The Gender Dissidents SurveyI care about the harm being done to children and young people especially girls – physical and mental damage as well as misinformation. I care as a woman losing what used to be single sex spaces.
I have complained to the body administering a post graduate student survey when gender id was a required answer. I complained after visiting the Hayward Gallery that the female toilet had been made unisex.
D ATTAR , Second wave feminist
First and foremost, I am a survivor of severe, organised abuse in childhood.
Secondly, I have worked for decades for women and vulnerable people, including as a human rights lawyer for victims of violence, as a writing teacher with mothers in prison and the community and in groups campaigning on consent.
Thirdly, I am a bisexual woman and was on the ‘gay scene’ for years.
Fourth, I am a parent and work often in education and concerned with safeguarding. I care deeply about this issue because whilst I think every consenting adult is free to have their own beliefs and make choices about their body, the TWAW lobby is infringing the human rights of others, with harmful implications and it is constantly threatening and seeking to close down freedom of speech.
I have spoken about this issue on social media and in real life for the past three or more years. I have written countless posts and emails and I have kept a diary on this issue to process my own thoughts before formulating my own speech in what can be a fast paced and abuse-oriented environment on social media.
I have been called a “terf” many times. I have been ostracized by a group of women campaigning with me on abortion rights (though remained good friends with others). On social media I have been told directly that I am “fascist scum” or I have been patronized as an abuse survivor who is somehow biased, disregarding my qualifications as a human rights lawyer and background supporting people. Other negative consequences include the mental health toll of constantly being “gaslit” implying that I am the person in the wrong. A tactic used by those who want to reframe reality the world over and I know that, yet still so sad and wearing!
Anna Morvern, Writer, speaker, teacheryer, translator
I care about this issue because it erodes women’s sex-based rights and causes harm to people who will end up regretting medical transition. Gender identity ideology is incoherent and implicitly relies on, and promotes, regressive sexist stereotypes. Legislating that people must regard male people as female or vice versa is profoundly illiberal and undermines freedom of conscience.
The way in which gender identity ideology has been promoted has resulted in a stifling of normal and essential debate in clinical and political arenas. This has meant that in discussions about serious medical treatment for children, political aims have superseded good medical practice, which is extraordinary. How can anyone not care about that?
I have written to a small political party I used to be a member of, sadly with little effect, and written to other politicians. I’ve donated to gender critical projects. I’ve set out my arguments on Twitter. I decided to do this under my own first name and profile photo, which scared me as I’d seen the abuse that other women had received. But as the views of gender critical people are so routinely misrepresented, I felt I had to do this.
People who know me know that I am not a right wing fundamentalist: I supported gay marriage, raised money for refugees, and am an environmentalist. I wanted my followers to see that someone with similar views to them on other things was gender critical, in the hope they’d listen to the arguments.
When I decided to speak up, I gave up my business account on Twitter. I suffer from anxiety and I knew that I couldn’t handle it if I started getting abuse on there, I wouldn’t be able to defend myself properly.
It’s not as difficult to argue back from a personal account. I think I was right to do so, having seen what happened to Jess de Waal (an embroidery artist who was targeted after speaking up). If I wasn’t financially secure I probably would not have spoken up, I’ve certainly lost sales over it.
The debate has affected my mental health but it would have done so even if I’d remained silent – the disingenuousness of many who smear gender critical women has really astonished me. It’s made me despair because the scientific community has gone along with all this, I’ve lost a lot of the faith I had in people and in democratic checks and balances. I’ve lost one or two friends over it but not many.
Sheena, Ireland
I care because I fundamentally disagree with genderist ideology and all it entails.
I believe it to be anti-science, anti-material reality, deeply misogynistic, profoundly damaging to children and the biggest threat to the sex based rights of women and girls that I’ve seen in my lifetime
I write to MSPs, contribute to crowdfunders and take part in consultations. I took part in the Posie Parker action on International Women’s Day 2019 putting “adult human female” t-shirts on female statues. At the beginning of this year I took to the streets with my local feminist group to leaflet and raise awareness about the Scottish GRA consultation.
I’ve personally not experienced any negative consequences so far, but I’m very very careful about who I talk to about this and remain anonymous where possible as I fear comeback.
Nic
I care because I am a woman and the erasure of women’s rights affects all natal females in terms of our personal care, privacy, safety, sports and careers. I am a parent of a young child and want my son and his peers to grow up free of oppressive gender stereotypes. I also worked with vulnerable children and adults with learning difficulties, including autism, and with the elderly in a hospital setting for many years. As such I am extremely concerned that trans ideology has very serious issues around child protection and child and young adult mental health.
I have contributed to quite a few crowdfunders for women’s rights, sex discrimination and for freedom of speech. I have written to my MP and completed the Scottish GRA consultation questionnaire. I wrote to M&S about their changing room policy. I have signed many petitions and asked my name to be added to letters in support of feminists I follow on Twitter. I retweet a lot but am not confident to share my own voice. I have talked about it with friends, family and some clients at work.
My family and friends (mainly female) don’t like me mentioning it as they don’t understand my concerns and think that I’m overreacting so I tend to avoid it these days. I have to choose who I speak to about the topic quite carefully. This I think is mainly due to their belief that transwomen have all had GRS, that the suicide stats are true and that the ‘born in the wrong body’ ideology is also true. Unfortunately as such they don’t think that the issue will really affect them despite me trying to give them information to the contrary.
Nina C, Self employed/own business
I care because I am a woman, and trans ideology and legislation is eroding women’s rights. Once you take a proper look, it becomes very clear that transgenderism is not only a backlash to feminism, and the women’s liberation movement, but that it really is a men’s sexual rights and privilege movement. I also feel sad for the many traumatised people – particularly, gender non-nonconforming, lesbians, gay men, autism spectrum and mentally vulnerable, who are being told they need to have surgeries and take harmful hormones. Any system that tells people, particularly children that their bodies are wrong is abusive
I’m better at visuals than writing, and to shine a light on the insane dogma and gas lighting in mainstream media I started comically editing, trans and queer media propaganda, and creating hilarious gender critical memes – to share on social media, eventually publishing them on a Facebook page. Unfortunately due to too much hilarity and truth, the page kept getting suspended and finally got permanently unpublished by Facebook last month.
I have lost work. I wrote a comment on a Facebook advert about how many trans identified males are autogynephilic, stating that we have over 40 years of peer reviewed science supporting the theory, with links to Blanchardrence etc. Trans activists wrote to my studio. (I’m a yoga teacher) and they said I hate trans people and I got fired by the studio, they also wrote to a teacher I trained with and she took me off her list of trained teachers. Obviously I don’t hate anyone, I just don’t believe the insane dogma.
, Free speech; if I genuinely believe that men cannot become women (etc.) this opinion should not be suppressed. This is not a “phobia”, but an empirical belief.
AB, bloominanna
Female sex based rights are fundamental to our safety.
I argued with a Labour member on my local Labour CLP FB page that men can’t change sex.
She reported me to Labour HQ and 12 hours later I got a letter telling threatening me with disciplinary for not adhering to the Party policy.
It was covered in the Telegraph paper under “Labour member threatened for not believing men can change sex”.
Janey Hutton, Labour can fuck themselves
This matters because I have very young children. Trans rights activists want to indoctrinate my perfectly healthy children into thinking they can change/choose their gender. Dysphoria is a mental illness. People aren’t born in the wrong body. Particularly, if they do not present DSD. Stonewall are coming after the kids. I’ll give you crazy. this whole thing – erasing single sex spaces, teaching kids session 4 of proud trust BS is a front to reach the kids and lower the age of consent.
It’s a systematic procedure to allow child sexual abuse. GI just promoted children to look intensely at their body. In ways, it densensitises the way they feel. Distant and overly sexual. If an under 8 is taught to enjoy their bodies as per WHO suggestion then the next argument would be let them decide when they can have sex.
I speak about it to as many people willing to listen. I’ve signed petitions. I’m raising posts to put on Asian forums as Asians tend to comply a lot and have faith in schools. They need to know about these ideologies.
Negative consequences? Yes, that I’m a bigot. Transphobic. Why does it bother me that a “few” are in a predicament. Does it really harm me? How many “ trannys” have I actually come across. Arguments within the family (English side).
H P, Woman, daughter, sister and mother. Then wife, Hinalks
Truth matters and the material truth is that males and females differ. Women live in a male-dominated society and are oppressed as such. I care about women in general and my daughter’s future, in particular. I am concerned about the impact of certain ideologies including Queer theory on civil society and the maintenance and progress of equal respect for women in society.
I am opposed to bullying, aggression, gaslighting, hatred and purposeful disruption to democratic processes, all of which I have experienced from people advocating against women’s rights under the guise of other causes. A tolerant society has rules and boundaries for the protection of all, it also necessarily has norms and doesn’t deny female people their fundamental human rights to avoid offending a minority.
I have spoken out in the Labour Party locally and nationally and have written to my daughter’s school. I have commented on surveys and consultations and anonymously on social media. I also discuss my concerns with people face to face when I get the opportunity to do so.
I have been smeared, voted out of positions and bullied within the Labour Party and other activism. This has sapped my energy and curtailed my actions. I was dismissed and treated like a “difficult parent” by the school. I have felt fearful and threatened in meetings and other situations. I feel silenced and stigmatised for my belief in the material reality of sexed bodies and that female people are human beings with equal rights.
Anon, Female, daughter, mother
I care as a woman who has been raped about maintaining safe spaces for women. I care as the mother of a girl that she will be able to fully participate in sports without being edged out by a man who was subpar against other men. I care because my sister is transitioning into a transman and I feel that she, as someone who has struggled with mental health since early teens was taken advantage of by online pressure groups and a medical system hell bent on capitalising on her pain.
I have released videos on twitter, spoken out on twitter and in person and most of all I helped found a new political party that is for Scottish independence and also pro women’s rights (Independence for Scotland Party) @IndyScotParty
I have been called a terf by my own sibling. It has caused immense pain and difficulty in my family. I have had death threats. I am contemplating moving out of the country for the safety of my children so I can continue my advocating but keep them safe from those who may do me or us harm.
V, Mum of 4, adult human female
The Gender Dissidents Survey