"What is a woman?"

The insidious misogyny of Piers Morgan

CN: If you’re reading this beyond the paywall, please note it contains references to transphobia, misogyny and Piers Morgan.

Hello all! I’m still getting used to Substack and the concept of “newsletters”, so potentially I’m treating this too much like a blog and posting too often. I guess I’ll figure out what people like! In the meantime, I wanted to share this excerpt from my book. Piers Morgan was on my instagram feed today, being creepy with a young woman who’s making a killing on Only Fans. She quit her law degree to become an OF creator, and Morgan is of course *deeply concerned* that her future children (she’s 25 and isn’t sure she wants them, but never forget that wombs belong to the world!) will be upset with her one day.

“They can cry in a Ferrari,” she replied. Queen energy.

Morgan is obsessed with young women and the choices they make, even if that’s just the choice to not meet him for lunch. As the self appointed moral caretaker of women’s bodies, he’s also become obsessed with the bodies of trans women in particular, repeatedly asking guests (including the Australian Prime Minister) “wHaT iS a WoMaN?????”

Like all of the bigots currently jumping on the transphobic shuttle to Ding Dong station, Morgan wants you to believe this is about fairness and equality. Specifically, fairness and equality in women’s sports. You know, that highly regarded field of “women’s sports” that conservatives have traditionally always championed, and have certainly never, ever suggested shouldn’t receive equal pay because “women’s sport is boring and they’re not as good as the men.”

Isn’t it just so interesting how supportive men like this are of the need for “women’s spaces” when it has nothing to do with them versus, say, when women want to host an event that excludes cis men? I hope they remember this the next time a savvy young woman decides to start a women’s only club!

Anyway, at some point I’ll share a How To Deal With… video outlining how I respond to the deliberately mendacious question, “what is a woman?” (Preview: my answer has nothing to do with biology or bodies, but DOES force them to address the danger ALL women face at the hands of cis men.) But for now, here’s an excerpt from a chapter about the invention of male expertise.

Let me know your thoughts in comments!