The Gender Dissidents SurveyThis matters to me personally because of the way some TRAs treat survivors of abuse/rape who are unwilling to share female spaces with those who are physically male. More broadly I’m also concerned about safety in prisons and hospital wards and the effects on women’s sports.
I have spoken out anonymously online and there have been some rather heated debates in my workplace.
IC, Cat person, feminist, abuse survivor
After I did the Freedom Programme I noticed that I had a sort of bodily trauma response if I couldn’t control my boundaries around unfamiliar men. Even at the door of my own house.
Actually that experience had always been there, but I hadn’t recognised it before. I have trans people in my life and I read them as trans people – there’s a mix of male and female characteristics there – so I get that response less but it’s still there.
When I started to understand what Stonewall are doing I was horrified. Firstly, there absolutely must still be single sex services for domestic abuse victims. I honestly start to cry when I realise that Stonewall are callous enough to want to take that away. That is nothing to how I felt when I read the Stronger Together guidance endorsed by Scottish Women’s Aid that advises actively gaslighting women who are victims of domestic abuse.
I needed a safe space full of women to discuss and process what happened to me, and I’m so grateful to my local Women’s Aid for doing that.
My mother in particular kept pressuring me to center the needs of my abusive husband, and it was really hard to hold my own reality. I clung to anyone who would let me have my own reality. Here are Scottish Women’s Aid, signing up to taking women’s reality away. They could have said, no we won’t use our position of power to deny women’s reality or diminish the importance of their feelings about that.
Secondly, I saw that Stonewall want to remove any safeguards from obtaining a GRC, and that this would mean male presenting male people in women’s spaces. I can probably work with male people who have actually transitioned in public toilets. I can possibly work with male people who have actually transitioned and are very very careful in public changing rooms. I am willing to do that for people diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Self ID proposes that any male presenting as male can use any women’s space without being careful, and I can’t work with that.
I have completed consultations in long rambling ways, trying to put in as much as possible. I have spoken to people who I believe to be open to different points of view. I have a Conservative MP, and there is the one advantage to having a Conservative MP that she actually might be receptive to this. I am afraid I am a bit late to the party, as it’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve really been aware of this stuff and capable of actually doing anything, because I was very overwhelmed by the domestic abuse.
I’ve experienced the general of being called a TERF. The term TERF means “woman against whom it is acceptable to perpetrate misogynistic abuse and violence”. It’s distressing for any woman to be called that. It does trigger something particular for me. Especially when women use it and give validity to the idea that it can be legitimate to perpetrate misogynistic abuse. Especially when women argue that we must accept or ignore the misogynistic abuse because of the terrible suffering of trans people.
My mother said to me, “you might have to put up with a bit of abuse”. That is essentially what liberal feminists are saying when they use the term TERF. It just makes me feel trapped again with no refuge.
As an only parent, I don’t get to participate in public life very much. I can only really go places where my son can come as well. The only other place I could speak up is work, and I work for a local branch of a national charity that is fairly woke. In any event the issue doesn’t really come up very often in the rural part of the country where I live.
Kimberly
This matters to me because freedom of speech , freedom of thought, freedom of belief and assembly are essential in a healthy democracy.
2018 – I was in a major National museum and noticed a Trans person (mtf) using a very busy female toilet full of young schools girls, mums with babies/toddlers etc. Unisex toilets were available on another floor. Later I respectfully asked the info desk if toilet was ‘female ‘ as signed or ‘unisex’. Young male responded it was ‘female’ but ” anyone who identified as female could use it and he wouldn’t have a problem”. I asked him to record my comment inc. my awareness of the provisions in the EQ Act .
After educating myself by reading books/blogs/research papers and attending events (secret and public) for the last year consistently (once a week) I have invited individual professional female friends to my house for lunch with the specific purpose of raising awareness about the erasure of womens hard won sex based rights. Thats a lot of tea!
I have bought extra copies of academic books to share also used other guidance from Transgender Trend and followed up my informal conversations with updates about events etc.; met with my eight MSPs ; alerted contacts to the GRA consultation; personally delivered hundreds of leaflets through doors; have left a political women’s group and wrote a letter explaining my reasons and personally handed it to two female MPs so they would know what was going on; spent a year trying to get issue raise at local level of an children’s organisation I volunteered with for 15yrs finally with help of a discussion paper for schools ( thank you Transgendered Trend) I was able to raise issue as affects vulnerable children; was granted meeting with someone responsible for training volunteers after our meeting I gave them the Prof Michelle Moore et al book to read; have spoken with my local Catholic parish members and priest.
I have been aware of feeling anxious / tense and worried when raising this issue and the need to be sensitive to each person and their level of understanding of all the issues. Probably lost a few ‘friends’.
Cactus club, thick skinned, survives in harshest conditions, not troubled by pricks
I came to the transgender debate via 3 main channels. Firstly as an ex prisoner I was horrified at the policies allowing men into women’s prisons and could not imagine the thought of women I’d known and cared about having to share cell and living space with men, particularly knowing how traumatised by men many of those women had been. That was my introduction.
Secondly as a lesbian I was alarmed to see the increasing numbers of young lesbians being referred to gender clinics, and realising that their self hatred and discomfort was being used to legitimise what I came to see as a men’s sexual rights movement.
Thirdly, I have a daughter, and while I’ve always called myself a feminist, the call to activism came as a measure to try and make the world better for her and my friend’s daughters. Silence was not an option.
I have over the past 6 years become increasingly vocal against the trans lobby. I have joined many feminist groups, helped develop and execute campaigns with ReSisters, Fair Play for Women and many others. I’ve organised and taken part in many protests, including marching at the front of Manchester Pride with Get The L Out.
I attracted nationwide controversy when I was barred from my local pub for wearing a feminist T shirt. This attracted a lot of press coverage and radio interviews in which I tried to take the opportunity to bring the issues to an audience outside feminism.
More recently I’ve been concentrating on the issues facing detransitioned women and the unique challenges they face. I will continue to work to elevate their voices and I will never stop asking hard questions about trans ideology.
The first thing to happen was that I lost 70% of my friends locally and was threatened with violence from people in my town whom I have never met nor would even recognise on the street, which was a little disconcerting.
I run charity projects providing aid to refugee women and my main donation base is women, specifically mothers, who may pull funding if they know I’m a vocal activist, so keeping these projects separate is always a tightrope act.
The main harrassment I receive is online, which is easily brushed off, but being painted as a bigot in my home town has been difficult. Especially when it’s coming from people who’ve known me for years and know that I’m the opposite. I think possibly the most negative consequence has been really, properly seeing the misogyny that pervades every aspect of life and once you see it there’s really no going back. On the bright side though, the women I’ve met through feminism have been the best friends I’ve ever had and I have no doubt that together we can pull the plug on all this madness.
Rebekah W, Gobby lesbian single mum with pockets full of terrifying feminist propaganda
This matters to me because we can’t deny science and change fundamental realities about men and women to suit a tiny but vocal minority. I want people to live their true lives and be happy but not at the expense of women and girls.
I also really loathe the idea that repeating a mantra TWAW means it’s true. It’s just rubbish. Also every female I know ( including my 12 year old daughter in school uniform) has been hassled and received unwanted attention from men. It’s just madness and gaslighting to think that some men won’t try to take advantage of self id to access women’s spaces for abusive purposes. Why can’t men make space? I’m sick of the unfairness of it.
I responded to the GRA consultation. I’ve signed petitions and made some donations to e.g. Vancouver women’s shelter. I’ve discussed vigorously with friends and family. I also removed some signs saying gender neutral toilet that someone stuck over the women’s sign at my work. At a Secret Cinema event when the usher was asking pregnant people to come this way, I shouted “You mean women” loudly enough to attract attention. But fundamentally I feel I’m cowardly. My views would go down very badly at my work and I do need the job. I do really admire those brave enough to speak out and I’m sorry I’m not more openly supportive.
A lot of people I know share my views and I’m not massively open about them to people I don’t know. Unfortunately my daughter’s think I’m a terf but I’m working on them…
Mamie, Sunlight not gaslight
I care about this issue because I am a woman. I am 5’2″, and don’t have local friends. I do a lot of stuff by myself as my close friends are out of county. I don’t want to be excluded from public spaces on the basis that I’d be uncomfortable sharing intimate spaces with biologically intact males. I should be able to go swimming by myself safely and with dignity.
I have used gender neutral spaces in the past, but when I was ready to leave, I found myself anxious about my safety because I could hear a group of male voices that I knew I’d have to walk through. As a short woman, I am aware of my vulnerability. I have only been subjected to minor abuses by males in my life, and I can’t imagine how much more afraid I would be if I was a survivor of rape or physical violence.
I have posted my thoughts on my Twitter page. I also try to support people who are able to make more of a stand by contributing to Crowdfunding projects.
I have lost followers, some were online friends I’d known for nearly 10 years. Some I found bitching about how my opinion represented a character flaw or represented bigotry. While a minor problem, it was hurtful.
I only feel comfortable expressing my opinion on Twitter, which doesn’t have identifiable details on it, and in order to do this I deleted my LinkedIn account so that people couldn’t picture search for me. I need a DBS to work and am anxious to avoid vexatious complaints. It’s worth pointing out that I am generally supportive of trans people and wish them to have good legal protections against harassment and discrimination. I just want to maintain single sex spaces as well.
L, Charity worker
This matters to me because pseudo-science, with zero-material evidence to support it, is used promote the lie that children can have a brain that ‘thought processes’ like that of the opposite sex. This is used to commit sterilisation and irreparable FGM on teenage girls and MGM on teen boys….crimes in my opinion endorsed by Government, committed by the NHS. Lifelong damage, just as child sexual abuse causes lifelong damage.
Women and girls safe/r spaces are being destroyed, placing them at greater risk of sexual crimes. Girls being forced to share changing rooms with naked men, as these men can watch girls getting undressed….all came about because Scotgov funded numerous trans-lobby groups who misdirected schools, womens orgs, NHS, prisons re womens rights to single-sex spaces. Women imprisoned with violent men, incl rapists.
The rights to equal and fair treatment fought for by women…are being taken by men…handed to them by Government. Women’s scholarships, grants, sports opened up to men….effectively re-imposing the disadvantage in society that women fought against. Scotgov have effectively erased adult human females from legislation because any man can ‘identify’ into being a woman. We don’t exist in Law!
The Police, NHS, local Govt, central Govt, Education depts have all been complicit in imposing and enforcing trans-ideology across society.
I have leafleted on the streets and through doors, worked on stalls to inform the public, and talk to everyone I can, every chance I can. left leaflets on buses, chatted at bus stops, in supermarket queues. I have challenged politicians…only to find they are not interested…in fact, they have gaslighted me, used sneering, mocking tones, lyingly misrepresented most of what has been said to them (social media).
Consequences to speaking out have seen me threatened with rape, with being shot, battered. Told I am a bigot, to STFU, and have men tell me, a lesbian, that they are lesbians, been exposed to d*ck pictures. My mental health has been very seriously impacted, to the point of extreme rage, overwhelming hopelessness, violent and suicidal thoughts. There will be no forgiveness for this travesty against women and children.
Les, No forgiveness!
I am worried about the effect of transgender ideology on women’s rights. For example, “gender” replacing “sex” on official forms, equality law being misrepresented with “gender Identity” cited as a protected characteristic when it is not and “sex” omitted, former women’s toilets being made “gender neutral” while the men’s is left as it is and the overall misogyny of a movement that insists on labelling women “cis” and calling us “transphobic” for wanting to talk to other women about our bodies.
I have posted on social media (Twitter) anonymously. I am afraid to use my real name because of the hatred and harassment by trans activists I have seen. I have stated concerns in a “feminist” group on Facebook but was thrown out by a man for refusing to state “TWAW”. I have discussed the issues with friends in real life. I have stated concerns about the lack of women’s toilets in a union meeting. I have joined the equality committee of my union to try to make a difference.
I have been removed from an online “feminist” group and been shouted down at a trade union meeting. I have been verbally abused on social media which confirms that my decision to remain anonymous is the correct one.
Sarah B., Feminist who believes that any form of feminism that centres male people is not feminism
I care because I read that 90% of sexual assaults in toilets are taking place in gender neutral rather than same sex loos – there needs to be a choice. I have experienced gender neutral toilets done badly – having to squeeze past men at urinals and walk through their urine to get to the cubicle and it is not nice for them or for me.
At my partner’s university a man was caught with a hidden camera in gender neutral toilet, no one had suspected he was a pervert. Too many young women de/transing, lesbian erasure. Gone too far now – I refuse to be scared to call myself a woman.
I attended a March 9th 2020 Labour Womens Declaration/ Womans Place UK/ LGB Alliance event. Tweeted and shared on Twitter. I’ve spoken to a couple of friends about my concerns.
I lost a trans friend who has become a trans radicalised extremist.
TG, When rights clash, we need to talk
Women are a sex class & if we cannot define ourselves we cannot identify or fight discrimination. This discrimination still exists and happens because of our sex.
I’ve attended meetings, lobbied elected reps, signed Labour Women’s Declaration, raised the issue at Union training – dismissed & mocked for raising it, put literature about this when trying on clothes in shops, left literature in public toilets
I can no longer talk about it at home for fear of harming my relationship with my ROGD child.
CM, Not giving up without a fight
The Gender Dissidents Survey