I'm back from 2 weeks behind the Great Firewall. Two weeks with my family have been wonderful. Now it's time to head back into the discussion around gender self-ID. For anyone wondering what my thinking is on this and why I started @ManFRIDAY_, here goes:
1) All people should be free to express their personality in the way they style their appearance without suffering from mockery, bullying or undue discrimination.
2) The word 'woman' means 'female adult human'. Women suffer from discrimination based not their sex: their true or perceived ability to bear children. This sometimes, but not always, stems from gender stereotypes associated with their sex.
Replacing the meaning of the word 'woman' with 'anyone who identifies as a woman' is to deny the reality of discrimination against women as a sex class, women's lived experiences and the right of women to have a word to describe themselves.
3) The proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality Act 2010 replace objective, scientifically accurate sex-based language with subjective, unprovable 'gender identity'.
The Miller Report is deeply flawed and does not take into account the views, needs, rights, safety, privacy and dignity of women and girls.
4) All political parties in the UK are proposing changes to the Gender Recognitions Act that make the word 'woman' meaningless. Proposed changes to the Equality Act would make it a hate crime to question a male-bodied person's presence in women-only spaces, positions and services
5) Public and private services and bodies are being wrongly advised that single-sex provisions are unlawful and discriminatory. This is putting women in danger by undoing years of work on safeguarding and promotion of women's participation in public life.
6) Proponents of gender self-ID are denying women's right to have a word to describe themselves, to single-sex provision and to even discuss the very real threats to women's rights, safety, privacy and dignity. This is wrong.
7) The language and actions of pro-self ID lobby are overwhelmingly misogynistic and lesbophobic. Hatred of women and the belittling of their lived experiences has become normal in political discourse. Women are being shut down with shouts of 'transphobia'.
8) #ManFriday was set up to point out the absurdities and injustices of gender self-ID. Ultimately, I believe that self-ID is not only harmful to women and girls, but also makes a mockery of the struggle of people with gender dysphoria.
9) When women need to petition the government to be heard on laws that concern them, and for lawful single-sex provisions to be upheld, this indicates to me that the political system is failing women and girls. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/2141…
10) Women's voices must be heard and women and girls' rights, safety, privacy and dignity upheld by the law. 'Words should mean things' and the law must never uphold lies. Men are men, women are women, transpeople are trans... and that is ok.
11) When single-sex services for women and girls have become centred around men and boys, it tells me that misogyny is so deeply ingrained in society that it’s past time for women to take a stand.
