Category: Parent

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Parent

I find that ‘I’m on the wrong side of history’ by believing that sex exists (always) and matters (sometimes)

I’m a feminist. I abhor sex sterotyping. I abhor bullying of those that trangress the boundaries of gender. I take pains to raise my boy without the constraints of sex-based expectations. Yet I find that ‘I’m on the wrong side of history’ by believing that sex exists (always) and matters (sometimes). I see young men and women seeking medical transition as the only way out of the narrow pathways that a patriarchal society offers. I see them accepting stereotypes and doing violence to their own bodies. I don’t want this for any person.

Feminism gave me a way to understand the world and challenge what was wrong in it and a way to learn about my sex and ultimately accept it. I was lucky.

I finally had a conversation with my child’s headteacher (after seeing that a reference to ‘gender identity’ had been made in a letter to parents). I followed this up with a letter explaining my concerns plus materials from TransgenderTrend. I’ve also started talking to another concerned parent (after delicately talking around the issue for a while).

On the work front, I backed up a colleague when he was challenged for changing a reference to ‘Gender. Male/Female’ in a paper to ‘Sex. Male/Female’. Long, painful conversations with younger colleagues ensued.

(Their view being: it’s icky, offensive and potentially transphobic to mention sex.) The matter has never been resolved.

Sharing gender critical thoughts with family and friends led to allegations of siding with transphobes and being backward thinking. Ultimately a friendship was almost lost. At work, I feel I’ve effectively outed myself as someone who might not be trusted to ‘care’ about trans people. (On the contrary, I care deeply about those who don’t fit into stereotypical gender categories: I just don’t want them to harm their bodies. And I want us all to focus our energy on introducing male-bodied people to their feminine sides.)

Kate

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Healthcare Parent

I see parents pushing it on their children

This concerns me because I see parents pushing it on their children. I have a daughter. I don’t want women oppressed even more because of men’s feelings.

Pam, GC feminist

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Healthcare Parent

This is a highly inappropriate thing to say to children with any form of disability

I care because no child should be told by anyone in authority that they may have been ‘born in the wrong body’. This is an ideology, not a scientific fact and should be taught as such, if at all.

I don’t imagine there are many people in this world who didn’t like aspects of their body growing up and they should be taught body positivity and self acceptance.

I also feel this is a highly inappropriate thing to say to children with any form of disability who may well feel like they are in the wrong body but are unable to identify out of it.

Self ID is a separate matter which raises all sorts of ethical and legal issues. The current GRA requirements seem reasonable to me but as with all law should should be subject to considered review. In the current climate this is difficult due to the atmosphere of fear of being branded transphobic.

I’m not particularly vocal on social media anyways but having seen the hate and vitriol spouted at anyone who doesn’t fully devote themselves to trans rights activity worldview I don’t want to get involved publically.

Not personally because I am aware that if you even hint to the wrong person that you feel women’s and children’s safeguarding should be considered in all of this you are subject to criticism.

My wife mentioned to a work colleague that I was interested in the the Scottish GRA review and upon hearing that I thought self ID could have negative implications for women’s legal protections she was informed that I am bigoted, transphobic and denying the reality of trans people.

Nick, Interested parent and casual twitter observer

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Parent

This matters to me for my daughters’ safety

This matters to me for my daughters’ safety.

I have mainly leafletted my local area (on the GRA consultation and against the lib dems in the election) and spoken to a few friends

I choose safe activities – either anonymous or with people I trust.

Anna, Mum and Londoner

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Parent

Men didn’t want to be women when women had nothing for themselves

This matters to me because it feels like only yesterday to me that some of the freedoms we enjoyed for a while were won. I don’t think it right that hard won rights are being taken away by men. Men didn’t want to be women when women had nothing for themselves. It is just misogyny plain and simple and it makes me very angry.

I have written to my MP, with no success at all. Just got the TWAW (transwomen are women) reply. I speak up at work and have not been reprimanded yet. I speak up at home but my daughter is very woke and we disagree on this. She is very much TWAW, her only wobble was learning about Yaniv and she went off self I-d for a while, but after more training at work she is back on the TWAW bandwagon.

I have had arguments with my daughter. My sister also believes TWAW. They both work in education and have had the training. At work there have been no consequences up to now. But I always stay respectful and everyone knows I am a fair person.

I support LFC (and Maya), It feels like the erasure of something so obvious, so based in fact and science, that I am concerned we as a people are being gaslighted.

I write on twitter.

Janice V, Feminist and gender critic

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Parent

I don’t want to risk my hard won fought for rights go to men

I care because as a woman I don’t want to risk my hard won fought for rights go to men. I have three daughters and I am very worried about what this new world means for them and all young women.

I haven’t done enough. I have been scared by some unpleasant interaction on twitter.

Paula, Woman, mother of 3 daughters

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Parent

Sex matters

I have an elderly mother, a teenage daughter & I’m in my 40s. We are all impacted by the loss of single sex protections for different, but entirely biologically female reasons, and sex remains the common factor in the ways we are impacted in the same and differing ways. Loss of privacy, dignity, safety, recovery from trauma and the right to participate in public life – we all have reasons for the need of female only provisions across many aspects of our lives.

Sex matters, and continues to impact all of us in the various ways we navigate through day to day life.

I’ve organised, researched, spoken up, contacted elected representatives, local authorities, and in most official capacities, I have been ignored, or dismissed without adequate justification or explanation.

I’ve lost a good friend, I worry about the impact on my job if my online identity was confirmed.  Not because I have ever been abusive or harassed anyone, or engaged in ‘bigotry’ but because I believe my right to recognise sex as a material reality is important. Surveys at work no longer address sex, instead they ask for gender identity, something that I do not believe in.

Bones123, Adult Human Female

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Parent

I don’t want to be referred to as a menstruator

I care because I have two daughters and I don’t want them growing up in a world that is less safe than the one I grew up in. I care because I see women becoming erased and our protected rights decimated. I care because we’re losing everything we fought for: the right to privacy, the right to fairness in sport, the right to have females perform intimate care on us, our right to single-sex wards, toilets, prisons, changing rooms, refuges…the list goes on. I care because I don’t want to be referred to as a menstruator, or cis, or a non-man.

I’ve written to newspapers to complain about men being referred to as women in cases of paedophilia and sex attacks. I have written to companies about being referred to as menstruators and their anti-women social media.

No consequences yet apart from nastiness on social media and being Terf-blocked.

P, I stand with JK Rowling , TerfyMcTerfyFace

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Parent

My female daughter identified as a man 5 years ago

My female daughter identified as a man 5 years ago. I looked into it, fell down the rabbit hole as I realised the entire ideology was hung on misogyny, porn and cosmetic pharmaceutical lobbying.

I’ve written to 2 MP’s, GEO, and university of misogynistic lecturer who posted raging abuse at women on social media

Consequences: Not really, apart from losing a couple of ‘mates’.

CB, Worried parent

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Parent

I want my daughter to play in sport that is fair

This matters to me as I don’t want women and girls to be silenced and I want my daughter not to be called a cis. I want my daughter to play in sport that is fair. I want the same for other girls. I don’t believe you can change sex at any point. I don’t want men to be able just to say that they are women same as me. I hate institutional capture where people seem to have lost the power to use their brains.

I emailed the BBC about their use of assigned at birth. I wrote to MSP and MP.

Claire B