ALERT: CA moves to change insurance language on double mastectomies for gender dysphoric females from “cosmetic” to “reconstructive” to ensure no age limit for the procedure. Normal breasts are reclassified as “abnormal structures of the body caused by congenital defects.”
Jenny describes the atmosphere of lies, rumours, cowardice and betrayal which attempted to destroy her career and damaged her mental health.
It is a horror show of having the witch-label TERF (totally misapplied in her case even if you believe in that absurd term) stuck on you, so that you will be shunned like someone on Stalin’s blacklist. Those who used to publish you and ask you to perform will no longer do so. Old literary friends will not support you or will even denounce you. Those who do offer sympathy will do so in private. She tells a story of what it’s like to be thrown out of the Elect, including warnings from the police not to attend events unaccompanied. Since when have poets needed minders?
Jenny’s situation has a special interest for me as I remember her as a young performance poet appearing in Edinburgh. I was helping to organise a local festival of grassroots performers – from the music scene, the open mic scene, the embryo spoken word scene. Jem Rolls, a talented and successful slam poet, was the begetter of this festival. I remember one of the organisers saying, “Jenny is a real find,”. They were delighted to have a forceful young woman poet MC’ing the spoken word events.
She describes herself at that time:-
“The scene I developed in was dominated by those over thirty-five, the opposite from now, and the art—and atmosphere—was better for it. As one of very few young performance poets I was emboldened by those older than me in the scene: I viewed them as people to look up to and learn from, not as rivals. I write this, therefore, not just for myself, but in memory of where I started.”
Jenny continued as a poetry entrepreneur as well as a creator and performer.
Mike Small of Bella Caledonia describes the kind of events Jenny ran:
When I first encountered this scene (as a non-poet and marginal writer) the overwhelming observation was that this wasn’t really about poetry at all. The hundreds of events that Lindsay and her colleagues created in clubs and bars across Scotland seemed to be characterised as places where you could be who you were, whether your ‘deviancy’ was to be queer/bi/shy/trans or even worse, a poet.
(I did a search for “Mike Small”, transphobe – no results.)
I can’t say anything about her poetry (spoken word is not my cup of tea – I’m “page, not stage”) but going by her essay she can observe; think; and write. Her career seems to be recovering now. According to her twitter feed she is getting some gigs, which is a relief.
“Regardless, if I have indeed committed ‘micro’ transgressions, I would expect (and accept) a micro response. This was not. “
Yes – you would think a couple of cross ripostes would be the end of it.
The poetry world in Scotland is very small – like the academic world – and going by this account, it’s a wee timorous beastie when the giant plough of transactivity starts unearthing its piece of the field.
So much on the nose.
Did you see the post below about the insurance?
ALERT: CA moves to change insurance language on double mastectomies for gender dysphoric females from “cosmetic” to “reconstructive” to ensure no age limit for the procedure. Normal breasts are reclassified as “abnormal structures of the body caused by congenital defects.”
Just another way of hating women. We are defective men once again, in spite of all our work to change that.
Brian M. If that is so, it is appalling. Will the same kind of wording be used in the case of trans women who want penis & testicles removed?
@Tim Harris #4:
Bah, you know those don’t exist… /s
(I know technically a few do)
Jenny Lindsay’s essay on how she was heresy hunted in the Scottish poetry scene is now on line.
https://www.thedarkhorsemagazine.com/anatomy-of-a-hounding-lindsay
Jenny describes the atmosphere of lies, rumours, cowardice and betrayal which attempted to destroy her career and damaged her mental health.
It is a horror show of having the witch-label TERF (totally misapplied in her case even if you believe in that absurd term) stuck on you, so that you will be shunned like someone on Stalin’s blacklist. Those who used to publish you and ask you to perform will no longer do so. Old literary friends will not support you or will even denounce you. Those who do offer sympathy will do so in private. She tells a story of what it’s like to be thrown out of the Elect, including warnings from the police not to attend events unaccompanied. Since when have poets needed minders?
Jenny’s situation has a special interest for me as I remember her as a young performance poet appearing in Edinburgh. I was helping to organise a local festival of grassroots performers – from the music scene, the open mic scene, the embryo spoken word scene. Jem Rolls, a talented and successful slam poet, was the begetter of this festival. I remember one of the organisers saying, “Jenny is a real find,”. They were delighted to have a forceful young woman poet MC’ing the spoken word events.
She describes herself at that time:-
“The scene I developed in was dominated by those over thirty-five, the opposite from now, and the art—and atmosphere—was better for it. As one of very few young performance poets I was emboldened by those older than me in the scene: I viewed them as people to look up to and learn from, not as rivals. I write this, therefore, not just for myself, but in memory of where I started.”
Jenny continued as a poetry entrepreneur as well as a creator and performer.
Mike Small of Bella Caledonia describes the kind of events Jenny ran:
When I first encountered this scene (as a non-poet and marginal writer) the overwhelming observation was that this wasn’t really about poetry at all. The hundreds of events that Lindsay and her colleagues created in clubs and bars across Scotland seemed to be characterised as places where you could be who you were, whether your ‘deviancy’ was to be queer/bi/shy/trans or even worse, a poet.
https://medium.com/@mike_79284/dark-horses-and-cultural-vandalism-fc67e6e4fe8b
(I did a search for “Mike Small”, transphobe – no results.)
I can’t say anything about her poetry (spoken word is not my cup of tea – I’m “page, not stage”) but going by her essay she can observe; think; and write. Her career seems to be recovering now. According to her twitter feed she is getting some gigs, which is a relief.
“Regardless, if I have indeed committed ‘micro’ transgressions, I would expect (and accept) a micro response. This was not. “
Yes – you would think a couple of cross ripostes would be the end of it.
The poetry world in Scotland is very small – like the academic world – and going by this account, it’s a wee timorous beastie when the giant plough of transactivity starts unearthing its piece of the field.
Nicely done, that last sentence.
Oh what a panic’s in thy abnormal structures of the body caused by congenital defects.
lol