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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Definition of man and woman used in the GRA consultation

127 replies

Elisheva · 09/10/2018 18:09

Apologies if this has been discussed already. I emailed the GRA consultation to ask which definitions of man/woman and male/female the government were using. This is the reply:

*The definitions you asked for are not provided [in the document]. However, to provide some context, the term ‘gender’ is is often the term used in the context of the Gender Recognition Act and the gender transition process. Although many people make a distinction between a person’s sex and their gender, this is not a distinction that is often re-produced in day-to-day usage of the terms, nor in the law, which uses the two terms interchangeably.

Indeed, in the text of the current GRA (section 9) it is stated that a person who changes their gender using the process outlined in the Act is also considered to have changed their sex.

Thank you for taking the time to write to the Government Equalities Office*

I’m not sure what to reply. There is so much wrong with this that I’m not sure it’s even worth engaging with.

OP posts:
UpstartCrow · 10/10/2018 09:30

Has Corbett V. Corbett been overturned? Corbett v. Corbett determined whether a male-to-female transgender person could marry a biological man.

The judge (Lord Justice Ormrod, who was himself a medical man) created a medical 'test' and definition to determine the legal status of April Ashley.
Ormrod set out four criteria for determining 'sex':
(i) Chromosomal factors;
(ii) Gonadal factors (i.e. presence or absence of testes or ovaries);
(iii) Genital factors (including internal sex organs);
(iv) Psychological factors.

The Court ruled that it was impossible to change sex and plainly distinguished legal statuses for which gender, which could change, was appropriate (National Insurance) from those for which sex was the determining category, among which marriage was the most prominent, it being stated that marriage was necessarily between a man and a woman (both defined according to sex rather than gender).
The ruling was then taken up and used to define the sex of transgender people for many purposes until the introduction of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (which ultimately defined the sex of transgender people as whatever is on their birth certificate, until such point as a Gender Recognition Certificate amends the birth certificate; hence for those who do not possess such a certificate, nothing has changed since 1970).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corbett_v_Corbett

JackyHolyoake · 10/10/2018 09:25

Smile Well, everyone, fortunately the law does define man and woman, in Section 212 of the Equality Act 2010:

man: a male of any age
woman: a female of any age

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/212

SittingAround1 · 10/10/2018 09:23

ust to clarify
definitions from the trans-rights campaigners (I already know the dictionary meanings)

KennDodd · 10/10/2018 09:22

@Notveryblissful

You seem very clear in your understanding of language, could you please answer a question?

If a Trans women, has a child, their own biological child, are they the child's biological mother?

SittingAround1 · 10/10/2018 09:22

I'm seriously starting to worry about the level of science education in schools.
Just a reminder :
Science is not a democracy.
Law has to be very clear and precise in it's definitions in order to be effective.

I'm another poster who would like definitions of the words in the above list.
Let's at least be clear on what we're arguing about.

ErrolTheDragon · 10/10/2018 09:16

I'm pretty sure that most normal members of the public do indeed make no distinction between sex and gender, between female and woman - but that they know full well that what sex is, that it's real, that humans are dimorphic (even if they don't know that word) and that sex can't actually be changed. They treat 'gender' as a euphemism for sex, not the other way round. But using 'gender' in this way now that it has acquired more complex meanings is confusing and should be avoided.

There's no confusion about sex, female and woman among ordinary people. What needs clarifying is the now diverged 'gender' and constructions such as 'gender identity, role, stereotype').

KennDodd · 10/10/2018 09:02

I might email them myself and ask for a clear definition of -

Male
Female
Man
Women
Trans
Sex
Gender
And an explanation of how we distinguish men from women, if indeed there is any such thing as man/woman.

KennDodd · 10/10/2018 08:58

If gender and sex mean the same thing do we have another word that means biological sex? You know, xx or xy with male/female (does m/f still have a clear meaning?) reproductive systems and biology?

Ereshkigal · 10/10/2018 08:45

You like to think that you are the quite majority of something, but polls suggest otherwise.

I can promise you that's not true.

Terfs and transphobes will lose just like sexists, homophobes and racists

Yet here you are.

Ereshkigal · 10/10/2018 08:37

We appear to be witnessing the Dunning-Kruger effect in action

We only notice it because this isn't Twitter. It's jarring here. It's the majority there.

Ereshkigal · 10/10/2018 08:35

Do that three times on this forum and you'll get a ban.

This. It's recognised as a term which many women find offensive.

Mamaryllis · 10/10/2018 05:59

You are James from Brookes and I claim my twenty quid. Now be orf with you, pesky boy child narcissist that googles his own name. We can’t be bothered with your silly nonsense.

ICJump · 10/10/2018 05:55

@notveryblissful given I’m not an isomer it’s pretty clear that cis doesn’t apply to me according to science.

I’m an adult human female therefore I’m a woman. That’s it’s it. Please stop being disrespectful if you actually want to have a discussion.

borntobequiet · 10/10/2018 05:44

The real meaning of cis and trans (from organic chemistry).

www.masterorganicchemistry.com/tips/cis-and-trans/

They don’t mean what you think they mean, blissful. Not even a little bit.

HTH.

DixieFlatline · 10/10/2018 02:12

We appear to be witnessing the Dunning-Kruger effect in action, combined with the arrogance of youth. I usually feel torn between pity regarding the former and intense irritation due to the latter.

It would feel like less of an offensive waste of our time if these people would at least try to acquire some sort of actual grasp of the issues and the demographic here before marching in and trying to scold us for not accepting that black is white.

FeckTheMagicDragon · 10/10/2018 02:08

So have scanned the thread. Have we been joined by a 1st year woke gender studies Goldsmith student?

ScienceIsTruth · 10/10/2018 01:26

Well, here it is if anyone wants it:

CHERRY BAKEWELL TART

For the pastry:

300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
150g chilled butter
75g ice-cold water

For the frangipane:

200g softened butter
200g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
200g ground almonds

For the cherry jam:
150g frozen cherries
150g frozen or fresh raspberries
100g caster sugar
flaked almonds, for decoration

▪First, make shortcrust pastry by weighing the flour into a large bowl.
▪Cut the butter into manageablechunks and add to the flour.
▪Rub them into eachother until your mixturelooks like breadcrumbs.
▪Weigh out the water and addaround 3/4 to the bowl.
▪Swirl a knife around to mixit a bit before using your hands.
▪Add more of the water, a little at a time andwork it in until it forms a ball.

▪Wrap ittightly in cling film and chill for aslong as you can spare (15+ mins).

▪Whilst the pastry is resting in the fridge, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4 and grease a 12-inch tart tin.
▪Roll out your chilled pastry on a floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin.
▪Roll it up around your rolling pin and place it in the tart tin.
▪Trim around the edges, leaving at least a centimetre overhang. Prick the base with a fork and chill for another 15 minutes.

▪Line your pastry case with a square of baking paper weighted down with some loose change or some baking beans.
▪Bake for 15–20 minutes, then remove the paper and bake for another 10 minutes until pale, but obviously cooked.

▪Whilst the case is baking, start the jam. ▪Put the cherries and raspberries into a pan with the sugar, place on a high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until thick and jammy, stirring regularly. This will take about 10 minutes.

▪Make your frangipane whilst the pastry is baking bycramming the softened butter and sugar together.
▪Add the eggs and almonds and mix everything together.

▪When the pastry is baked, trim the excess with a sharp knife.
▪Spread your jam over the base and then cover carefully with frangipane.
▪Sprinkle the flaked almonds on top.
▪Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the frangipane is springy and golden.
▪You can add some whole cherries/raspberries on top of the jam layer and cover with the frangipane.

ShcfG · 10/10/2018 01:20

All respect to Bunbury. Yes, I agree. Wonderful woman!

And it's years since I last read it, but Edwina Reardon's "Who Would Fardels Bear?" is also pertinent, I feel, in this context.

Smileyface thingy.

heresyandwitchcraft · 10/10/2018 01:01

I will be off to read some of the collected works of Bunbury now. That recipe does sound delicious, though.

Badgerthebodger · 10/10/2018 01:00

I don’t actually like cherries but I’m on a diet and I am so so desperate to eat cake. I made a massive chocolate cake for a friend’s birthday at the weekend and I didn’t get to taste it Sad

ScienceIsTruth · 10/10/2018 00:55

Speaking of cherries, I have a lovely cherry Bakewell recipe, if anyone wants it. Cake

Badgerthebodger · 10/10/2018 00:50

I actually desperately do not want this thread to be deleted. Just so that next time someone comes on and wonders why we’re a bit snippy about being asked to be nice they can just see exactly who we are asked to be nice to. Someone who has repeatedly been asked not to use cis, someone who calls us bigots and transphobes and refuses to engage with polite questions which might actually help us understand their position.

So, not once more for the record:

As you think we are all so horrible and wrong, please help us change our terrible ways and define woman. Please. With a cherry on top.

merrymouse · 10/10/2018 00:43

“The take backed by the law” is that people with a GRC are not always treated as having their acquired sex. Anyway, if there is one thing that people agree on it is that the current law is a bit of a fudge.

merrymouse · 10/10/2018 00:33

‘Adult human female’ and ‘sex with capacity to bear eggs or produce young’ are standard dictionary definitions, not random phrases on the internet. It’s not a subjective concept - it’s how organisms including fish, birds, and mammals reproduce.

Haireverywhere · 10/10/2018 00:32

Isn't cis a recently made up word? Not sure how not wanting to use it (or not knowing what it means) can be compared to denying the existence of a religion.

I do find definitions getting incredibly circular. I would have liked clearer guidance too.