Tag: science

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law

I appreciate as a lawyer that sometimes the rights of different groups can come into conflict with each other

I care as a woman, as a lawyer, and as someone who studied physics and believes in the value of science – of independently verifiable facts. I care about the meaning of words, particularly the definition of terms used in which have a direct impact on people’s legal rights and self determination. I care about consultation in a democracy. I care about women and girls’ voices being heard and respected, as so often in the past this has not been the case. In particular I want women and lesbians to be consulted – and heard –  if there is to be a change in the accepted definition of ‘woman’ and ‘lesbian’. I have genuine compassion for those experiencing gender dysphoria. I appreciate as a lawyer that sometimes the rights of different groups can come into conflict with each other. This is not uncommon. In such situations I believe in open, rational, respectful debate as a means to find a fair and reasonable compromise. I strongly oppose bullying, shaming and ‘cancelling’ people for simply having a different view on such issues.

I have read articles and blogs and essays to try to educate myself about the issues, then spoken to trusted family and friends.

I have ‘liked’ a few tweets and articles where I have agreed with the views being expressed, and ‘followed’ those posting them, several of whom are trans women, trans men or desisters. But I tread very carefully as I am fearful of the consequences.

There are some friends and family I will not raise these issues with as I am afraid they will think – quite wrongly – that I am  transphobic. I am not.

I have recently found myself blocked by the twitter accounts of people who I do not know. I suspect I may be on a block list somewhere for ‘liking’ certain tweets of which they do not approve. It makes me sad and fearful. I will never raise the subject at work. I am too scared of the consequences as they are very heavily and publicly influenced by Stonewall.

I have tentatively spoken to two good friends outside of work who each indicated at an early stage that they disagreed with my position that trans women remain biologically male. We are all politically on the left and they seemed shocked and disappointed in me. I now avoid the subject with them. Fortunately I have other friends on the left who share my view and understand it is rooted in science and not in any way hateful. I would never wish harm on anybody. I simply want to protect the existing rights of women and girls. 

Jenn, lawyer and former scientist.

Categories
law

It terrifies me that women (including myself) are so scared to speak out

I am deeply concerned about the no-platforming and the labelling of people (predominantly women) who speak out about transgender issues as transphobic.

I care deeply about the safety of women and girls.  I consider that hard fought rights for equality are at risk of being eroded and diminished.  It terrifies me that women (including myself) are so scared to speak out.  It is removing the ability to debate these issues and reach common ground/consensus. 

The threats of doxxing and being labelled transphobic are, to me, a form of violence and oppression against women, and yet another example of our struggle within a patriarchal society.

I am petrified of speaking my views due to my job.  I cannot afford to lose it.  My job involves giving advice on these issues, within the education sector and to vulnerable women (including victims of domestic abuse).  I do all I can to ensure that my advice is measured and points out difficulties in the “trans women are women” mantra, as well as pointing out the terms of the Equality Act.  However I feel I have to be extremely careful about anything I say and I cannot in any way appear gender critical. 

Only to my own conscience.  I feel I do all I can while keeping my job and family safe. I don’t speak up, and when I do, I do it anonymously.

Sorry, I can’t provide this, I need to be anonymous

Categories
Healthcare Others

I’m frightened to see these principles being eroded by magical thinking

I care because women as a sex class are being erased, with the intended consequence that we cannot fight for sex based rights we cannot name. I care about children transitioning and ruining their bodies before they know what they are doing. I would have been one of these children if I had been born later. I care about lesbians being coerced into sex with males. I care about the appalling misogyny of the trans movement.

I care about truth, reality and science and I’m frightened to see these principles being eroded by magical thinking. I care about women losing jobs and platforms because they won’t go along with it. I care about freedom of speech.

How can we progress as a society if certain topics are not debated and tested?

I have attended meetings, written to my MP and visited. Stickered the local area. Posted FPFW leaflets to houses in my town. Used social media, twitter, Facebook and mumsnet to pass around information and contest misleading information. I’ve helped to collate information about organisations that are promoting misleading info about puberty blockers. I’ve donated to many GC causes and to Vancouver Rape Relief.

I have been shouted at and harassed at a public meeting. I have had my Twitter account suspended several times. I’ve lost a friend of over 40 years.

Louise W, Happy to be a TERF

Categories
Healthcare Public Sector

As an HR professional I feel for colleagues trying to navigate through this

I guess I would have called myself a liberal feminist, a live and let live type.  I thought trans people had GD and medically/ surgically transitioned.  I once worked with a very nice transwoman  who presented as a woman, was called she, but used the men’s changing room and toilets.  When JK Rowling tweeted in support of Maya Forstater, I wanted to know why someone has lost their job over what seemed a non-contentious issue.

The ideology revealed was frightening.  The aggression of TRAs (trans rights activists), and their determination to open every area of female lives to male people, was worrying.  There are deliberate attempts to erode safeguarding and stifle any discussion of how conflict over rights and safety can be addressed.  

The disproportionate influence of lobbying groups like Stonewall on public sector organisations and politics is unacceptable.  Looking further, the concept of the cotton ceiling was abhorrent. 

Although I am not lesbian, I believe that LGB people have an absolute right to their sexual preferences without being labelled transphobic.

I am concerned about the teaching of gender theory to children.  I don’t really understand the science, but see no consensus that would justify teaching that sex is a spectrum.   How the huge growth in the number of “trans” children being referred for treatment is not ringing alarm bells is beyond me.  I am fortunate, I had to retire from work for health reasons, but as an HR professional, I fear that if I was still working, I would not be able to express my concerns freely in this repressive climate.

I am not a great social media user, but I have supported GC voices, mostly with likes and retweets and some not very articulate comments.  I have completed the Scottish Govt GRA consultation survey, have donated to a couple of crowdfunding requests, and have written to my MP.

I am fortunate, Having taken Ill-health retirement, I am immune from threats to my livelihood.  As an HR professional, I feel for colleagues trying to navigate through this, and am sure that if I was still working, I would not feel free to express my concerns, particularly if working in the public sector.  This is a repressive, toxic culture.  I’m sure many people are being prevented from expressing valid, non-hateful opinions and that should concern everyone.

Alison G, Into my 6th decade, married, no kids, TERF, apparently

Categories
Education

Very mentally unwell girls were identifying as boys and as their Biology teacher I was told I had to go along with this

I am a graduate biologist, and a science teacher in secondary schools. because I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with schools, and science being a shortage subject, I have always been able to take other jobs which I was interested in. this included working at Chiswick Women’s Aid, after which I had my first child as a single mother and became very involved in the second wave. having taken an MSc in Health Education I met one of the founders of Terrence Higgins Trust and worked as an AIDS/HIV educator for the NHS where of course I learned a lot about sexuality.

I went back into schools where I taught Biology for GCSE and A level, and spent some while teaching various subjects in FE colleges. I volunteered at a charity for street sex workers.

I eventually ended up teaching Science in an adolescent psychiatric unit. which was where the issue finally reached me as very mentally unwell girls were identifying as boys, and as their Biology teacher I was told I had to go along with this.

Luckily I was planning to retire soon anyway but that was really the catalyst, and then the JamJar happened although I wasn’t there I was firmly hooked into this cause.

I have emailed various people, met my MP (no joy there) read a huge amount, contributed to many discussions on social media particularly in my area of expertise which of course is the objective Biological reality of sex. I wrote a submission for the Oxford case (guidance now withdrawn). I have attended many events, and contributed to all the crowdfunders for legal cases. I also attend Raquel Rosario-Sanchez ‘s feminist meetings in Bristo (or did, before lockdown). I am a member of a small group affiliated to Safe Schools Alliance who are trying to get the Bristol secondary schools to look at the materials they use for PSHE, looking at their equities policies etc, and contacting two of the most worrying schools directly to ask to meet.

Stymied by Covid at the moment. luckily I have not been in danger of losing my job as I am retired. I have been shouted at in my NEU Samba Band that I have to agree TWAW, several people I know have been distinctly cooler in their reactions to me, local Labour people have accused me of being a bigot, and “knowing nothing about Biology”……

Some of my closer friends have asked me to not go on so much as I am passionate about getting the information and implications out to the public.

Alison W, Biologist, Health Educator, Teacher, Mother Grandmother

Categories
Healthcare Self employed / entrepreneurs

How can anyone not care about that?

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

Categories
Others

I have no intent to harm anyone else

This matters to me because women have fought so hard for separate spaces where we can flourish. I have no intent to harm anyone else, and want people to live their lives as we see fit however I cannot, in good conscience, let this alone.

I have spoken personally with people when I feel safe. I’ve found the majority of people I’ve spoken with, including very progressive friends, are uncomfortable with the current dialogue but feel pressured to stay quiet due to fears of losing their jobs.

No negative consequences at this time…. unless you account for the guilt I feel in not vocally defending women’s rights in this forum. I feel as if I’m letting down my daughter by not speaking more fervently, however I will be letting her down should I become unemployed and unable to put food on my table.

Sarah, M’s mom, USA

Categories
Healthcare Others

I fundamentally disagree with genderist ideology and all it entails

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

Categories
Healthcare Self employed / entrepreneurs

It really is a men’s sexual rights and privilege movement

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

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Others

They completely sold out on true humanist beliefs and it was intolerable to remain a member

I am a humanist and believe strongly in science and do not believe religious beliefs to be true.  I had to leave Humanists UK as they submitted a submission to the GRA consultation that was based on gender ideology. They completely sold out on true humanist beliefs and it was intolerable to remain a member. They treated members who spoke up very poorly.

I have been a lesbian ally for over 35 years so am horrified by the misogyny and aggression being directed at lesbians for being same sex attracted and for defending their right to be so. I also am a history graduate and it is clear to see that the female sex has been discriminated and oppressed throughout recent recorded history on the basis of sex.

It is therefore important to be able to define what a woman is in order to describe the experience of women, record their experiences and data as to how they are treated so discrimination can be addressed.

I got MP to write several letters especially to EHRC about how they have not treated protected characteristics even handedly. Arranged meetings with local Lib Dem candidate and had some good conversations with him about gender issues. Established that he is happy to support women’s rights as well as trans rights and has very sound overall views. Spoken out in local autism group and circles but received no support as most parents don’t want to know and feel very awkward over subject.

I’ve spoken to a parent of a gender questioning child and given her information but she has decided to take child down the trans path. Written many times to National Autistic Society to no avail  -they just batted everything away or issued meaningless platitudes.

I have an awkward situation now in local autism support group with a mother actively supporting transition of her teen daughter. I don’t feel I can speak out any more as would be hugely disapproved of. Am very sad re daughter who is extremely troubled and think will not benefit from transition ie her issues will remain. I am lucky as haven’t had many consequences . Have more had friends say they totally agree but can say nothing as they would lose their jobs in universities or media.

Heather, Adult Human Female Believer in  truth and science. Disbeliever of Religion and Ideology