Thread by @BevJacksonAuth

So. After @ruth_hunt’s interview with @GuardianAnushka I tweeted on 30 April: “Ruth, I listened with interest and noted your call for a civil discussion. I agreed with many points while others perplexed me. Are you willing to engage, e.g. by email?

I am really interested in your replies to my questions. I am committed to civil debate.” She tweeted back: “Sure, drop us an email. [e-mail] uk.”
So I did. It’s certainly a long letter with lots of questions, but no one could say it’s not civil.

To this day she has neither replied nor acknowledged it. So here it is. I’ll make it into a proper thread at the end. "1 May 2019
Dear Ruth,
Thank you for being willing to engage.

As one of the founding members of the UK Gay Liberation Front I actually think it is quite tragic that we are no longer allies. I am trying to understand how this happened and to see if there is a better way forward. I agree with much of what you say.

I totally oppose Trump’s disgusting ban on trans people serving in the military, and very much agree with your comments on the alarming situation facing gay men and lesbians in countries such as Chechnya.

In your interview, you said that “it isn’t legitimate to say that all transwomen are men masquerading as women in order to exploit a system.” I totally agree. That would be an outrageous thing to say.

But as a gender-critical feminist who communicates with hundreds of other gender-critical feminists, I have never heard anyone at all say such a thing. At most, it is pointed out that when a system has loopholes, there are bound to be some people who will abuse it.

So why did you make this strawman argument? You said: “when the discussion starts from the assumption that transwomen are fundamentally deceptive and out to harm, that is a position that we cannot engage with”. Again, I totally agree.

That would be a totally vile, obnoxious assumption. But again, I have never heard any gender-critical feminist say that. So why did you make this strawman argument?

While refuting these non-existent claims, you did not address any of the actual concerns raised by gender-critical feminists. So I would be grateful if you would be willing to answer the following questions.

You say that the way trans people are treated “reminds me exactly of how lesbian and gay people were treated in the late 80s and early 90s.” How do you respond to the reports, some of them by desisters and detransitioners,

that some children and young adults are identifying as trans precisely because of homophobia? Do you believe that these reports are true, false, exaggerated, or malicious propaganda?

Where do you stand on the reports of young lesbians finding numerous male-bodied people identifying as lesbians on their dating sites and experiencing harassment for not considering these people as sexual partners?

Do you believe that these reports are true, false, exaggerated, or malicious propaganda? Do you believe that homosexuality is same-sex attraction or attraction to someone of the same gender identity?

Do you support the rights of homosexuals to be exclusively attracted to persons of the same biological sex?

Does the recent huge increase in the number of teenage girls identifying as trans worry you? Do you think it needs to be researched?

You referred to the media coverage of trans issues in The Times. One of the subjects covered related to concerns about the treatment being offered to children at the Tavistock clinic. Do you think The Times was wrong to publish articles about these concerns?

Do the long-term effects of puberty blockers worry you?
Does the use of incorrect suicide statistics as a pressure tool worry you, or do you not believe this to be the case?

Given that female children are subject to selective abortion, infanticide, under-nourishment and a lack of education, and that women suffer from prejudice in matters relating to menstruation, contraception, pregnancy, abortion, childbirth, and rape as an instrument of war,

do you accept the importance of retaining the word “woman” as a term relating to biological sex, since it is biological sex and not subjective identification that underlies the oppression of women? If not, why not?

This appears to be the crux of the division between the transactivist movement and gender-critical feminism, so I would really like to hear your thoughts on this issue.

Do you believe that it is right to allow male-bodied people access to shelters set up for women who have suffered abuse? Do you think it is fair to expect separate facilities to be created for male-bodied people who have suffered abuse?

Do you believe that “misgendering” should be a criminal offence?Do you think that women are entitled to refuse to be called “cis”?Do you believe that women should be free to debate all these concerns without being non-platformed and without harassment by transactivist protesters?

These are just a few of my actual concerns. I very much applaud the valiant support for women’s rights that is consistently voiced by transsexuals like Debbie Hayton and Kristina Harrison.

Let me say a few words about my own background.
When I was young, I had an intermittent sense of myself as a boy: a boy called Sam when I was three, and at eleven I used to stuff objects in my underwear to look like a boy.

When I was fifteen, I called myself William, and once threw a girl across the classroom because she wouldn’t call me that. I was lonely and isolated and hardly had any friends.

I have no doubt whatsoever that if transitioning had been possible, and if I had encountered a welcoming trans crowd on social media, I would have come out as trans and transitioned as soon as possible.

But that was in the 1960s, and times were different. I gradually came to terms with being a woman, and at 31 I had my first child. I now have a wonderful wife, I have two daughters and two granddaughters, and have a good life.

I do not have a “gender identity”. If I had transitioned, I would not have this amazing family life, and I am so incredibly thankful to have grown up in an age when transition was impossible.

Many gender-critical feminists are people like me, who read the stories of girls who are transitioning or who have desisted or detransitioned. They sound just like us.

I am extremely worried that teenage girls, whose problems with body image are well documented (anorexia, self-harm etc.) and for whom social media may well exacerbate or distort existing confusions,

are susceptible to transing without the factors underlying their dysphoria being fully explored. This is backed up by numerous accounts of girls who write of their regret. Really a lot of girls, Ruth.

I am not suggesting that all teenage girls identifying as trans are like me. Of course not. Some undoubtedly benefit from transition. But some don’t.

And for those girls, who might go down a path leading to sterility and regret it, I will continue to fight for better medical practice.

I realize that I have asked a lot of questions, and re-reading my letter, it looks a bit like an interrogation! But I seriously don’t understand what your position is on these issues, and would be really grateful if you could respond as best as you feel able.

Thank you again for being willing to engage with me in this debate.
Kind regards,
Bev Jackson

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