Motherhood was abandoned by feminism a long time ago.

Enticed by the promise of economic power, repulsed by the body horror of childbirth and the mental torment of parenting, we have worked hard to become more like men.

Who can blame us? They have taken advantage of a drone’s greater mobility to arrange the world to suit themselves for thousands of years. They reinterpreted us and brutalized dissent. Archeology tells us that women once had a vibrant culture of our own. We once commanded respect for our uniquely female qualities. Whatever we once had has been crushed or commandeered.

Some readers may have heard about the recent nerfing of the RadFem community on Reddit. This was a gut punch for Yours Truly, as I had been an active member for six years. Of course, many a disgusting pornography subreddit was left standing, but women discussing women’s things is obviously something that needs stamped out.

My long-suffering web developer has set his sights on Quora as a good place to build a reputation among readers.

Feminism, to me, is a pretty broad topic. It’s hard to connect with people when you stubbornly refuse to “niche.” Readers and promoters alike enjoy straightforward content. But too many important topics just aren’t straightforward, with women’s issues touching them all and making theme bleed almost inevitable.

Hey, all! Your faithful Brazen here, still around but busy with so many things. Lots in the works in this weirdest of years.

But yesterday, a morsel slipped across my plate too juicy not to bite.

The Black Lives Matter protests have given me a strange glimmer of hope. On the front lines of Feminism, JK Rowling published an eloquent essay last week quintupling down on her flagrant support of women’s rights. These two events have dragged me back to some familiar spaces, fresh air in my lungs and a bitchy twinkle in my eye.

Making a special effort to check in with the opposition, I stumbled upon a reference to a “trans” person from history, in the form of a portrait in the National Gallery in London.

Last Fall, I was planning to throw all my little weight behind Elizabeth Warren.

She speaks my language, about families and ground-level economics. I was excited to have a woman candidate whose policies I could actually support. Her background with disabled children and low-income families seemed to indicate a person who understood some issues that have been ignored by mainstream politics for way too long.

But recently, readers may know, she has pushed herself as a vocal supporter of Trans Rights.

I was disappointed by this because I had not gotten around to doing any real digging. I was hoping adding pronouns to her website was lip service, but she has been pro-Trans for a while.

The Washington Post spilled a lot of digital ink recently to pose a simple question:

What does it mean when left-wing feminists and conservatives work together?

“Tensions between the TERFs and transgender activists erupted at the Seattle Public Library as hundreds of women -“

Stop right there. Please enjoy this photo of those hundreds of “women.”

Hot stuff, no?

It’s fun when formerly-trustworthy pillars of Journalism leave out inconvenient facts, isn’t it? It’s like a Journalism scavenger hunt!

Andrea Long Chu hopes to upend the whole gender paradigm.

Chu’s fascinatingly offensive hypothesis is that Femaleness equals Passivity. In a Yin & Yang sort of way. Stripped of any metaphorical disambiguation.

“‘Femaleness’ is the urge to be a vessel for another’s desire.”

To say nothing of menstruating or breastfeeding or any of the 1,000 other things women may experience but men never do. That’s a damned convenient definition of Female for those who aren’t.

“My desire originated outside of me.” Chu is full of charmers like this: The classic idea that inspires Modesty laws all over the world. Women are blamed for men’s lust.

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal is currently hearing a case of a little girl whose teacher told her little girls don’t exist.

After a few rounds of this, the 6-year-old told her parents she needed to “go to the doctor” because she “had to do something” about being a girl.

“If everyone has a gender identity,” said Ontario public defender Lisa Bildy, “and [they] are protected under the Code, then her identity as a girl should be protected.”

But they are not stopping there. The complaint goes on to allege that the teacher’s conduct undermined the girl’s foundational concept of herself. And that it contradicted biological reality.

Yesterday evening in Toronto, the irrepressible Meghan Murphy spoke for about 30 minutes at the public library.

Her program, Gender Identity – Society, the Law and Women, follows in a string of appearances in Canada and Britain. These events are increasingly controversial, and the Toronto library was the scene of vehement protest.

Meghan is a Feminist freelance writer. She has become more and more high-profile since Gender ID became law in Canada.

(Seriously, they even record crime statistics according to the offender’s “expressed gender” rather than sex. Get ready for a spike in “female” crime in Canada….)

It’s time to talk about breasts.

Specifically, mastectomies – The surgical removal of breast tissue. According to the Mayo Clinic, this procedure is intended for those suffering from breast cancer, or those at high risk of same.

But, like so many other things, this procedure is being used in what can only be called an “off-label” way, to treat transgender people. Transmen (that’s self-loathing women, for those keeping score) are starting to tell their stories of undergoing this procedure without understanding its ramifications. They describe a streamlined pipeline, wherein chopping off titties is treated as just the next step to fulfilling your dreams.

Hug a conservative. We must beware of tribalism.

It’s the old story of the single-issue voter, red vs. blue, conservative vs. liberal.

It’s what causes the thought error that, because radical feminists and religious fundamentalists agree on the existence of biological dimorphism they must, in fact, be members of the same group.

Or that someone who is “Pro-LGBT” supports social programs or civil liberties.

As those on the Left are fighting to defeat corrupt Republicans, we must remember who it was that corrupted them.

In my recent adventure with the Trans Rights Brigade, I ran into some serious misunderstanding about what Radical Feminism is.

Coincidentally, this week I also found a very good, concise statement of the Radical Feminist platform over at Women’s Liberation Radio News.

“Third Wave” Isn’t Feminism

Before we dive in, I want to spotlight the fact that “Third Wave” Feminism is actually backlash against the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1960s and 70s.

The 1970s saw significant legal progress for women. We acquired the privilege of applying for credit, terminating unwanted pregnancies, and legal protection against housing discrimination. The UN declared 1975 International Women’s Year. Women’s Studies became a feature on campuses everywhere.

Male Violence is The Enemy

Hey, guys, I get it. As much as any lady can, I sympathize. Being A Man is a big freaking deal. Men are kinda nuts.

Forced Into the Butch Box

If you are just not much of a hard ass, if you find yourself drawn to the lighter side of life, you may also find yourself targeted by the Man Police. They are regular guys, your friends, your boss, your teacher. Your Dad. Any or all of them may take it upon themselves to kick your ass if you step out of line.

I’m not going to dig into why that happens. It’s pretty foreign to me, and I truly don’t mean to patronize you.

For those keeping score at home, the Facebook trolls have not let up yet.

They took my walking away after two and a half hours this morning as some kind of victory. But guys, I have stuff to do!

They threw a couple studies at me, but the majority of it has been vitriol demanding my submission.

It’s all public record and I encourage anyone to go read it, if you have the stomach.

It’s Raining Crap!

The onslaught has taken various forms.

There’s the ever-popular repetition of meaningless slogans

And some apparent confusion about those slogans?

It’s amazing how difficult it is to talk about women’s issues.

Today I was outed as a “TERF.”

For those uninitiated, that’s Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist.

Which is technically true, I suppose. In that I understand that the only thing that makes a person one sex or the other is their anatomy. The rest is all gravy.

Trans Politics Dwell in Hyperbole

I have resisted getting directly involved in the conversation for two reasons:

I already lost one old friend over this. A friend who started life as a girl and now lives as a man. Someone who I knew years ago and care for deeply.

Not so long ago, there were no ladies’ rooms.

No powder rooms. No little girls rooms. No restrooms full of stalls, each with a little metal box on the wall. “Lack of access to toilets effectively tied women to their homes, putting them on a leash as long as their bladder capacity.”

This would not be a good system for me.

Museum of London describes the problem for us, “‘Respectable’ women couldn’t relieve themselves in alleys as men did, and the few toilets available in Victorian London were overwhelmingly built for men. Women who wished to travel into central London or even further for leisure and pleasure had to carefully plan where they could ‘stop off.'”