Questions from a liberal feminist to the rad fems

I totally agree with you. It's a long established belief that has persisted for thousands of years. I fall into it myself sometimes until I take a step back and look at my thought processes. It's little wonder people don't question it.

I know not everyone on here agrees with this but I go back to my claim that most people have never accepted the scientific view of the brain and are thoroughly steeped in the idea that men and women have different natures. They got it from their parents who got it from their parents etc. I even think some scientists (including psychologists) who don't specialise in gender hold the same views unquestioningly. Against this backdrop the trans narrative makes perfect sense and you would struggle to understand why anyone would object.

With people like the OP I always wonder which way round the chicken and the egg are, ie. are they arguing for innate gender identities in everyone because they believe in gender identities for trans people and if not everyone has one that undercuts trans theory or are they arguing in favor of trans stuff because they believe vehemently in the pink brain/blue brain stuff and trans theory helps to reinforce it?

Can I ask you a question @daimbars? When I asked you on another thread whether you believed men and women have different brains which, for example makes most women more inclined towards parenting and most men more inclined towards STEM and you said yes - that small boys and girls have very 'different energies' - do you not see how that belief contributes towards sexism and to dysphoria in gender non conforming children? And do you have any proper evidence for it? Or is it based in folklore?

Are you saying the current Gender Recognition Act should be repealed?

Yes

If so, are you suggesting withdrawing hormones from those who have already transitioned?
No

Do you think a fully transitioned trans woman with a GRC to ‘prove’ she is a woman (eg Nadia from Big Brother) should use the men’s loos and be in a male prison / care home / hostel?

No

Do you think TRAs who say things on Twitter like ‘suck my ladydick’ and 'enjoy your erasure' are representative of transgender people as a whole?

No, they are a small very vocal minority who do more harm than good to their cause.

Do you feel transgender people threaten your safety and well-being as a woman? If so what personal experiences (not what you have read on Mumsnet / Twitter / Reddit) have made you reach this conclusion?
I only feel threaten by that small, vocal minority who scream down at women and who talk about "killing terfs". But i only feel threatened as a direct consequence of their actions and words.

Do you think current exceptions in the Equality Act (eg it is legal to exclude trans women from competitive spots and certain job roles such as rape crisis counselling) are sufficient to protect women? www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/gender-reassignment-discrimination

No

If your male child repeatedly told you they were female from the age of three, wore dresses, played with girls etc and were very distressed at the thought of male puberty, how would you help them?

My children, both male and female do play with all toys, wear what they wish and the colours they wish. I would help them by letting them express who they are. I wouldn't be pushing puberty blockers or trans doctrine on them until the are an adult and then they can make that decision with my support.

If i woke up with a male body I think if be pretty chuffed actually.
I could go and get taken seriously when 8 interacted with people.
Walk where I liked when I liked.
Be able to run faster
Could have some fun with a penis too.
I quite fancy it.

However that doesn't mean I would put myself through a load of damaging medical treatment to become a facsimile of a man.

I did a quiz a while back that said I was a gender non binary

It's such bullshit though. I'm a female with a human personality.

1. No
2. I would like to see all toilet and changing spaces redesigned to make them fully accessible to disabled people, unisex and fully safe from men and for men as well as women. I don't need to share space with other women. But we will only achieve this if men's space is threatened rather than women's. Since they are the ones who have generally designed our inadequate loos.

Regarding prisons, the presence or absence of a penis should be the deciding factor.

I have a dd who has always presented as male. The biggest threat to her is people who believe male and female brains are different. That belief creates dysphoria about her body. I can see it at work every time she is exposed to the idea. When I reassure her that people's expectations of her are bs, she is who she is, her clothing and hair choices are great and all brains are pretty much the same, the dysphoria fades. I have moved to become gender non conforming for her sake. She is doing great, may well be gay - we'll see. Gender critical feminism is, in my opinion, a much better option than sterlisation and self loathing.

lol good point Angry.

I always find the phrase 'denying trans existence' quite inflammatory !

Me too. It's emotional blackmail hyperbole and makes me roll my eyes every time. I will speak to people who make mature arguments considering my perspective.

If trans people didn't exist how could they send us death threats on Twitter?

I always find the phrase 'denying trans existence' quite inflammatory ! I dont think anyone is against the human rights and humane treatment of the small percentage of people who have gender dysphoria, however you have to question what is the underlying motivation / cause / reason for identifying as trans if you dont have it , particularly those that wish to emphatically state they are the opposite sex !! and seek to change the language ie pregnant woman, pregnant person. Why should women give up their right to aws, a place in a refuge to someone who is quite happy keeping his penis and testosterone who gets off on being called she ?

Terfragettecity this is the interesting bit - I don't know how I know, I just do.

So it isn't the vagina, the periods, the breasts, the period pains, the blood, the lower pay, the objectification - you just 'do'?

Come on now - stop being silly.

This actually contradicts the EA as it is now. I don’t think you can argue that Stonewall want to keep ANY single-sex spaces at all.

I'm pretty sure they have written a position statement before saying that they want them gone, like all other trans orgs now trying to shush women with the sop that we still can have the rarely used exemptions.

It’s actually gender ideology that clings to the idea of binary gender stereotypes. For how can you be non-binary, gender queer, transgender and all the rest of it without boring old binary to compare yourself with?

Is this because the medical profession believes in immortal souls wrongly assigned (“born in the wrong body”) or because they think this is a last-resort way of helping people with severe dysphoria to live in the mist comfortable way possible?

It's a puzzle!

It's such a silly talking point. Why does it always get wheeled out?

"What if you woke up in a different body?" is the premise for a silly film, not a brilliant insight into gender identity.

daimbars, If I had a male body I wouldn't be me. I would be a someone with entirely different experiences, and therefore, likely quite different opinions.

If I'd been born with a male body "me" would be very different because I'd have been treated differently from the day I was born. "Me" would also always have had a male body and thus would not find it surprising to have one.

what Potplant2, with the addition that treatment that permanently changes the body (puberty blockers) should not be available to children.

Excellent post from literally.

"I think we need to overhaul the whole fucking world"

^This!

Just reading my last post back, I didn’t mean to say I’m transsexual - I’m not - just that I agree with Miranda Yardley, Debbie Hayton and others on this issue.

I think the NHS should offer better mental health support to everyone, including people with gender dysphoria. Like many transsexual people I also think it should offer gender reassignment treatment up to and including surgery to the very few people whose dysphoria is so extreme they can’t live any other way, but this only after extensive gatekeeping and psychiatric assessment. Basically how things used to be before the TRAs jumped on board.