Mae Martin Says They Hope Bette Midler Continues To 'Learn & Evolve' After Hurtful Tweet
"We need cis women as allies - we historically have been their allies as well and continue to be."
Mae Martin on a balcony. Right: May Martin backstage.
Mae Martin has shared a thoughtful reply to Bette Midler's "disappointing" words on social media.
On July 4, Midler tweeted a call to action for the "women of the world" who she says are being stripped of "rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name." She also said that women aren't being called "women" anymore and said, "Don’t let them erase you!"
On July 5, the Toronto-born celeb, who stars in the Netflix hit Feel Good, took to their Instagram story to address the hurtful message from Midler, who they've spoken of in the past as being one of their idols.
"So many people are messaging me about Bette Midler's disappointing tweet, I just want to say this in case this is useful to you if you have people in your own life - older feminist icons even - who are perplexed and threatened by inclusive language, etc.," they said.
"These figureheads, like Bette Midler, fought hard for women's rights and they're upset when, in the context of reproductive rights, they read phrases like 'people with uteruses.' They feel reduced and negated and confused," Martin explained.
"I would say to them: Nobody is negating the fact that people assigned female at birth have a unique struggle against an oppressive patriarchy. Nobody is denying the power and magic of cis women."
They explained that they were born female but are trans/non-binary and since they are medically and culturally transitioning, "woman" is not the word to use when describing them.
"The use of inclusive language when talking about abortion rights means that I - with all my shared experience and shared threat of pregnancy as I also sleep with cis men - can participate and be acknowledged in the conversation and fight alongside women," they said.
"We need cis women as allies - we historically have been their allies as well and continue to be," Martin said, noting that everyone has the same goal of having equal rights as a whole person instead of being reduced to pieces of anatomy, which they say should be a familiar to older feminists such as Midler.
"I hope that people like Bette continue to learn and evolve," Martin said in conclusion. "I really want to be able to enjoy Hocus Pocus 2, which I've been waiting for for about twenty years, feeling safe in the knowledge that my idol is on the side of personhood and freedom and unity, and would include me in that fight."
"The best part of life is continuing to learn and grow. And we have to try to rise above and have open arms and be full of love and respect."
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.