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It's not a good look to attempt to bully and shame another woman simply because she welcomed a discussion about the consequences of replacing biological sex with self-declared "gender identity" @heraldscotland @RBFMaguire
For clarity, @SP_European committee findings DID back a new transgender question in 2021 Census, but sensibly supported retaining a binary m/f sex question -for planning services like health, as statisticians like @susanmcvie & @ONS made clear.
My thread, which this @paulhutcheon story refers to, was liked 2000 times, shared by 800 people & widely praised as balanced & respectful - presumably why @RBFMaguire liked it too. Read it here
So someone appears to have trawled my thread for "likes" and then gone to the media to try to shut down discussion by targetting @RBFMaguire . As academic @lnmackenzie1 says, this is very worrying
Trans people rightly have legal protections in hate crime laws & Equality Act. But it's not "toxic" , as @StonewallScot implicitly suggest to @heraldscotland, to discuss how allowing any man to self ID as a female affects women's protections in Equality Act.
@StonewallScot have the means and opportunities to make their case. Along with @ScottishTrans and @LGBTIScotland they receive significant public funding. All support self-id and lobby media & MSPs to back it, though many MSPs I speak to have concerns
Also worth repeating that @stonewalluk along with @ScottishTrans asked @WomenEqualities for an end to women's protections in the Equality Act womansplaceuk.org/references-to-…
There is nothing "toxic" about pointing this out. Nothing "toxic" in @Martina asking for fairness in female sport. Nothing "toxic" raising concerns about male sex offences categorised as female across the UK google.co.uk/amp/s/www.scot…
I assume @paulhutcheon as an investigative journalist would not agree that it is toxic for the media to report and comment on these matters of public interest as his colleagues @iainmacwhirter and @shonacraven have done.
For the record I always supported Stonewall. I voted for equal marriage and am a long term ally of gay rights - I've spoken out against homophobia since I was a teenager, which wasn't yesterday.
But many gay people, such as @SimonFanshawe a founder of @stonewalluk worry about the direction it is taking re trans matters. Simon isn't toxic either thetimes.co.uk/article/stonew…
Similarly @jonnnybest, a gay man & founder of Queer up North, has written powerfully about how Stonewall's approach is problematic, especially for lesbians - read it here link.medium.com/eDjyM8J97U
Finally if we are to have a respectful discussion, all voices must be heard. I hope @RBFMaguire is one of them. She is is a fantastic role model for women and a great champion of equalities.
