On how “unremarkable” Jeni Harvey thinks American women are
March 3, 2023 - Happy Friday!
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For readers who don’t know, UK-based women’s rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen recently made a film called “Kellie-Jay in the USA: Let Women Speak.” That film aired on her YouTube channel recently, and it’s free for viewing by anyone, anywhere.
The film is about a series of events that Keen held across the US during the summer and fall of 2022. Her purpose was simple: Let Women Speak. She modeled the events on events that she holds frequently in the UK (and will soon be holding in Australia and New Zealand). The premise is simple: let women speak about how “gender identity” affects them in their lives.
This post is directed to a UK woman named Jeni Harvey (@GappyTales on Twitter). The post will not make sense to many US readers who are not ensconced in debates among US and UK feminists about various dynamics related to advancing women’s rights politically. If you fall into that category, don’t worry. This post is mainly for readers who are already aware of those dynamics.
Shortly after the documentary was released, Harvey tweeted that she thought that the film was “unremarkable,” that it was “not much new,” and that there was “little to comment on.” The only comment she could find to offer about this “unremarkable” film pertained to a single exchange between Keen and a counter-protester at one of the events. I don’t know anything about that exchange other than what appears in the film, but I think it’s really sad and quite extraordinary that in nearly two hours of footage, Harvey could find nothing to comment on except for this single exchange.
What follows is not a defense of Kellie-Jay Keen. She can speak for herself, and quite often does, very effectively. It is also not a defense of myself, who organized the DC event. Organizing an event at the Lincoln Memorial in DC costs me very little time or energy and if Harvey thinks that I am unremarkable, I really don’t give (to use technical language) a flying fuck.
This post is, instead, in support of the countless American women who spent their own time, energy, and money to speak out about the harms of “gender identity,” all across the country throughout the summer and fall of 2022, and who worked very hard to make the film happen.
Jeni, I assure you, these women are quite remarkable.
Here are Harvey’s tweets from March 2:
Harvey says that she watched the film, and I take her at her word.
Fine, Jeni, have your criticism about Kellie-Jay’s exchange with that young man toward the end. Fair enough. I won’t quarrel with you about that.
But really, that’s all you had to say about this film? You could find literally nothing good to say about any of it? At a minimum, you must have caught some of the stunning views of the Pacific Ocean as Kellie-Jay and her team drove up the California coast on Rte. 1. Jeni, are you unfamiliar with Rte. 1 up the coast of California? Pity, come visit and I’ll show you sometime. The views are quite remarkable. You must also have seen the shots of Kellie-Jay and her team approaching the Redwood Forest, where the trees are so huge you can literally drive a car through them. Did you miss that? Again, come and have a visit. We Americans will show you. I promise the redwoods are quite remarkable.
Harvey, who could not find a single good word to say about any of the women who were involved in this, could also not even manage to mention that the California coast is pretty or that the redwoods are breathtaking.
But this post isn’t about nature and, frankly, I don’t even really like California (sorry, California sisters, but it’s true).
This post is instead about the women Harvey contemptuously dismisses by having nothing to say about them and by casting off the entire film about them as “unremarkable.”
Jeni, do you have any idea how expensive it is to fly across this vast land, or any idea how many women spent their own money to do so in order to make this film happen? Have you any idea how much an Amtrak ticket costs? I know a woman who drove overnight from rural Wisconsin to attend the Chicago event. I know another woman who got up at the crack of dawn to drive to the event in New York. I know a woman who flew from California to attend the DC event and one who flew across the country to attend both the event in Los Angeles and the event in New York. Do you know any of these women? Have you ever met any of the women you are so cavalierly dismissing as “unremarkable?” You couldn’t find a single positive word to say about any of them?
How about Amie Ichikawa, who talked in Los Angeles? Do you know who Amie is, or what she accomplishes on behalf of incarcerated women and girls? No? I do. Amie is a formerly incarcerated woman who devotes her life to improving the lives of women suffering inside of California’s decrepit prisons. She brings them care packages and stamps so they can mail letters to their families. During the Los Angeles section of the tour, she contacted an incarcerated woman and that woman’s voice was heard on the microphone, for all to hear. Surely you must have heard her too. Not a single kind word for her? Not a single kind word for Amie? Amie is @ichinita310 on Twitter. Go tell her how unremarkable she is.
What about the woman in Tacoma who had her hand crushed by a gender lunatic? No kind words for her? Her name is April Morrow and she lives in Tacoma. Have you any idea how much time and money (of her own) that she has devoted to the cause of protecting the rights of women and girls as a sex class? No? I do. You can find her on Twitter at @Sovereign_Women. Go tell her how unremarkable she is.
Or, also in Tacoma, Amy Sousa, who put her body between the founder of the Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF), Lierre Keith, and a rageful man who was literally about to knock Lierre down on the concrete? I know you hate WoLF, Jeni, but surely you must find the act of a woman stepping in between its founder and an angry men’s rights activist hellbent on knocking her over to be remarkable. Do you know who Amy is or how much she fights for women and girls? No? You can find her on Twitter at @KnownHeretic. Go tell her how unremarkable she is.
What about Cat Cattinson, who spoke in San Francisco, telling a moving story about her “transition” in California? How she bound her breasts and took testosterone before accepting herself as female, and later bravely testified about her ordeal before the California state legislature? She’s also a lovely singer. Have you no kind words for her? Nothing? She is @catcattinson on Twitter. Go tell her how unremarkable she is.
How about the woman who spoke about how her brother was given a prescription for pain killers and later died from addiction, and how she is motivated to do this work so that no other child receives an unnecessary prescription from an unscrupulous doctor? No kind words for her? Nothing? Did you know that she is a fierce leftist feminist? Do you have any idea what she does or how brave she has been in standing up against the vicious ideology called “trans?” No? I do. Her name is Katelyn Pearce. You can find her on Twitter at @KatelynKPearce. Go tell her how unremarkable she is.
How about the women who stood in San Francisco and confronted Scott Wiener? Jeni, do you know who Scott Wiener is? Did you know before you watched the film? Did you know that he is the state senator responsible for convicted male rapists and murderers being housed in women’s prisons in California? Did you know that he has gone out of his way to make California a safe haven for pimps and traffickers? That he has given California courts the authority to remove children from their parents’ custody if said parents do not “affirm” their child’s “gender?” Have you any idea how remarkable it was for these women to confront him, in his own district? No? I do. You didn’t find the sight of women confronting a senator in his home district at least remarkable enough to mention it?
How about all the other countless American women (who I just can’t name here - sorry, lovelies!) who worked relentlessly to make this film happen and/or bravely stood before the camera, risking everything? No words of congratulations? Not even a single word of support or admiration to American sisters?
Jeni, if you have ideas on how to solve the gender juggernaut in the US, please, enlighten us plebeian Americans. I’ve been at this for a while now. We’re working hard and making headway, but sure, go ahead and tell us all how “unremarkable” we are. If you want to come have a visit, we could talk. I could get you some meetings in Congress, but they would be with Republicans and I’m sure you wouldn’t want to stoop to talk to them. If you have ideas on how to break through the media, I’m all ears. I have been working on this for years and I haven’t been able to do it, so I’m open to your ideas. If you think you can persuade the Democratic party to stop pushing “gender identity,” while American women and girls suffer under its crushing weight, please let me know.
I know your primary intention was to insult Kellie-Jay. It’s a favorite hobby of yours and of many of your friends. I get it.
I also get that you and some other Brits simply like to dismiss all things American. I suppose this is a convenient and facile way of posturing as our superiors, and that might make you feel better about that embarrassing loss of tea in Boston Harbor (Harbour, if that’s important to you), followed by the embarrassing loss of the colonies, followed by the awkward loss of the Empire. Sure. But that cheap posturing is not new; it’s unremarkable. And I suppose I need to state the obvious - your posture is tiresome, provincial, and politically stupid, unless your primary loyalties are to something or someone other than the interests of all women as a sex class.
You casually insulted and dismissed hundreds of American women and girls, and every single one of the women who worked to make that film happen deserves an apology from you.
In the meantime, American women will keep fighting. We’ll be fighting in the streets, in the courts, in Congress, and in the state legislatures.
To my American sisters: You’re all remarkable. We’ve got this.
Incredible, passionate, thoughtful response! And nice jabs. Keep up the fight.
Powerful piece Kara. I have just followed those amazing women that I wasn't up until I read your piece.