AIBU to consider leaving our knitting group over its new policy?

Why don’t you suggest that the group do a vote (ideally anonymous) and go with majority

You've got two choices: speak up or re-start your original group.

You might have to do b) as a consequence of a) so I would firstly check carefully what the club constitution says about decisions on changes, AND put out feelers to find out who'd (re)join a home based group.

If you just passively stand by you will end up getting what you don't want anyway.

It's not comfortable standing up but sometimes you have to.

The Chair may back down, or may lose interest completely if challenged.

Then it can be a plain vanilla mixed space. Not a knitting group for people who think they're "cute girlies".

My understanding is that a group with a membership of over a certain number (30?) can be single sex legally or it can be open to men and women. It can’t be legally open to women and some men (trans women). This was what the WI wanted to do and after the clarification of the Equality Act in the Supreme Court they had to change their policy. So it’s not about whether trans women should be admitted to membership it’s about whether legally it’s allowed to include some men but not others. I think the chair should be made aware that the proposal is not legally compliant.

Well, no, because he’s a gay man, not non-binary or trans, which is what the post is about…

Because the chairman does not have the right to make decisions on her own. Taking a vote is the exact opposite of mob rule.

This isn't right I think. It's legal to open a group to two sets of protected characteristics (sex plus gender reassignment) otherwise LGBT groups wouldn't be allowed (sexuality plus gender reassignment).

That’s some odd 🧦

Request that big decisions like this are put to a ballot. Don't accept a show of hands vote as it's too sensitive. Insist political decisions go to a ballot, in this instance with a yes/no card to tick and put in a box for anonymity.

I agree. I am in a sewing group which is not specifically for women and, in 10 years, we have had one teenage boy come with his dad to make one thing and one man who identified as a women who wanted to alter something, ruined it, and never came back. I dont think allowing men, trans or otherwise, will affect OP's knitting group much.

I hope it all works out for you. It’s a horrible position to be put in. Why this woman feels the need to ruin something that obviously works is beyond me

You’d be surprised just how performative knitting group can in all sorts of be kind situations.

They are hotbeds of the TWAW movement in the US.

So men should have been able to keep women out of their golf clubs?

Propose the following that instead of encouraging trans women and non binary you open it up to everyone (like you said you can go back to having a small group of friends at your house for a knit and natter anyway) be interesting see how she responds if she is just grandstanding for politics she will double down and bleat the drum about trans women are women this is a women's group etc etc but if she actually WANTS to be inclusive she will do it

Also remember even if you just include trans women your no longer allowed to call yourself a women's group

She sounds irritating anyway I would use it as an excuse to reset to a small group with friends go around the houses no one should mix politics with leisure activities go create a political discussion group instead of intruding on relaxing hobbies

How come this wasn't a group decision? You have officers and a bank account so you must have a constitution. What does it say about decisions making?

Yes, this is an issue. Unless I've misread your OP, @Solentseeker, the chair says the group now welcomes trans women. This needs clarifying in light of the Supreme Court's re-statement of the fact that sex means sex.

Trans women are male, thus they are men. The group is either single sex or mixed sex. She cannot include some men but exclude others: attempting to do so would open the group to claims of sex discrimination against non-trans men.

I think you should point this out.

Put it to an anonymous vote.

🤔 funny thing for the new chair to come out with. Suggest a vote for the current group members? Presumably the chair can't unilaterally make membership decisions.

Comparatively, in the WI of all places..

I'd definitely leave then!
So if someone (not the chair) made this proposal , someone else should clarify that it is then a mixed sex group. The chair is virtue signalling, and forcing her opinions on the rest of the group.

It’s a women’s group whose focus happens to be knitting, not a knitting group who just happen to be women.

If its a womens knitting group then why does it have to be trans friendly?
Has the chairwomen got a trans friend?
Im fed up with all this stuff time and again these men dressed as women want to encroach on everything.
I would say, as a founder member that I dont like the idea and hope everyone agrees and if the dont I would start another knitting group and make sure everyone knows it is for women only.

What's batshit about wanting a social group to be women-only? In women-only circles, you can discuss things that you might not want to in front of a man (who could be getting off on it). It's more comfortable and relaxed.

Anyway, if they're going to open it to some men then it should be open to ALL men. Not just to the ones who want to force women to pretend that they're also women.

YANBU. Personally, I'd just leave. This change would taint the group for me – if I was close to any particular members, I might invite them to a smaller, more informal knitting circle at my home or elsewhere. But I wouldn't want to be part of a 'women's' knitting group that men could join.