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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Labour clarifies trans women and AWS

108 replies

crispbuttyfan · 22/05/2018 23:02

Apologies if it is already being discussed, I didn't spot a thread about it.

www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/05/22/labour-trans-women-all-women-shortlists-nec/

This was entirely predictable, and not before time.

I'm sure everyone will agree it's good to have some sort of closure on this issue.

OP posts:
GorgonLondon · 23/05/2018 11:27

I have been assured by both verbally by Sophie Walker in a members discussion webinar (and some posts of hers on Twitter indicate similar) and personal emails from HQ that a working party on the issue will be formed. No timescale as yet.

Wow, nothing says strong, decisive political action like the intention of forming a working party at some indefinite point in the future.

Theinconstantgardener · 23/05/2018 11:21

and trans support is now in the majority of people

How do you know this ?

crispbuttyfan · 23/05/2018 11:17

David Lewis was a man trying to subvert the process, it's not complicated... the fact that most of this board see's no difference between david lewis and a trans woman, is a problem and a feature of this board, that simply isn't shared throughout society.

All major parties agree with this stance, and trans support is now in the majority of people.

It's amazing that no matter how much support trans rights and accommodations improve a lot of people on here are convinced it can be rolled back without any evidence of harms....

jennifer james and her 'legal advisers' have been made very clear they don't have a leg to stand on.
If people actually accepted the equality act in it's intentions, and mainstream understanding, instead of dodgy wordpress interpretations, it wouldn't be so confusing to so many people on here.

OP posts:
SpareRibFem · 23/05/2018 11:16

nauticant

Perfectly put 😢

Noqonterfi · 23/05/2018 11:14

The Labour Party is now run by the genuinely thick

Sadly seems to be the case imo.

nauticant · 23/05/2018 11:13

They've abandoned any sense of logic and intellectual rigor, which after all can be hard work, and have gone instead for moral superiority. Who gives a fuck whether what you say makes sense so long as you can look down on your opponents as morally inferior with back slaps all round. This to be is the point at which I broke with the Left and went my own way.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 23/05/2018 11:04

The Labour Party is now run by the genuinely thick.

Sadly, that's my impression too. Not that they recognise themselves as thick. Dunning Kruger effect.

Why is the WEP wasting time on the Lewisham East by-election? The Labour candidate is a local black woman who isn't sponsored by Momentum, a fact that seems to have pissed a lot of Momentum members off Grin. The best of luck to her.

R0wantrees · 23/05/2018 11:01

Hopefully other parties will also swing this way.

I hope this happens sooner rather than later.

There are massive overlaps with free speech, press freedom and parliamentary process as James Kirkup identified in his Spectator article:
blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/05/why-are-some-mps-trying-to-shut-down-the-transgender-debate/

Wanderabout · 23/05/2018 10:41

Conservatives view is now much more open to listening to different viewpoints in discussions and on keeping sex exemptions in the EA.

(Although Maria Miller still denying reality and women's perspectives.)

Hopefully other parties will also swing this way.

OldmanOfTheWeb3 · 23/05/2018 10:39

As per usual, Pink News has disabled comments on any article that touches on trans issues. That's because they know huge numbers of LGB people (especially the L) disagree with their stance on Trans issues.

HotRocker · 23/05/2018 10:20

If all potential abusers of the new self ID law when it passes could kindly be featured in a Spectator article so we know who they are and can deal with them, that would be very helpful.
Oh wait, I forgot, people who want to abuse women rarely ever admit to it. That screening methods fucked then, we’ll have to think of another one. Oh, wait, we don’t have one. Oh well David is a woman then.
There’s a reason why one could disappear up one’s own arse trying to figure out this logic…

Cwenthryth · 23/05/2018 10:12

Back to the topic of the thread though

That means an AWS can be open to women + tw with a GRC (who are legally female). Self-ID's tw do not share the protected characteristic of sex with women, they remain legally male.

Labour are reinterpreting 'sex' to mean 'self-ID'd gender identity' and if they get away with it here, in this specific and unambiguous exception, then every other instance of the word 'sex' in the EA can be interpreted the same way.

Given this - who arbitrates interpretation of the EA? Is there a way to directly challenge this or would it take a specific case challenge? Agree we need Jennifer James to reappear now with the crowd fund that was raised to challenge exactly this with her legal team on what the next step is.

Cwenthryth · 23/05/2018 10:04

Sorry for appalling syntax there, bad brain day!

Cwenthryth · 23/05/2018 10:03

boatyardblues as an active WEP member and gender critical feminist I can say it is a topic of ongoing discussion. I have been assured by both verbally by Sophie Walker in a members discussion webinar (and some posts of hers on Twitter indicate similar) and personal emails from HQ that a working party on the issue will be formed. No timescale as yet. Right now everyone is hard at work on the Lewisham East by-election campaign though, I won’t be addressing it further until after June 14th. We have conference in September so at the moment it’s a hopeful ‘watch this space’.

R0wantrees · 23/05/2018 09:37

Labour, LibDem, women's Equality, Greens and Plaid Cymru have all made it clear transwomen rights come before women's rights

Conservatives have also endorsed these policies:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/2993425-Maria-Miller-interviewed-by-Janice-Turner-full-text

boatyardblues · 23/05/2018 08:37

Has there been any movement on WEP policy on what makes a woman? It’s just tjat with every other party centring self-ID and UKIP beyond the pale, we actually need a party that will consider women as well as TW so we have someone to vote for.

SpareRibFem · 23/05/2018 08:30

Labour, LibDem, women's Equality, Greens and Plaid Cymru have all made it clear transwomen rights come before women's rights. They honestly don't need to make it any clearer.

Why any woman would vote for any of these parties once they realise this is beyond me 🙄

Yes all the other issues matter too but if we want to ever have a voice on woman's issues we have to not let them pretend a transwoman can say it better than a woman can. 😡

We need to stop voting for parties that are actively working to erase our rights

QuoadUltra · 23/05/2018 08:17

No one is surprised.

The Labour Party is now run by the genuinely thick. It is powered by t-shirt slogan, Che tat, needy brocialists.

Labour was always underpinned by a ‘working man’ approach. This just happens to be the worst version of that.

PencilsInSpace · 23/05/2018 08:13

“In adopting this approach, the Labour Party has verified that it is acting consistently with both the letter and spirit of the relevant legislation, the Equality Act 2010.”

This is false. What they are doing is not legal. Here is the EA exception that makes AWS legal. The relevant wording is:

6)Selection arrangements do not include short-listing only such persons as have a particular protected characteristic.

I.e. it's not legal to have a shortlist made up of people who share a single protected characteristic ...

(7)But subsection (6) does not apply to the protected characteristic of sex;

Unless the protected characteristic is sex.

That means an AWS can be open to women + tw with a GRC (who are legally female). Self-ID's tw do not share the protected characteristic of sex with women, they remain legally male.

Labour are reinterpreting 'sex' to mean 'self-ID'd gender identity' and if they get away with it here, in this specific and unambiguous exception, then every other instance of the word 'sex' in the EA can be interpreted the same way.

Sex as a protected characteristic will no longer have any meaning. We will no longer have any sex based rights.

busyboysmum · 23/05/2018 08:04

So funny that this coincided with them then doing a complete u turn and suspending the lovely David Lewis. Labour are making themselves look ridiculous and unelectable over all sorts of things ATM this being one of them.

I wonder what @jenniferjames will now do with the money fundraiser to challenge this.

LaSqrrl · 23/05/2018 02:37

It states: “We recognise that there is a diversity of views on what can be a complex and emotive issue for many members, but discussions within the Labour Party should never take the form of abuse or intimidation of anyone.

Except actual women. They apparently don't count!
I suggest they rename the AWS to the ATWS. There, fixed it for them.

ErrolTheDragon · 23/05/2018 01:19

Closure of the Labour Party seems to be what they're shooting for. Well, I wouldn't be sorry the way they're going of late, start again with the sensible ones.

Mamaryllis · 23/05/2018 01:08

‘Closure’
Bahaha Hahahaha.
Total own goal labour. Perhaps some rethinking about exactly what their policy is, would be lovely.

BewitchedBotheredandBewildered · 23/05/2018 00:57

Not till 6.50am Wink

Seems very reasonable.

Terfing · 23/05/2018 00:51

Interesting. I presumed they were going to ignore the whole debate and simply get rid of AWS...

Either way, this is a sin for the tories. Nobody else.