A friend once commented that if oppression made you a nice person, then there would be something to be said for it. It’s an odd state of affairs that, in the age of rabid identity politics, the consensus among the so-called progressives seems to be that if you have a disadvantage in life, then you yourself cannot possibly be oppressive. Sadly, this is not in reality the case.

Some aspects of gay male culture are deeply misogynistic

In recent years, nothing has highlighted gay male misogyny like the issue of transgender ideology. Many men who describe themselves as belonging to the LGBTQQIA2Spirit+ “community” go bananas when feminists point out that “transwomen” are still men and should not be anywhere near rape crises refuges and women’s prisons.

Some gay men claim that those of us who campaign against convicted male sex offenders in women’s spaces are motivated by bigotry, not concern about rape and domestic violence. I have even been called “homophobic” for pointing out that gay men have no right to proclaim that transwomen should have unfettered access to refuges and women’s prisons.

Some aspects of gay male culture are deeply misogynistic, such as their referring to each other as “she”, giving each other parody female names (Dolly and Fanny, for example), and celebrating the most harmful sexist stereotypes. Drag acts are used to parody women, and the glamorisation of the sex trade, sexual exploitation and pornography is prevalent within the commercial gay scene. 

Recently, a number of white gay men have thrown insults at middle-aged white women in a perfect example of classic sexism. In January the gay author Ben Miller tweeted: “Imagine if suburban white women had Twitter during the peak years of the aids epidemic”, in an obvious reference to women (many of whom are black, young and from inner cities, if we are getting pedantic) speaking out against trans ideology. Miller’s tweet was endorsed by some of the usual suspects, and roundly criticised by feminists that are sick and tired of having legitimate concerns dismissed by men who will not be affected in the slightest by women-only spaces being eroded.

Sexism has been a problem within the LGBT rights movement for as long as I can remember. Gay men have been telling women what to think and how to behave since time immemorial. It is one of the reasons the Gay Liberation Front split in the 1970s, with lesbians deciding to fight for their rights independently. Lesbians were tired of men setting the agenda, talking over them in meetings and not listening to their concerns. So they upped and left. 

Screaming TERF is a substitution for other misogynistic expletives

The gay men of today who paint themselves as progressive tend to be the white upper-middle-class, Oxbridge-educated dudes who shill for Black Lives Matter and chant “trans women are women”. Because they know that it would not look cool for them to come out with the blatant woman-hating of the old days, they couch it in the wokest of ways. Screaming TERF in our faces is a substitution for other misogynistic four-letter expletives, and they can bully us under the disguise of fighting for the “rights” of their “trans siblings”. It’s the same old misogynistic story, however it’s dressed up. Woke sexism is still sexism. Gay misogyny is still misogyny. Both are shameful.

Sexist gay men think they are being clever by pointing the finger and shouting “homophobe” any time that they are justifiably criticised, such as for dismissing our concerns about little things like rape by “transwomen” in prison. I have spent my life campaigning to end sexual and domestic violence towards women and girls, so I know of what I speak. 

I am sick and tired of hearing of misogynistic bullying by gay men, particularly when they masquerade as defending abused minorities. Earlier this month, as my good friend and feminist comrade Rosie Duffield MP was criticising Scotland’s Gender Reform Bill and defending the need to protect vulnerable women in single-sex spaces, Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP turned an angry red colour and began to loudly heckle any woman who agreed.

When Miriam Cates, a Conservative MP spoke of her concerns around men in women’s refuges and the like, he accused her of being a bigot. Soon afterwards, Russell-Moyle crossed over to the Tory side of the Chamber to sit very close to her, staring in what can only be described as an intimidating manner. Russell-Moyle is MP for Kemptown, Brighton — known as the capital of the LGBTQ scene. He describes himself as a trans ally, as do pretty much all of the men that vilify feminists for raising concerns about predatory men in women-only spaces. 

Gay men are vulnerable to abuse, prejudice and violence. Lesbians, and women in general, even more so. Gay men should be standing up for us, not adding fuel to the fire. Men, whether gay or straight, are all part of the patriarchal problem.