In her Sunday Herald column today Dani Garavelli - an excellent writer even if I don’t always agree with her - has pointed to intersectional feminism as the policy framework that led to the “collision” of rights between trans-identified men and women and girls Let’s remind ourselves of the roots of intersectional feminism, as I did in my Scotsman column yesterday. It was coined by an American academic to describe how race and sex intersect to deepen inequality. As a single mother living in a large council scheme in the early 1990s when I became a Labour councillor and a member of the Edinburgh’s women’s committee, I lived intersectional feminism - though in my case it was my class and my sex that were the barriers I faced.

🧵 For years now, a group of (mostly) older women have been trying to wake Scotland up to how Nicola Sturgeon was damaging the governance of our country. Our focus was gender ideology, but the story was similar in other policy areas. Our views were dismissed as not valid. We were variously dismissed as bigots, ugly, stupid, traitors, Yoons, right-wing, even Nazis on occasion. Some women lost jobs and income, others lifelong friends. But we kept going because we knew we had to. Sturgeon was trying to destroy women’s sex based rights.

🧵 I have joined a few protests in my time. Make Poverty History in Edinburgh in July 2005 was probably biggest I have been on. I also enjoyed public meetings both as a councillor and a participant. So I don’t have a problem with the trans activists who joined the protest outside Portobello library last night. Their rhetoric about hate and transphobia is completely off the mark, but I defend their right to protest

BREAKING 🧵JK Rowling and a team of wonderful women have today opened Beira’s Place - a safe, women-only space for women survivors of sexual violence scotsman.com/health/jk-rowl… The board of directors has some of the strongest, cleverest women in Scotland: Susan Smith of @ForWomenScot @JohannLamont @mgtmccartney, @HotchkissRhona and the founder and funder @jk_rowling #Sisters

🧵Today is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. 30 years ago Edinburgh District Council Women's Committee, led by fierce feminist Margaret McGregor, established the groundbreaking Zero Tolerance campaign #IDEVAW2022 I was a very junior member of that committee and am proud to have been part of a Labour group that broke down the barriers around violence against women and girls, and led the way for the rest of Scotland. #IDEVAW2022

🧵I've read & re-read @UNSRVAW letter which sets out her concerns about @scotgov Gender Recognition Reform Bill (GRR). It's devastating in its critique, which I will try to summarise in a short thread. bit.ly/3tUpKCd She says that the Scottish govt's Self ID proposals, as set out in the GRR bill, would open the door for violent men to abuse the process. This presents potential risks to the safety of women.

🧵 on self-ID. The Scottish govt's reaction to the news that the UK govt may have concerns about the Gender Recognition Bill and self ID drew a predictable reaction. Patrick Harvie says its because Wesminter doesn't believe Scotland has the right to make decisions. He's wrong. There *are* serious cross-border issues around self-ID, not least for birth certificates, the administrative proof that someone has changed their legal sex. Remember, being able to change one's birth certificate without a medical check is the core demand of the self-ID campaign.

Rightgeously angry 🧵When one of our sisters receives death threats, we are told, don't worry #BeKind

https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1543001990942318594?s=20&t=xp2U1D8ijjpoW7zCqAqOAQ

When a sister is forced out of her job, we are urged #BeKind bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…

1/6 🧵on hypocrisy. Gender critical women (TERFS) like me are often accused of being in bed with the US Christian far-right, Putin even. Only last night I was accused of "teaming up with fascists"

https://twitter.com/fleeto91/status/1540596062771085313?s=20&t=fMSSrVOVVroSF257J3_Tlw

2/6 Yet, when self-proclaimed feminist Nicola Sturgeon - a passionate supporter of trans rights - recently met an ultra-conservative, abortion-banning, former Tea Party member, Rep. Robert Aderholt (Alabama), the TRAs were silent.

🧵I have no doubt Nicola Sturgeon's anger at the Supreme Court's decision to remove a woman's constitutional right to a safe, legal abortion is heartfelt #RoeVsWade #WomensRightsAreHumanRights But surely she must realise that trans ideology has emboldened anti-women forces across the world. Yet she continues to argue that self ID, where anyone over 16 can change their legal sex, is the right thing to do, regardless of its consequences on women's sex-based rights.

🧵Today the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice committee will hear evidence about how data will be affected by self-ID. Or will they? As @EHRC wrote earlier this year to @ShonaRobison the collection and use of data is one are where they have very real concerns

Short 🧵I have met online and IRL some of the kindest, most empathetic, thoughtful women through the campaign to protect women’s sex-based rights. For a @scotgov minister to suggest they are akin to racists and anti-semites is reprehensible The minister has blocked me so I can’t address her directly, however I hope the FM @NicolaSturgeon will remind her of her duty to the electorate. As a minister, Slater must show respect for all, not just those people she chooses to side with. See point 1 of ministerial code

🧵In advance of the @scotgov statement about gender reform and self-ID on Thursday, here’s 4 comment pieces from Scotland’s national press over last 4 days First up is @joannaccherry whose defence of women’s rights is legendary

archive.is/2022.02.25-073…

🧵I am no lawyer, but @ianssmart is. A damn fine one and former President of Law Society of Scotland. He wrote an article a few days ago which sets out his informed opinion that reform of the GRA is outwith the legal competence of the Scottish parliament ianssmart.blogspot.com Let me summarise: Under the 2004 GRA Act, a gender recognition certificate means that for all purposes, a person's acquired gender is their new legal sex. A man becomes a woman, legally (and vice versa of course)

Words matter. They contain power. The power to heal, to hurt, to change the world, for better or worse. By describing young women as "self-identifying" YWCA Scotland is saying the being female is a choice

https://twitter.com/DalgetySusan/status/1496455922000044037?s=20&t=C64RHLrDTAvsK8FsE6oCuQ

That young women can self-identify out of their biological sex, the defining factor of women's oppression as Hadley Freeman wrote in her brilliant essay recently unherd.com/2022/02/why-i-…

Thread: Yesterday MP Mhairi Black said in parliament: “People often think that we have male and female, but the truth is that 1-2% of the global population is born intersex, which means they present characteristics of both sexes..." She is wrong to use the political term "intersex" when describing people with different sexual development (DSD) and to say that they "present with characteristics of both sexes. People with DSD are not "between" sexes they are male or female.

Short 🧵

In a piece in New Statesman, journalist Marie Le Conte argues that gender critical feminists have been ‘radicalised’ in a similar way to QAnon believers and other extremists. Quite apart from the extremely offensive analogy, she - and other women who share her view - completely misunderstand, or deliberately ignore, what gender critical feminists are arguing. Perhaps it will help if we look - yet again - at the root cause of this culture war

A major children’s charity in Scotland, who vision is that all children should have “an equal chance to flourish” says that children as young as 12 should be allowed to change their legal sex without a period of reflection. See @thetimesscot Children in Scotland also argue that there is no need for parental consent for a 12-year-old child to change their legal sex

American man @SethAbramson goes on rant against @jk_rowling for daring to speak out against grotesque situation in Scotland where male-bodied person who has used their penis to rape a woman can demand to be considered female

https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1470370487998066691?s=20

For the record Mr Abramson, under The Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 rape is defined as nonconsensual penetration with a penis, so it cannot be committed by someone without male genitalia.

Thread: How six words can make a difference.
Later today MSPs will vote on the final wording of the Forensic Medical Services Bill - a good and important bill designed to make the aftermath of rape/sexual assault easier for victims The current wording says women can choose the gender of their examiner, but as gender is NOT a protected characteristic under law, leading feminist and MSP @JohannLamont has tabled a #sixwords amendment changing sex to gender