On April 22-24, 2022, radical feminists from across the country will gather in Madison, Wisconsin in support of WLRN newscaster Thistle Pettersen. Thistle has been relentlessly harassed, doxxed and blacklisted by “trans activists” in her local community, simply for publicly asserting that there are two sexes, male and female, that men are not and can never be women, and that these facts matter.
After interviewing acclaimed feminist Sheila Jeffreys on the community radio station in 2014 and daring to create a MichFest documentary the following year, Thistle was banned and silenced by the station’s Board President and Executive Committee which succumbed to public pressure after receiving complaints of “transphobia” and “people not feeling safe” in response to the woman centered content she presented.
This past summer, the District Attorney brought felony charges with a hate crime enhancer against Thistle for allegedly placing a TERF Collective sticker on a media box on State Street, that could have resulted in a maximum fine of $10,000 and a prison sentence of up to two years. Fortunately, those charges were eventually dismissed on First Amendment grounds.
“Late last summer,” says TERF Collective founder Jesika Gonzalez, “Thistle Pettersen, founder of WLRN, and a well-known and deeply loved TERF in our community, was charged with a hate crime in her state of WI, for allegedly posting a TERF Collective sticker somewhere in her town, and that’s a real big stretch. But it was a huge eye-opener for us, certainly for us at TERF Collective, and I’m sure across ‘us’ as a movement. We really are being persecuted for these views and beliefs.”
The idea for Sisters4Sisters originated, Jesika continues, “when Lierre Keith, who facilitates a lot of these events, came to TERF Collective and said, hey, we should go to Madison, we should go and support Thistle in her town where she’s being bashed, harassed and persecuted, and show [Madison] that it’s not just one, that Thistle’s not alone in this struggle. There are hundreds of us, thousands of us. We’re national and we’re global, and we all believe very seriously in this fight. We’re gonna come [to Madison] and demonstrate that we are serious and that we are not afraid.”
Thistle is indeed not alone in this struggle. Women the world over are being fired, silenced, harassed, threatened, and assaulted for saying no to men. In April, women from across the country will gather in Madison, WI in a show of solidarity with Thistle and all women similarly targeted for their radical feminist views. Like-minded feminists are encouraged to join Sisters4Sisters for a weekend of direct action, discussion, music and street theater. Apply today, if interested!
Courage Calls To Courage: Feminists Speak in Solidarity, a parallel, sold out, public event hosted by WLRN will also be taking place at the Madison Public Library on April 23rd.
Let’s show Madison and the world that the feminists are here and we are fighting back!
