What connects us

My speech to "Let women speak" with Kellie-Jay Keen in Vienna on June 10th 2023

Thanks to Donna and Kellie-Jay Keen we came together today in Vienna. Some of us do not know each other yet. Some have traveled from far away. Why are we here and what connects us? We see different age groups here. We read different books and have different educational backgrounds. We have different lifestyles and standards of living. It may be that we have politically contrary views and hold different values in life. It may well be that we will never become friends and that some of us don’t like each other at all and would never stand together or talk to each other elsewhere.

Nevertheless, we are united by one very important thing in common: our sex.
We are all women, some of us are mothers, some of us are lesbians.

Women all over the world share very similar experiences through a life as a woman - despite all the differences. On the one hand, the unique experience of living in a woman's body with all that that means in terms of beauty and burdens. On the other hand, the experience of oppression, discrimination, harassment and violence by men and by patriarchy.

Girls and women all over the world are currently affected by the attempt to abolish our sex class. We are supposed to accept that any random man is allowed to declare himself a woman, a mother, and a lesbian and invade our hard-won spaces, sports teams, and positions. We are to respect men who are a bad sexist porn copy of us as women and share all our rights and spaces with these men.

Without exception, ANY man who behaves this way is assaultive. No matter how much of an affliction he claims. No matter how sick he is. There is absolutely NO reason for any man to claim to be a woman and invade women's spaces. ANY man who does that has no respect for women and is committing assault.

Every human being comes into this world through a woman. Therefore, the situation of women is crucial for all human beings. Those who want to abolish women's rights are attacking fundamental human rights. This concerns every human being.

We are accused that our positions are right-wing and Nazi. When right-wing men abuse our events as a stage, we are held responsible. When right-wing men use our arguments, again we are held responsible. Meanwhile, over there, left-wing men of the Antifa stand and demonstrate against our right to speak about our reality as women and to make political demands.

Right-wing and left-wing men have one thing in common: their sex.
What they also have in common is their fear of us talking publicly about what they are doing to us.

Some left-wing feminists tell us we shouldn't stand here with Kellie-Jay. Some left-wing feminists say: We are confirming the rumors that we are right-wing and we are closing ranks with the right. I say: Why do you want to exclude women? In patriarchy, all women are affected by oppression. No party represents us and our rights and is really interested in our liberation. What are you afraid of? That women will speak? That women stand in solidarity across all borders? That we dare a closing of ranks among women?

Kellie-Jay lets all the women speak at her events and she has a clear focus and goal. She wants the whole world to know: Women don't have penises, men don't have vaginas, no child is born in the wrong body.

She encourages women to speak out publicly about their concerns and anger despite fear. Kellie-Jay said in a space on Twitter, "We should all be much more afraid of not having said anything and condoning these policies instead of standing up in the street and speaking out.

That's exactly my attitude: I don't want to think in a few years, Why didn't I say anything?

Thank you to Posie for creating this space, thank you to Donna, and thank you to all the women who are speaking out boldly.

We are women, we are many, we are fed up!