NYC Dyke March – summary

The last post became fragmented due to all the updates as information became available, so a summary post is in order.

ETA: Longer video now released, please read the commentary too.

A group varying between ten to twenty transwomen and genderqueers approached a small group of lesbians, which included LGBT activist Cathy Brennan. Quite a few of the group of transwomen and genderqueers have admitted that they approached the group of lesbians, deliberately, for ‘dialogue’. However, the ‘dialogue’ wanted by the transwomen and genderqueers was for the lesbians and Brennan to capitulate to the trans point of view.

Brennan and the group of about five or six lesbians were quite alarmed at being surrounded by the much larger contingent, outnumbered between two to one, to four to one. There was little that the lesbians could do to defuse the situation, and an attempt at diffusing humour was later twisted into an accusation of “sexual harassment”.

Posts by the transwomen, the genderqueers, and their friends, have tried to spin the story as themselves being the ‘victims of the nasty cis lesbians’.  As the much larger and instigating group, this claim is laughable.

The genderqueer who started the confrontation supposedly did so on behalf of a transwoman who was too afraid to speak for themselves. The ‘timid’ transwoman was none other than Ida Hammer, prominent transactivist, co-organiser of the Dyke March, and one who ran a workshop at the recent Philly Trans Health Conference. The claim of the transwoman needing a genderqueer woman to speak on the transwoman’s behalf is also laughable.

One of the transwomen/genderqueer group apologised for the behaviour of her group, but later recanted that apology.

Although there was no physical assault done (battery), the lesbians were alarmed by the much larger group of transwomen/genderqueers who had surrounded them, and threatening behaviour is still assault. Given that it was a lesbian march, the lesbians had every right to be there. Many of the genderqueers were bisexual or heterosexual, and whilst the march was inclusive of both genderqueers and transwomen, they are in fact, not the primary group the march was set up for twenty years ago.

After the incident in the park, the group of lesbians were followed by a smaller contingent from the genderqueer/transwoman group, and intimidated at the restaurant. GenderTrender has a more detailed account of the events of the day.

Incidents such as what occured at the NYC Dyke March last weekend throw doubt on the safety of lesbian spaces, and whether or not lesbians can count on these other groups as allies for LGBT activism or other activities.

Most of the main instigators of the aggressive transwoman/genderqueer group have been identified. I am unsure whether any legal action will follow the events of the weekend, and much of the documentation of the events have been with that in mind. It also serves as documentation for future incidents, if these same people are involved in future harassment or harm towards lesbians at LGBT events.

Some of the original admissions and posts have already been deleted. However, we have saved the URLs, screencaps, and other information if needed. The identities of the aggressors involved was not difficult to find out, given they bragged about the events, claimed they were the victimised ones, and generally spun the story.

LGBT activist Cathy Brennan surrounded and cornered by trans and queer activists

The trans and queer activist delegation. Most are wearing the red of the organisers/stewards

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Holly Renee Reinhart

The instigator of the confrontation was Holly Renee Reinhart, a female genderqueer, who confronted Brennan and the group of lesbians on behalf of a transwoman (Ida Hammer).

Holly Renee Reinhart, 22yo ‘queer’ from Brooklyn. Admission as instigator here, screenshots in previous post. Aka “chub-rub” – Tumblr and Facebook. Is a ‘sex-positive’ and therefore hates radical feminists. Unsure if the ‘queer’ means she is bisexual or lesbian, but does not identify as a lesbian, therefore not the primary group that the march is for. Is wearing the red of the organisers/stewards, and carried the banner (on left).

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Ida Hammer

The (male-born) transwoman that Reinhart supposedly had to speak up for. Yet Hammer was a co-organiser of Dyke March, as well as being a well-known activist, and ran a workshop at the recent Philadelphia Trans Health Conference, as well as other workshops and training programmes. Hammer’s main area of activism is anti-violence towards transwomen, but does not have a problem intimidating a group of lesbians with vast numbers of back-up. The assertion that Hammer is a timid transwoman too afraid to speak is somewhat doubtful. Hammer is found on Facebook, Twitter, and at The Trans Women’s Anti-Violence Project. Hammer is wearing the red of the organisers/stewards.

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Allyson Clarke

Was described by the lesbians involved as “the most aggressive” participant. Clarke is a male-born transwoman.

A friend of Clarke’s, “Lori Adorable“, made a post claiming how Clarke is “incredibly conciliatory” regarding the disagreements between transwomen and radfems. Here is a sample of Clarke’s “conciliatory” language: “I have previously taken a very olive-branch-y stance towards radscum.” Here is Clarke’s WordPress, subtitled “A project to end transmisogyny”, but apparently being nasty and aggressive to the female-born (regular misogyny) is ok with Clarke. Yet another hypocritical transactivist. Clarke claims that Brennan sexually harassed Clarke, when Brennan tried to diffuse the situation with some humour. You can see the taller Clarke aggressively arguing with Brennan in the first group photo above.

As an aside, it appears that Lori Adorable is friends with Joelle Ruby Ryan, a misogynist male-born transwoman (a Women’s Studies lecturer that considers the word female to be “transphobic”). Lori Adorable also calls radical feminists “radscum”, so Adorable’s assessment of Clarke’s “conciliatory” conduct is questionable.  From Twitter.

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January Hunt

Male-born transwoman, admits to “yelling at Cathy Brennan” via Twitter. Hunt can be found on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook, as well as other websites such as Amos Mac, Original Plumbing, and TransladyFanzine.

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Jaime Barak

Jaime Barak, 23yo female genderqueer from New York. Not a lesbian as far as we know.

On Jaime’s Tumblr (glompkitty), the following at the end of the “About”:

If I ever do or say anything triggering or oppressive in any way PLEASE call me on it. The last thing I ever want is to upset or marginalize anyone.

Upsetting a marginalised group of lesbians seems to be fine with Jaime. I therefore ‘call you on it’. I am not clear if Jaime was part of the restaurant stalker group, I could not follow this Tumblr post, but it would indicate that she was. Among the prolific posts by Jaime, was the exchange with fellow Tumblrite onegirlrhumba, agreeing with onegirlrhumba that Brennan should have been punched in the face. Barak can also be found on Facebook.

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Claire Cramer

Claire Cramer initially apologised for the aggressive group’s behaviour, then recanted the apology in this Tumblr post. Cramer also has another Tumblr, GrossKcupid and a Facebook. Cramer appears to be a bisexual, and focuses on transactivism and LGBT.

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As yet unidentified member of the restaurant stalkers

More information if/when it becomes available.

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All the above was pieced together from the trans/queer bragging about the so-called victimisation by lesbians, even though the trans/queers clearly outnumbered and cornered the lesbians – later stalking the lesbians as they went to dinner at a restaurant. The trans/queer activists may want to take note if they decide to commit harassment or other crimes, not to brag about it and leave an internet trail that is easily followed. Narcissism and grandiose behaviour usually gets the perpetrators caught.

This was supposedly meant to a Dyke March, and lesbians are the primary group that the march is for. Instead, lesbians are singled out and harassed by male-born transwomen and female genderqueers. Many of the aggressors were wearing the red of the organisers/stewards, so they were definitely not a marginalised group, or “without a voice” as they often claim. The transgender side of the events were full of lies and reversals, as is typical of transgender narratives.

So are male-born transwomen and genderqueers really the victims?
Photographic evidence says otherwise. Perpetrators and aggressors are what transgender and queer activists really are.

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Spindoctor Update:

These transactivists should seriously think about a career as presidential campaign managers.

A video has been posted on YouTube, by user ‘transfeminism’*. Although the video itself is only a select portion (with the mob blacked out, can’t show the mob, can we?) the most interesting part was the information posted with the video.

New York City—On June 23, 2012, Ida Hammer approached Cathy Brennan in Washington Square Park after the Dyke March in order to clarify that the NYC Dyke March supports all women whether they are cis, trans or otherwise.

This interaction was prompted by a number of women who attended the march coming up to Ms. Hammer to express concerns about how Ms. Brennan has been targeting women and girls because they are trans. Ms. Hammer asked if these people would like to go talk to Brennan in person.

Ms. Hammer approached Ms. Brennan and said welcome to the New York City Dyke March where we support trans women. Ms. Brennan did not seem intimidated or threatened by this welcome and said she too supports trans women. Ms. Hammer tried to have a discussion with Ms. Brennan about the concerns the women who approached her had with her aggressively targeting and harassing women and girls.

As you can see in this video captured by a bystander, Ms. Hammer is unable to communicate these concerns as Ms. Brennan continues to talk over her. So Ms. Hammer exits the conversation. Ms. Brennan continues to talk with the other women moving to another area of the park.

Later that night, Ms. Hammer posted on Twitter:

“The @NYCDykeMarch is for ALL women! All self-identified women are welcome. All lesbian, bi and queer women whether cis or trans.”

Ms. Brennan replied on Twitter:

“@IdaHammer @NYCDykeMarch except wbw are not welcome. And you assaulted me. Well done dyke march! Video forthcoming.”

Ms. Brennan is encouraged to post the video she has of her interaction with Ms. Hammer as a video response.

Ms. Hammer has not interacted with Ms. Brennan before or after the conversation at Washington Square Park, yet Ms. Brennan has since been aggressively targeting Ms. Hammer with the very harassment that Ms. Hammer wanted to have a discussion about with Ms. Brennan.

So the usual “poor little silenced transwoman” spin was not working, perhaps because I had pointed out in the previous post that it really was a tall tale. This version has a bit more credibility, ‘Hammer as spokesperson for a group of concerned male-born transwomen’ – but really, did Hammer need an entire posse largely made up of other organisers/stewards, and half of them genderqueer and not transwomen? How about backing Brennan and the lesbians against a natural park barrier so they could not escape this ‘dialogue’?

Many inconsistencies remain.

* The YouTube user ‘transfeminism’ I am told by GallusMag, is none other than Ida Hammer – speaking in the 3rd person of course!

29 thoughts on “NYC Dyke March – summary

  1. Excellent article. Solid reporting and good writing. I especially liked the line “Narcissim and grandiose behaviour usually gets the perpetrators caught.”

    Like

    • Because it’s true!

      And transwomen are among the most narcissist that I have seen on the internet, always posting about themselves, TMI.

      Ironically, ones like Tobi Hill-Meyer post pictures of his ‘ladypeen’ on the internet, then complain when it is reposted. I am just awaiting chub-rub’s complaint that her topless image has been reposted on the internet.

      Here’s the tip – if you don’t want naked pictures of yourself on the internet, don’t post them, and don’t skip down NYC effectively topless.

      I am sure that future potential employers of these people will put their applications instantly into the ‘reject’ pile.

      Like

  2. This whole thing is disgraceful. Bunch of violent, abusive, delusional, lying, spoilt brat little white boys.

    But what I still can’t get my head round is the level of support they get, despite the obvious lies and threatening behaviour that they engage in. Are any of the libfem queer brigade calling them out over this at all ?

    Like

  3. Pingback: Carrying a Sheila Jeffreys sign at Dyke March is inappropriate? What? | Radfem Hub

  4. Pingback: Ida E. Hammer SPINS « You think I just don't understand, but I don't believe you.

  5. Also, given that chub-rub, a genderqueer not lesbian, was a banner holder, I have to question whether any of the banner holders were indeed lesbians, and not genderqueers, bisexuals or transwomen?

    Like

  6. Mitchell Mora, a dude of Brooklyn NY, left this charming comment:

    Dude, you are a moron. He even used his Facebook account to make the comment.
    He must be all of about 12.

    And yes, I have no qualms exposing harassers. It is the subject of the post after all.

    Like

  7. “Although there was no physical assault done, the lesbians were alarmed by the much larger group of transwomen/genderqueers who had surrounded them.”

    Just to clarify: The criminal act of assault is: “an intentional act by one person that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent harmful or offensive contact”

    So assault is the act of inflicting fear of harm or offensive contact. This incident, although no battery occurred, fits the very definition of assault: deliberate infliction of distress and apprehension of harmful contact. It is criminal. Not to mention the additional acts of harassment, terroristic threats, etc. which should be prosecuted as a Hate Crime since Cathy was TARGETED SPECIFICALLY for her lesbian feminism. It was a BIAS crime by definition.

    Like

    • Thanks for the clarification. I’m never sure of you 50-different-state laws over there!

      I edited it to:
      Although there was no physical assault done (battery), the lesbians were alarmed by the much larger group of transwomen/genderqueers who had surrounded them, and threatening behaviour is still assault.

      Like

    • Although I am not a lesbian and am really only just beginning to learn about the needs of our lesbian sisters, I am a newly radicalized radfem. Had I been at that march in support of my lesbian sisters, I would not have let our sisters (Cathy Brennan and her small group) be bullied and threatened like that by wannabe women without making one hell of a huge stink. My step-granddaughter, who said she would kill herself rather than be forced into motherhood, has recently “come out”. So an attack against lesbians is not only an attack against female-born women and an act of lesbian hatred, it is an attack against one of MY family.

      Like

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  10. What did that one clown say? “WHY THE FUCK IS THIS BITCH IN MY STATE. GET OUT.I swear to Amon if I see Cathy Brennan anywhere in NYC y’all are gonna see headlines.”

    ROFL. Her state?! Well I’m a Native New Yorker too. Born and raised. Just like my daddy and grandparents before me. That makes me a 3rd generation born New Yorker. As in the city, not just the state. I don’t claim to own the city, much less the entire state, but I think I’m entitled to some say-so as to who can visit and who can’t. I say everyone is welcome there, including Cathy Brennan. As for headlines, the only headlines you’re going to be reading are “Delusional Girl, Who Believes Men Can Be Women, Gets Admitted to Bellevue For Psychiatric Evaluation. Charges Are Pending After She Threatens To Stab Those Who Don’t Share Her Delusion.”

    Allies, my ass. SCAMs are nothing more than Men’s Rights Activists in frocks. They are anti-female, anti-feminist and homophobic. They have no business being at a Dyke March. They are the exact opposite of what a dyke march is all about. They have more in common with conservative wing nuts and the religious right. Pass the Kool-Aid.

    Like

  11. Quoting a bit from the article found by GallusMag
    http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=local&sc2=reviews&sc3=&id=134547

    Visible Trans Contingent Joins March; Infighting Ensues
    A new, very visible contingent in this year’s march was The Hole-y Army, a group of about 75 gender-variant and genderqueer people, marching under the banner of “Gender > Genitals,” promoting gender inclusion for all women-identified people.

    “We wanted to do a project for trans inclusion, gender queers, MTF butches and FTM femmes, no matter what gender we are and what we want to present to the world, anyone can self-define as a dyke,” said organizer Coral Short. “Some of my friends didn’t feel welcome at the Dyke March, and were asked, ’Do you belong here?’ But everyone belongs: part-time dykes, ’used to be a dyke.’ The Dyke March numbers were going down, and so we wanted to bring in the whole family.”

    With their colorful outfits, assorted “holes” on sticks, choreographed dance moves and prepared chants, The Hole-y Army added a lot of excitement to the Dyke March. But according to numerous participants, a dust-up between a lesbian activist and some of the members of The Hole-y Army has marred an otherwise unifying event.

    According to reports, Baltimore lawyer Cathy Brennan was walking past Dyke March organizer Ida Hammer when Hammer tapped her on the shoulder, flanked by about a dozen trans activists.

    “I had no idea who Hammer was, but she said that she knew who I was and wanted me to know this march was for all women,” said Brennan. “I said, ’Yes, I know it’s an inclusive space and I respect that, and that women have the ability to decide what their space should be.’ That seemed to flummox her; I think she was looking for an apology or a fight, I’m not sure.”

    Brennan has been vocal on her blog about her opposition to transpeople who “pressure lesbians to transition, or to identify as sexually open to trans women, or be labeled bigots.”

    Brennan said that she feared a confrontation, and asked the group to move away from where some young children were playing. She moved to a bench and sat down, and was surrounded by activists, one of whom got so close, Brennan asked whether the individual would like to sit in her lap.

    “They are saying I sexually harassed them, but I said, ’You stepped to me, and I’m harassing you?’” Brennan told EDGE. “It lasted a very long time — at least an hour — and during this time people were crowding my space, and I didn’t feel I could leave easily. I’ve been an activist for 20 years, done counter-demos against racist skinheads and KKK people and never felt as physically unsafe as I did at that moment.”

    Hammer left soon after the conversation began, and Wolfe stressed that the remainder of the people involved were not representative of Dyke March organizers.

    “I think that transpeople telling lesbians who we need to find desirable is just like a man telling us all we need is a good dick,” said Brennan. “If you substitute your values for my values as a dyke, you’re going to have problems.”

    Another march committee organizer, Juniper, was among those that approached Brennan. “People went to speak with her because she has a long history of outing transwomen, and people went to speak to her about making transwomen feel unsafe,” said Juniper. “She was saying horrible things to transwomen, and some walked away crying; she was calling transwomen not female, and that was really hurtful.”

    One observer heard Brennan tell queer activists that while they may self-identify as “women” they were not “female.” She added that she was appalled by what she saw as a condescending tone activists took toward Brennan. She also took issue with the physical threats made against Brennan.

    “They paint themselves as all rainbows and hearts and want to love everyone, but they think everyone who values a space for women who were born female hates transwomen and is ignorant,” said the observer. “They approach you as if you are a bigot; there’s no agree to disagree happening. And these physical threats are a whole different degree of insanity to me.”

    Kurland said that infighting amongst the LGBT community is unfortunate, and while the Dyke March has always been a place for emerging ideas about gender and sexuality to be expressed, “at the same time, I think there has to be a kind of respectful intention that while we fight to ensure that our ideas are expressed, we also allow others to express their ideas.”

    Of course, after reading that the ‘genderqueer’ contingent called themselves “The Hole-y Army”, my radfem eyes just hit the monitor. The second wave worked really hard for females to be seen more than just the sex class for fucking and breeding, and here are the ‘cutting edge queers’ proudly reclaiming female as just holes to be fucked.

    Take your ‘new-fangled’ bullshit, and shove it, Hole-y Army.

    Like

    • The hideous video of them here

      “we’re here, we’re fabulous, please fuck with us, we’re holes”

      At a Dyke March.
      *facepalm*
      (and ripping off “FABulous” much are we?)

      Like

  12. Found here.

    I have no gender identity so when you accuse me of being “cis” that triggers me because, as we all know, being “misgendered” is the absolute worstest thing that has ever happened to anyone in the history of ever.

    My pronouns are 她 and 她的. But only in Chinese. English pronouns give me flashbacks to when I used to live in an English speaking country…

    kthanxbye

    LOVE IT.

    Like

  13. A Tumblr summary of the content of the video http://vimeo.com/44796073

    That Cathy Brennan video, devoid of meaningful political commentary.

    00:00-00:30 : Lots of yelling. Idk wtf anyone is saying.

    00:30-00:45 : The Great Pilgrimage to the bench.

    00:45-1:00 : Sexual harassment? Apparently being sarcastic is sexual harassment.

    1:00-1:30 : Valid spaces. Filmer makes sarky comment. I don’t know who she is, but her tone of boredom and disdain towards the whole argument makes me like her.

    1:30-1:50 : Cis-woman talks over trans woman to tell cis-woman cis-women marginalise trans people. Irony abounds.

    1:50-2:00 : Slow zoom and out towards other very bored woman. I like her too.

    2:00-2:15 : Other lady tries to talk. Stop that, other lady. Angry people are talking.

    2:15-2:20 : Massive OH of surprise at statement Cathy Brennan has made maybe 1,000 times. People, read your enemies’ shit if you really want to effectively counter them, it’s Anti-Anything 101.

    2:27 : This woman has a vagina. Yay for her.

    2:20-3:00 : I basically zoned out at this point. Sorry guys. I heard “women’s bodies” a lot, so for all I know there was a brief intermission for a Danone advert.

    3:00 : Other lady! What have I told you about talking when angry people are talking.

    3:05 : Other other lady is talking. She manages to get a sentence in. Brave, other other lady. Brave.

    3:30-4:00 : One diva, one mic, one moment! christ, doesn’t this sum it up, really? Nobody talks this loudly -to- a person.

    4:00-4:40 : “women shouldn’t be told to die.” “trans women die!” – two perfectly valid points. Neither is a response to the other.

    4:40-5:00 : what the fuck is anyone on about?

    5:00 : Other other woman has got steel ovaries, attempting a risky second sentence like that.

    5:20-6:00 : More yelling. Other Lady (hereby OL) is asked whether Cathy would like to hear from a lesbian, and gives a suitably flat response to being assumed to be some kind of ideological bodyguard.

    6:00-6:30 : Having a conversation about whether you agreed to have a conversation with each other seems a trifle moot.

    6:30-7:10 : All I can hear is the word “invalidating” over and over again in my head.

    7:30-7:50 : No, OL! Stay back! It will consume you!

    7:50-8:00 : I feel like I should start quoting my descriptors before I say things. “As a militant anti-Reaganite, I prefer olives to pineapples on my pizza.” “As a vegetarian, I prefer pastel tones.” “As a Monarchist, f*ck them Dolphins.”

    8:00-8:50 : OL indicates the proper response to being filmed in this kind of shitstorm, by calmly backing away. I like OL. I want to buy her tea.

    8:50-9:40 : I have lost the will to live. Only half the video left! Yay!

    9:45-10:30 : What the fuck is even happening. This is so stupid.

    10:30-10:35 : “We should just go because… nothing is even happening…”

    10:45-10:50 : People say ‘check yo’self’ in real life? I thought that was a tumblr thing.

    10:50-11:10 : tumblr arguing, applied to real life; talk about invalidation, then derisively laugh at someone elses’ viewpoint. Is this like when people say they accept everyone but they actually mean ‘all those people who follow and agree with me’?

    11:10-12:00 : this is not conversation

    12:00-12:40 : YOU’RE UGGO AND MEAN, CATHY BRENNAN. NOONE WANTS TO DATE YOU, NEENER NEENER.

    12:40-13:10 : I fucking love whoever is doing the voiceover for this shit. She and OL both get cups of tea from me. Also, whenever people say “I’m going to leave now”, they never actually are.

    13:10-13:30 : RUS: 8.1 CHI: 7.6 GBR: 8.4 USA: 9.0 FRA: 9.1. Absolutely wonderful flounce, great technique. A small shift of posture adds so much power to the lunge away, with very little effort on the athlete’s part. Wonderful. I haven’t seen this kind of flouncing since Paraskovilov in the late 80s – truly a golden age for the sport this year. Magnificent.

    13:30-13:40 : oh my god there is no logic. I appreciate the effort, hat-glasses woman, but appealing to logic is pointless now.

    13:40-14:10 : Camera lady, marry me.

    14:10-14:40 : YOU HAVE FAILED, CATHY BRENNAN. YOU HAVE FAILED.

    14:40-15:00 : Please select from the drop-down list of body-types below. Because this is relevant.

    15:00-15:30 : Hat-glasses girl keeps interrupting the person she accused of interrupting.

    15:30-16:00 : WHAT IS GOING ON.

    16:00-16:30 : OH GOD NO NOT INVALIDATING AGAIN. BAN THAT WORD. BAN IT.

    16:30-16:45 : wiajfoawifoaifjaoifjaoif this is so fucking stupid.

    16:45-17:00 : OL continues to cement her place as tea-deserver.

    17:00-17:30 : lol you can tell cathy is so much more used to arguing than the others. she’s got her game face on.

    17:30-18:00 : Oh my god, we may have approached an actual conversation. Wondershirt, I like you. Well, that only took eighteen minutes.

    18:00-19:00 : Nope. Never mind.

    19:00-20:00 : Who even fucking cares.

    http://altonym.tumblr.com/post/26042047967/that-cathy-brennan-video-devoid-of-meaningful

    Like

  14. Absolutely revolting group of degenerate trash.

    That nerdy little bastard who kept running his mouth, and calling himself a “lesbian”, is the biggest joke EVER. He’s just another pathetic dude who couldn’t get laid in high school, so he’s cooked up the whole trans image to bully unfortunate lesbians in to going to bed with his ugly ass. Of course, idiots like that slob who was running around without a top buy into the scam; no questions asked.

    I don’t know how any biological male can say “I am female and lesbian” with a straight face. That is majorly fucked up. Oh, and accusing her of sexual harassment? Yeah right! He wishes that some woman, ANY woman, would look upon him with something other than revulsion. Disgusting little creep!

    Oh, and what was with that “check yourself” bullshit? He needs to check his own damned self…starting with the contents of his underwear. Females aren’t born with cock-n-balls; A biological FACT that trannies love to dismiss as “transphobic”.

    Like

  15. Pingback: maybe they should rename it the wannabe march « You think I just don't understand, but I don't believe you.

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