Julie Bindel

[[File:Julie Bindel, 26 October 2015.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Bindel in 2015]]
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'''Julie Bindel''' (born 1962) is a [[British]] [[radical feminist]] writer and [[bullshit]] peddler. Although she has done worthwhile campaigning for women, she is known for her more eccentric beliefs such as [[political lesbianism]] and particularly for her [[TERF|opposition to trans people]].

She is firmly rooted in the [[Second wave feminism|second-wave feminism]] of the 1970s, and believes that more recent feminism has betrayed women by focusing on soft issues like equality in the boardroom.<ref name=cooke2021/> This is certainly a gross misreading, as [[Third wave feminism|third]] and fourth-wave feminism have covered an incredible variety of issues, such as the Everyday Sexism project tackling harassment in the street and on public transport, and acted against media [[sexism]] and the [[racist]] treatment of immigrants, as well as tackling inequality and harassment in the workplace (which is itself a serious issue).<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/10/fourth-wave-feminism-rebel-women The fourth wave of feminism: meet the rebel women], The Guardian, 10 Dec 2013</ref><ref>[https://www.vox.com/2018/3/20/16955588/feminism-waves-explained-first-second-third-fourth The waves of feminism, and why people keep fighting over them, explained], Vox, 20 March 2018</ref> But anyone who disagrees with Bindel on issues like having sex with men, [[pornography]], [[sex work]], surrogacy, or how to dress, is seen as betraying women.

On the other hand, she has defended the right of women to enjoy [[alcohol]]<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/25/booze-joy-criticising-women-drinking-whisky-wine Booze is a joy – so stop criticising women for drinking], Julie Bindel, ''The Guardian'', 25 July 2017</ref> and defended British DIY stores as essential to lesbian culture.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/31/decline-bandq-lesbians-bad-news-diy The decline of B&Q is a hammer blow for lesbians], Julie Bindel, ''The Guardian'', 31 March 2015</ref>

==Life==
Bindel was born in 1962 in Darlington, England.<ref name=wikipedia>{{wpa|Julie Bindel}}</ref>

Bindel is a prolific writer who has written for many publications; she is perhaps still best known for her work for ''[[The Guardian]]'' but also has contributed to many right-wing publications:
* ''[[The Critic]]''<ref>[https://thecritic.co.uk/author/julie-bindel/ Author: Julie Bindel], ''The Critic'', accessed 5 September 2022</ref>
* ''[[Daily Mail]]''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230120135800/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Julie+Bindel+For+The+Daily+Mail Julie Bindel For The Daily Mail], ''The Daily Mail''.</ref>
* ''[[The Spectator]]''<ref>[https://www.spectator.co.uk/writer/julie-bindel Writer: Julie Bindel], ''The Spectator'', accessed 5 September 2022</ref>
* ''[[Daily Telegraph]]''<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/j/ju-jz/julie-bindel/ Authors: Julie Bindel], ''Daily Telegraph'', accessed 5 September 2022</ref>
* ''[[UnHerd]]''<ref>[https://unherd.com/author/julie-bindel/ Author: Julie Bindel], ''UnHerd'', accessed 5 September 2022</ref>

Her books include:<ref name=wikipedia/>
* Bindel and Harriet Wistrich, ''The Map of My Life: The Story of Emma Humphreys'', 2003
* Roger Matthews, Helen Easton, Lisa Young, and Bindel, ''Exiting Prostitution: A Study in Female Desistance'', 2014
* Bindel, ''Straight Expectations'', 2014
* Bindel, ''The Pimping of Prostitution: Abolishing the Sex Work Myth'' 2017
* Bindel, ''Feminism for Women: The Real Route to Liberation'', 2021

==Campaigning==
Bindel's youth was influenced by her time in Leeds in the late 1970s when the serial killer {{wpl|Peter Sutcliffe}} (known as the Yorkshire Ripper) was active in Northern England. Since then she has campaigned over various issues connected with violence against women. She has campaigned against [[rape]], [[Human trafficking|trafficking]], and [[Domestic violence|domestic abuse]].<ref name=guardianhughes>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/oct/06/feminism-for-women-by-julie-bindel-review-equality-is-not-enough Feminism for Women by Julie Bindel review – equality is not enough], Kathryn Hughes, ''The Guardian'', 6 Oct 2021</ref>

She founded Justice For Women in 1990, "as a feminist campaigning organisation that supports, and advocates on behalf of, women who have fought back against or killed violent men".<ref>[https://www.justiceforwomen.org.uk/ Justice For Women website main page], accessed 5 September 2022</ref> It campaigned for {{wpl|Emma Humphreys||,}} a [[Welsh]] woman convicted of murder for killing her pimp, and {{wpl|Killing of Richard Challen|Sally Challen}} who killed her abusive husband.<ref name=cooke2021>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/aug/31/feminism-for-women-the-real-route-to-liberation-by-julie-bindel-review Feminism for Women: The Real Route to Liberation by Julie Bindel – review], Rachel Cooke, ''The Guardian'', 31 Aug 2021</ref>

==Female separatism==
She has written about the importance of political lesbianism as promoted by Tina Crockett and Alison Garthwaite in their pamphlet ''Love Your Enemy? The Debate Between Heterosexual Feminism and Political Lesbianism'' in the late 1970s. In 2009 she wrote, "my lesbianism is intrinsically bound up with my feminist politics and my campaigning against sexual violence" and insisted "political lesbianism continues to make intrinsic sense because it reinforces the idea that sexuality is a choice, and we are not destined to a particular fate because of our [[chromosome]]s".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jan/30/women-gayrights My sexual revolution], Julie Bindel, ''The Guardian'', 30 Jan 2009</ref>

She said in 2015: "I would love to see a women’s liberation that results in women turning away from men and saying: 'when you come back as [[human being]]s, then we might look again.'"<ref name=radfem2015>[http://www.radfemcollective.org/news/2015/9/7/an-interview-with-julie-bindel An Interview with Julie Bindel], Rad Fem Collective, 7 September 2015</ref>

She has called on women not to wear make-up, describing it as women "colluding in their own oppression", and claiming it is impossible for the wearing of make-up to be a feminist act no matter how you use it to present yourself.<ref>[https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018683804/julie-bindel-come-on-feminists-ditch-the-makeup-bag Julie Bindel - Come on feminists, ditch the makeup bag], RNZ, 23 Feb 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/makeup-sexist-lipstick-feminism-women-burning-bra-radical-protest-a8740096.html Come on feminists, ditch the makeup bag. It's a far more radical statement than burning your bra], The Independent, 22 Jan 2019</ref>

She has also joked about wanting to lock up all men:

{{quotebox|I mean, I would actually put them all in some kind of camp where they can all drive around in quad bikes, or bicycles, or white vans. I would give them a choice of vehicles to drive around with, give them no porn, they wouldn't be able to fight – we would have wardens, of course! Women who want to see their sons or male loved ones would be able to go and visit, or take them out like a library book, and then bring them back.<ref name=radfem2015/>}}

Hence, there is certainly an element of [[trolling]] in her work, while much of it is very serious business.

==Sexual orientation==
She has argued that [[sexual orientation]] is at least partly a choice in her book ''Straight Expectations'', based on the fact that scientists aren't yet clear about the causes of [[homosexuality]].<ref>[https://www.towleroad.com/2014/07/lesbian-journalist-julie-bindel-says-sexual-orientation-is-a-choice/ Lesbian Journalist Julie Bindel Says Sexual Orientation Is a Choice], Towleroad, 7 July 2014</ref>

She has also been critical of bisexual women, claiming [[bisexuality]] was a "fashionable trend" and asking "What makes some of us uncomfortable with bisexual women?" She linked this with political lesbianism, saying, "I believe now, that if bisexual women had an ounce of sexual politics, they would stop sleeping with men."<ref>[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/where-is-the-politics-in_b_1589435 Where's the Politics in Sex?], Julie Bindel, Huffington Post, 12 June 2012</ref>

She has also been critical of [[polyamory]], equating it with traditional polygamy and condemning it as a fad.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/26/polyamory-no-favours-for-women Rebranding polyamory does women no favours], Julie Bindel, ''The Guardian'', 26 Aug 2013</ref>

In an interview on [[GB News]] in 2023, Bindel discussed her reasons for founding The Lesbian Project, citing the well-worn slander linking LGBT people to predators: "I don't want to be lumped in with minor-attracted persons – [[MAP]] – which is the latest addition to this rainbow coalition. Which means child abusers. I don't want to be lumped in with heterosexual kinksters. In other words, men that like strangling women during sex."<ref>https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1635009104044277761</ref>

==TERF==
Bindel has repeatedly criticised sex reassignment surgery and opposed the notion of trans people, rejecting the idea that someone could be "trapped in the wrong body" as a [[patriarchal]] mistake that assumes innate differences between male and female minds or behaviour.<ref name=bindeltransmission/> She has stated that this is partly because she fears that as an adolescent girl who did not feel like a conventional girl, she could have been forced into sex-change surgery.<ref name=bindeltransmission/> Yet it is exceedingly unlikely this would happen, because of both the standards around gender reassignment surgery and the extraordinarily long waiting lists. She also seems to confuse being interested in things relating to the opposite sex with actually feeling you have been assigned the wrong sex, which are different things, and you get trans people with very different combinations of gender conforming and non-conforming behaviour.<ref>[https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/no-existence-of-trans-people-doesn-t-validate-gender-essentialism/ No, the existence of trans people doesn’t validate gender essentialism], Kaylee Jakubowski, ''Open Democracy'', 23 Aug 2018</ref>

In 2004 she received considerable criticism and was censured by the readers' editor of  ''The Guardian'' for calling a trans woman a "man in a dress" in an article offensively headlined "Gender benders, beware".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jan/31/gender.weekend7 Gender benders, beware], Julie Bindel, The Guardian, 31 Jan 2004</ref> She later spoke on Radio 4 under the title "Sex change surgery is unnecessary mutilation".<ref name=bindeltransmission>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/aug/01/mytransmission My Trans Mission], Julie Bindel, The Guardian, 1 Aug 2007</ref> She has also referred to trans activists as "Queer [[DAESH|Isis]]".<ref name=guardianhughes/>

CL Minou in 2010 accused Bindel of [[Irony meter|inconsistency]] for arguing that gender is a [[social construct]] and biology is not destiny ([[Julie Bindel#Female separatism|when speaking on sexual orientation]]) but still being opposed to the idea that trans women are women, and hence being a biological essentialist after all.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/feb/01/julie-bindel-transphobia Julie Bindel's dangerous transphobia], The Guardian, 1 Feb 2010</ref> In 2016, Bindel wrote in the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' that she wanted to be a boy when she was young,<ref name="BindelOct2016Mail">Julie Bindel (October 24, 2016). [https://web.archive.org/web/20221101120021/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3865632/I-m-grateful-grew-children-don-t-fit-stereotypes-assumed-transgender-Feminist-activist-Julie-Bindel-danger-playing-gender-politics-young-lives.html "'I'm grateful I grew up before children who don't fit stereotypes were assumed to be transgender': Feminist activist Julie Bindel on the danger of playing gender politics with young lives"]. ''The Daily Mail''.</ref> which appears to completely contradict a 2007 article she wrote in ''The Guardian'', where she wrote that she didn't want to be a boy when she was young, but rather a lesbian.<ref name=bindeltransmission/> She also acknowledged in the 2016 article that gender dysphoria can occur before adulthood,<ref name="BindelOct2016Mail"/> and in 2022 she stated that children with gender dysphoria had a "disorder".<ref>Julie Bindel (November 14, 2022). [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/EO0tW Thread by Julie Bindel]. ''Twitter'', via Ghostarchive. [https://twitter.com/bindelj/status/1592170353576579073 (Original)].</ref> However, in 2023 she actually denied that there was even any such thing as a transgender child.<ref>Julie Bindel (December 28, 2023). [http://archive.today/2023.12.28-213522/https://twitter.com/bindelj/status/1740295566054346766 I wrote about the scandal of gender clinics for kids. There is no such thing as a 'trans child']. ''Twitter'', via archive.today.</ref> This implies that transgender adults were somehow not ever also transgender in childhood.

In 2019, Bindel claimed to have been "violently attacked" by a trans women, Cathy Brennan (not to be confused with [[Cathy Brennan|the infamous TERF]]), and Bindel then [[misgendering|misgendered]] Brennan. Brennan denied ever touching Bindel, and said she had only pushed past a security officer to confront Bindel.<ref>[https://lauralemoon.medium.com/its-time-to-cancel-julie-bindel-and-second-wave-feminism-for-good-8c341f8bb339 It’s Time to Cancel Julie Bindel and Second Wave Feminism for Good], Laura LeMoon, Medium, 10 June 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/06/07/radical-feminist-julie-bindel-claims-physical-attack-by-trans-person/ Radical feminist Julie Bindel claims physical attack by trans person], ''Pink News'', 7 June 2019</ref>

==SWERF==
{{main|Sex worker-exclusionary radical feminism}}
She is clear about her opposition to any decriminalisation of [[sex work]].<ref name=bindelindy2018>[https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/sex-trade-labour-jeremy-corbyn-decriminalisation-prostitution-tories-theresa-may-a8310666.html As a lifelong Labour supporter, I can't believe I'm having to go to the Tories to help victims of the sex trade], Julie Bindel, The Independent, 18 April 2018</ref>

The English Collective of Prostitutes criticised Bindel for derisively referring to prostitution advocates as the "happy hooker crew", saying that Bindel "salaciously misrepresents" her opponents.<ref>[https://prostitutescollective.net/sunday-times-letter-in-response-to-julie-bindel/ Sunday Times: Letter in response to Julie Bindel], Niki Adams, English Collective of Prostitutes, ''The Sunday Times'', 8 December 2019</ref> 

==Deplatforming==
{{main|No platform}}
In recent years she has faced deplatforming from various feminist and [[left-wing]] events, due to her views on trans women.

In 2021, Melbourne bookseller Readings expressed regret for having had her speak at an event.<ref>[https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/we-apologise-for-any-hurt-readings-regrets-2018-event-with-feminist-author-julie-bindel-20210210-p5719k.html 'We apologise for any hurt': Readings regrets 2018 event with feminist author Julie Bindel], The Age, 10 Feb 2021</ref>

In 2022 she was banned from speaking at Aspley Library in Nottingham due to her views on trans rights being seen as incompatible with the council's values.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-61948946 Julie Bindel: Council cancels], BBC News, 27 June 2022</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2|90%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT: Bindel, Julie}}
[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:Feminists]]
[[Category:Leftists who turned right with age]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Purity culture]]
[[Category:Social justice]]
[[Category:SWERFs]]
[[Category:TERFs]]

Categories: British people, Feminists, Leftists who turned right with age, Living people, Politics, Purity culture, Social justice, SWERFs, TERFs