Formal Proposal for the "Pro-Women's Rights" Group on DU

[musette_sf]

This message is intended to be a formal proposal for the "Pro-Women's Rights" Group on Democratic Underground.

I propose that such a group is needed for the following reasons:

1. The Women's Rights group has become a place where openly sexist male DU members come to flame and make personal attacks on the women and feminist men who are interested in discussing women's rights issues.

2. The result of the above flaming and attacking has been, in recent weeks especially, locking of threads so that women and feminist men cannot discuss women's rights topics that the sexist men find objectionable. I have noted that some of the thread locking occurs when the sexist men take over threads that are reposts of articles on women's rights from other notable progressive news sites, such as AlterNet. Therefore the posting of these articles for discussion is valid within the forum. The locking occurs when the sexist men come to the Women's Rights group and deliberately post flames and insults on these discussion threads.

3. Another result of the above flaming and attacking has been, in recent weeks especially, deletion of threads and sub-threads so that women and feminist men cannot continue to discuss women's rights topics that the sexist men find objectionable. When women and feminist men post in the group voicing their opinions on the flaming, insulting, harassing posts from the sexist men, they are shut down by thread/sub-thread/post deletion.

4. The use of humor by women and feminist men to deflect the flames and insults also results in risking post deletion, thread deletion, and locking of threads.

5. Since the sexist men can't seem to refrain from posting inflammatory and insulting posts in the Women's Rights forum, the forum has become a place where women and feminist men risk post deletion, thread deletion, and locking of threads.

6. With the above in mind, it is my opinion that the Women's Rights forum is not a safe place for women and feminist men to discuss Women's Rights issues without harassment and interference from sexist men.

7. Since for some reason, the charter of the Women's Rights forum does not ban deliberate flames and harassing posts from sexist men, the time has come to charter a Pro-Women's Rights forum.

As you know, by DU rules I need 10 people to agree that the time has come for such a group. I hope for the support of the DU women and feminist men, who would like a forum to post and discuss Women's Rights issues without harassment and interference.