Lily Madigan - C4 news tonight

Lily's actual age isn't important. Mhairi Black was 20 when she was elected as an MP. She is incredibly competent.
Lily, regardless of age, is not competent for the role he has taken on.

I cannot believe that Lily Madigan is women's officer for Labour. Aside from being trans; she's 19, seems totally unsuitable/unqualified for the role, doesn't come across as a confident person capable of speaking in front of one person in an interview let alone many people standing up for women's rights and all that the role of women's officer encompasses.

Madigan's fitness for the role is beside the point in most people's eyes. The point is to validate him and other men like him. That's what women's resources are really for, after all.

Gallus Mag at Gendertrender really nailed this in her analysis of the Aus media's bathetic coverage of Callum 'Hannah' Mouncey's attempts to play women's AFL:

Above all else, women’s sports should exist to help men achieve their dreams. The female athlete that loses her spot to a male? Disposable. Welcoming men who non-conform to sex stereotypes of masculinity into male sports? Of course not. That is women’s work.

Mark Robinson of the Herald Sun described Hannah Mouncey as a “lost soul” whom women’s sports had disgracefully failed to save, which is the mission of women’s sport.

Agree with others that Liam/Lily knows exactly what he is doing with this fragile little girl act. He is exploiting the dynamic which Gallus Mag described above, whereby the needs of a supposedly vulnerable male trump the needs of every woman and girl. The women who need competent political representation by a women's officer? Disposable.

So Lily only wanted to be womens officer due to Annes comments? Apparently. How odd.

That interview is horrific. I don't actually feel sorry for Lily one bit. I do think Lily is being used in some way but I also think Lily is arrogant and self centred to put themselves forward for a position that Lily is nowhere near qualified for. Everything Lily says is about 'trans'. Lily gives not a fuck about actual women. Lily is also a fucking liar. And playing the victim on TV is ridiculous given Lilys own actions and threats that Lily dishes out.

*what

Obviously too tired to be engaging with this material at this hour!!!!!

Why made you want to be a women's officer?

• Well, umm, sort of looking at some other women's officers that I very much disagreed with...I just thought I'd be good for it

What did you disagree with?

• They were of the opinion that trans women are lesser women, they were exclusionary to people like me.

Forgive me if I'm coming across as backward or ignorant, but treating trans women as lesser women isn't a women's issue, it's a trans issue - surely?

I cannot believe that Lily Madigan is women's officer for Labour. Aside from being trans; she's 19, seems totally unsuitable/unqualified for the role, doesn't come across as a confident person capable of speaking in front of one person in an interview let alone many people standing up for women's rights and all that the role of women's officer encompasses. This just comes across as a totally sensationalist move on the Labour party's front.

Also agree that her whole look (baby pink hoody, demur attitude, soft voice etc) is contrived and am not sucked in by innocent act. I haven't seen the tweets so I don't know about that but I'll take PP's word for it that she bites back.

Persian.

No, I think you make a good point actually. I'm 36 and like to think I'm pretty mature, but I wouldn't profess to understand women's issues better than a women of my age by any stretch.

Going on a bit of a tangent, I would like to see trans people have some manner of political icon. However, the problem as I view it is that they don't want be 'othered'. I really don't know what the solution is sadly and it's a shame things are as fraught as they are.

How insulting for any male bodied and male socialised person to claim that they ‘grew up as a woman’ simply because they started to wear some ‘feminine’ clothes in their mid-teens. Just absolutely no.

I don’t even want to make the list of what can and does happen to girls and teenage girls while growing up - which a boy or teenage boy will not have the first fucking clue about- because some arsehole will probably get off on it and some other arsehole will start wanting to appropriate it all.

And what actual girl or teenage girl thinks of their own childhood as ‘growing up as a woman ’. The whole concept reeks of male fantasy.

Stig
I am guessing from your posts that you maybe have a decade of so more life experience than Lily and if I remember rightly you are quite a considerate person.

You would be a better choice for this role the Lily but do you feel, that you would be better at discussing women's issue than a woman who had the same level of maturity and life experience as You?

It isn't just the fact he is a not that makes him unsuitable, I don't think that a 19 year old girl straight out of 6th form would be suitable for the role either.

I do need to watch more of Lily specifically to draw a conclusion though tbh. I'm speaking quite generally.

There are quite a few women fighting for men's rights and by large I find them much more articulate and convincing than the grievance mongering MRA buffoons.

Has Lily got the ability or the maturity to be able to fully understand these issues?

Does he really even care about these issues?

I'm a man, so make of that what you will.

However, to play devil's advocate, does Lily need to have experienced all the issues they will tackle? Surely no woman is going to have experience of all the issues needing addressed - racial, sexual, etc.

I support Labour, though more 'Old Labour' tbh.

I don't mind the idea of a post being made for 'Trans Officer' to support male and female trans folk. If necessary.

My question is how is this young boy equipped to command any type of office? Why are Labour doing this?

And I don't begin to understand the way that interview went? He seems utterly focussed on himself and his own issues. How can he represent women as a young man?

I would like to see how this boy copes with women's issues such as abortion services for women in NI, ensuring women who report SA or rape are dealt with sensitively and if they wish to go to court how they can be supported through that process and things like providing refuges for women fleeing DV

It will certainly be interesting. I thought these tims claimed to be triggered by anything relating to female biology and found it exclusionary.

Any woman who actually knows about the issues that women face would be a good person.

Also, I don't have personal experience of every women's issue but I know a lot of other women and I could count on them for their advice and guidance.

Can a 19 year old boy do the same?

I'm not sure Lily's the right person. That said, I probably wouldn't necessarily want a feminist in the position either (no offence) as they don't represent the vast majority of women but are very well represented in politics etc.

I would like to see how this boy copes with women's issues such as abortion services for women in NI, ensuring women who report SA or rape are dealt with sensitively and if they wish to go to court how they can be supported through that process and things like providing refuges for women fleeing DV.

What on Earth does a 19 year old boy know about these things, "women's issues"?

I fully believe she knows exactly what she is doing. Trying to look so sweet and innocent and helpless.

Oh, I'm sure that's part of the strategy, yes.

But no to 'knowing fully what she is doing unless she was intending to also come across as utterly incompetent at the same time. Whatever would be the benefit of that?

I'm surprised so many people are feeling sorry for him. That's exactly what the vulnerable little girl act is designed to achieve. Most of us know that this pity ploy is a regular tactic of abusers.

He wasn't so vulnerable when he was hiring a lawyer, or gloating over pretty data. He's a manipulative nasty peice of work.

Having said that, Lily does come across as incredibly young and clueless and therefore vulnerable. Which makes me feel sorry but also makes me think that, if this is how women are going to be represented in politics, we're fucked for more reasons than Lily not actually being a woman

I Don't know tbh. People her age are married with kids or on the frontline in he army. Living independently and holding down jobs etc. Training to be all sorts of things requiring immense maturity and hard work and decency.

I fully believe she knows exactly what she is doing. Trying to look so sweet and innocent and helpless.

Do not be fooled for a second she successfully took her scholl to court and has gaslighted hundreds of people ibro believing her delusional world. Do not be fooled. Not even for a second.

Watched the clip and ... Jeeeeeesus! I'm neither trans nor do I buy into any of the current trans ideology, but as an adult professional woman and someone somewhat accustomed to trying to see the other side's argument as part of my job, I honestly believe I could give a better reasoned and more articulate performance in favour of the trans view if I had to.

Having said that, Lily does come across as incredibly young and clueless and therefore vulnerable. Which makes me feel sorry but also makes me think that, if this is how women are going to be represented in politics, we're fucked for more reasons than Lily not actually being a woman.

I couldn't watch it all. It's just too awful. This is what we have representing vulnerable women in our society someone who "just thought I'd be good for it" a 19 year old vulnerable young man. "I transitioned as a teenager" and even if I can remotely for one minute believe that I still can't fathom why the LP thought lily could represent women in the all encompassing way a more experienced woman could.

Yep - pseudo smoke and mirrors and not a qualification for a job.

Still wanting to throw bricks at the screen. Sooo pissed off with this whole charade.