I recently rec’d a response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request I submitted to the Scottish Parliament.

Their response confirmed that they are still contractually bound to Stonewall, & they still have no plans to sever their contractual links with Stonewall. 1/n Bear in mind here that I am not talking here about individual political parties, or about the Scottish Government, which is, by nature, partisan.

I am talking about the institution of the Scottish Parliament - that is, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body - itself. …

Firstly, thank you for making this important episode, @TheNewsAgents.

However, can you please stop with the constant qualifications? Every time @lewis_goodall does his “I’m so reasonable…this is such a controversial issue…it must be so hard to be trans in this climate…

https://twitter.com/thenewsagents/status/1625566795078979584

…there are obviously some kids who need medical transition…” bit, & every time @maitlis says “This is not about debating trans rights”, it is so skewed. It is a blatant, awkward attempt at playing the “I’m not one of the nasty TERFs…don’t hate me like you hate them!” card. …

I really found @tortoise’s podcast on the Tavistock a difficult listen, mainly because there were so many ways in which the podcast became complicit with the basic ideas of gender identity ideology.

The best I can do to try to justify this approach is to believe that perhaps, …

https://twitter.com/tortoise/status/1620376350774231040

…through this complicity, @tortoise was able to gain a level of access it wouldn’t have gained otherwise. And perhaps it was useful to document the words of those working in the service.

Here’s an example from episode 2 (20mins 30 secs.) …

I really thought this might be the teaser 30min clip that persuaded me to add Josh Szeps/Uncomfortable Conversations to the list of podcasts for which I pay for premium membership, as I’ve enjoyed other episodes.

Not even close. An incredibly frustrating listen.

Of course…

https://twitter.com/joshzepps/status/1624564158875291648

there is such a thing as “Twitter brain”, but for Josh to jump to talking about this when asking himself whether a belief in sex-based rights are transphobic, is incredibly superior and dismissive. As well as Twitter brain, there is also such a thing as cancel culture. …

This is a book I shared with my parents when I came out to them at the age of 17.

We’re constantly told being trans today is like being gay in the 80s/90s.

I’d like to share some advice from the book.

How similar is this is to what the LGBTQ+ sector says to today’s teens? …🧵 On seeking approval:

“You can’t be loved by everyone however hard you try…”

“People who are true to themselves are the ones sought out for friendship. ‘Yes-people’ are despised by all.”

“We need to end the fantasy that a man who raped two women can decide to call himself a woman & be treated by the state at such.”

Of course, @TomSwarbrick1 is right. It should go without saying. But the rot goes much deeper than this extreme (&, really, straightforward) case. 🧵

https://twitter.com/tomswarbrick1/status/1618739887687204865

We need to go much further than just responding to these extreme cases in isolation. The sterilisation of kids, the assault on free speech, the dismantling of women’s spaces, the attack on women’s sport, the undermining of science and higher education, …

I just received a letter from the Scottish Parliament confirming the Parliament is still a member of Stonewall's Diversity Champions scheme.
Clearly, @ScotParl was contracted with Stonewall throughout its consultation on, & consideration of, the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.... Corporately contracting with the largest lobbying organisation that is working on one of the most politically controversial issues of the day is a very odd choice for a supposedly politically impartial Parliament.

I find this an odd argument. When I worked for Stonewall, the age of consent was unequal. Stonewall therefore campaigned for an equal age of consent. We didn’t demand that we should be able to identify as heterosexual, and, thereby, access the rights of heterosexuals’. Surely…

https://twitter.com/Nancy_M_K/status/1615650040160067584

…we should campaign to tackle the source issues, no? If there are rules which state a male person must be addressed as “husband” during a wedding ceremony, let’s change that rule. It seems like a ridiculous rule to me. …