May 16, 2025
FFS (Female Free Speech) Friday honors women and girls who are speaking out about the harms that “gender identity” poses to women and girls as a sex class. FFS Friday posts are free and shareable.
A paid subscription gets you regular access to much more content and the ability to comment and engage with other thoughtful people.
FFS Friday posts typically celebrate women who speak out for women’s sex-based rights using their real names. I am making an exception today to celebrate Peeja Blackbird (a pseudonym), a fabulous TERF with a knack for making beautiful art and an awesome sense of humor, because of something that happened yesterday.
When women get together and tell our stories, we can literally do anything we put our minds to.
Yesterday at around 1:55 p.m. ET, I stumbled on an X post about an upcoming space being hosted by The Red Tent Collective, an “international collective of diverse women facilitating the fight to maintain women's and children's rights via technological accessibility, amplification of our peers, and campaign coordination”:
I have never met Peeja in real life, but we have interacted a fair amount online, and I knew I wouldn’t want to miss it. I dropped what I was doing in order to listen.
Peeja is, hands down, one of the funniest TERFs on X (she also posts lovely pictures of her pets and garden). Here is a recent example of her TERFing on X:
She is also a frequent co-host of TERF Radio, which occurs every Monday at 2:30 ET.
She co-hosts with Emmi Pinkhurst and Carol Bamford (Bookish).
I learned that The Red Tent, on whose board Peeja now serves, was creating a new X space series called “Red Tent Storytellers,” where women tell their stories. During the space, I learned that this was all Peeja’s idea. She had a story to tell, wanted to tell it, and brought the idea to The Red Tent, who agreed to host it. They say:
Art isn't just pretty pictures; it's a way to tell our stories, shout out our truths, and flip the bird to outdated norms. For women, it's a megaphone for our experiences. But historically, the art scene has been a bit of a boys' club.
We're changing that.
Creating spaces for women's artistry isn't just a nice-to-have—it's a must. Elevating female talent and giving us the support we deserve.
When women share their artistry and lift each other up, the impact is huge. Young girls see role models they can relate to, and suddenly their dreams feel totally doable. This visibility plants seeds for the next generation of boundary-pushing female artists.
Programs that target young girls and fuel their creative fires are essential. Exposing them to different art forms and encouraging their talents builds a solid foundation for their future. Plus, community involvement and role models boost their confidence and ambition.
Creating female-centric creative spaces is awesome, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows. It takes effort, resources, and commitment.
Any woman can contribute her story to the series by going here.
Peeja told the story of “Blackbird: the Series,” a series of paintings she has made over the years to document the trauma of her childhood. They are essentially a series of self-portraits that tell the story of what she went through as a child and what she has had to overcome. They all come together in a stunning 45-second video, which you can view here.
Below is the series:
The Beginning
The Traveler
Through the Looking Glass
Nessie
Solace
The Beginning and the End
Her work is available for sale at the Red Tent site. And if you’re on X, you definitely want to give her a follow (@blackbirdpeeja) and tune into TERF Radio Mondays at 2:30 ET.
You can listen to her entire story here and I encourage everyone to do so. Toward the end, she said that when women get together and tell our stories, we can literally do anything we put our minds to.
Peeja, thank you for being such a fabulous person. Thank you for co-hosting TERF Radio on a weekly basis. Thank you for being an outstanding TERF and always having the backs of women and girls as a sex-class. Today’s FFS Friday is for you.
Thank you for recommending the space. A beautiful talk!
Ah, sadly, I am not able to get access to listen in. I suppose a transcript is not available, but if there is one, or at least a condensed text version becomes available, I’d love to know.