 an interviewer introduced her as somebody described as a 'Marmite' writer; love her or loathe her':


 * Julie Bindel Interview August 9, 2004 WriteWords.

Bindel has dealt with a wide range of topics ranging from theories about the biological basis of homosexuality to vegetarianism.


 * If I wanted to be straight, I would be ('homosexual gene') 14th Dec 2004
 * Why I hate vegetarians, 13th June 2005

In March 2006 the Guardian opened some of her columns to reader comments in the 'Comment is Free' section, and the first article received 40 comments:


 * We must rethink rape, 30th March 2006

Her writing at times received comments in the hundreds (shown in brackets at end), and the focus of her 'hates' that started with vegetarians also encompassed the Arsenal football team, soon followed by men who rape and abuse women.


 * I'm glad Arsenal lost (football) 18th May 2006 (181)
 * Cruelty without beauty (cosmetics) 19th June 2006 (175)
 * Why I hate men, 2 Nov 2006 (214)
 * How 'rape' has been raped, 16 Nov 2006 (403)

During the next three years her output increased as she continued to write about the key themes that concerned her, and developed new ones.


 * 2007: Against legalising prostitution, 29 Dec 2006 (311)
 * An end to gender (teaching children gender roles), 14th March 2007 (229)
 * Beating the wife-beaters (domestic violence), 16 Mar 2007
 * Testosterone-fuelled theories (sex offenders) 13 June 2007 (301)
 * The making of a killer (domestic violence and murder) 16 July 2007 (nc)

She continued to voice her concerns about transsexualism and reassignment surgery, as well as citing objections to the loss of one of the women's toilet facilities as 'gender-neutral toilets'.


 * Mistaken Identity (Russell Reid's censure and interview with Claudia who formerly featured in Telegraph piece) 23rd May 2007 (nc)
 * My trans mission (about the Hecklers debate & her views on sex-change surgery) 1 August 2007 (203)
 * The great gender-neutral toilet scandal 10th April 2008 (toilets at RFH) 10th April 2008 (nc)

The themes of human trafficking, sex tourism, rape, the murder of violent partners by women as well as LGBT and lesbian issues continued.


 * Tourism built on abuse (sex tourism) 18th Dec 2007 (303)
 * Why men hate me (examples of responses) 24th December 2007 (328)
 * Two women killed each week (men murdering female partners) 2nd July 2008 (348)
 * This one's for Emma (on murdered friend who inspired her to write) 23rd July 2008 (nc)
 * An end to the easy way out (women murdering male partners) 29th July 2008 (255)
 * Mirren's twisted logic (Helen Mirren and views on rape) 2nd Sept 2008 (352)

In autumn 2008 she was nominated for an award for the work she has done, and this was met with strong reaction from some in the trans community. A protest against Stonewall for allowing Bindel to be nominated was organised, Bindel attended the ceremony, but did not win the nomination. The protest led to her issuing a statement clarifying the issues as she saw them: her style, reportage, the protest, her views, the tactics of the protestors, and the three apologies already made. This was released through the London Feminist Network and Facebook:


 * http://www.ldnfeministnetwork.ik.com/calendar/6161225152.ikml
 * http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7567808833

Following the protest Bindel wrote a piece for the Guardian which questioned the direction the LBGT movement was going in including anybody 'with odd sexual habits or characteristics', and it received 374 comments, the second highest number of comments since the 2006 article "How 'rape' has been raped".


 * It's not me it's you, 8th Nov 2008 (374)

In January 2009, her espousal of traditional lesbian feminist values attracted 560 comments, the biggest response to her writing at the time. She concluded the piece with an invitation to heterosexual women to adopt lesbianism:


 * My sexual revolution, 30th Jan 2009 (560)

“Come on sisters, you know it makes sense. Stop pretending you think lesbianism is an exclusive members' club, and join the ranks. I promise that you will not regret it.”

Her commitment to writing on the issues that concern her continues.