Maya Forstater

Sorry, who is CGD?

Oldstyle - Thank you.

I would love someone to send it for me, from their non-named gmail account or something. I just daren't send it, I imagine them tracking down my IP address or something.

I feel like a shrivelling coward, I AM a shrivelling coward, but I have a modest public profile in an organisation that can't be expected to field more exposure, and other people's work could be harmed. In a year or less, I will be out of there and out there.

Interesting CGD have removed their pinned tweet. The responses weren't good for them.

“You stated that a man’s internal feeling that he is a woman has no basis in material reality. A lot of people would find that offensive and exclusionary.”

Let's just all think about how racist that statement would be if we substitute the words "white person" for man and "black" for woman.

Either both statements are ok, or neither are. Why is an employer allowed to be so openly misogynistic? We are 50% roughly of the population ffs (why? Sexual fucking dimorphism aka biology aka material reality)

Great letter TheRedBarrows but appalling that so many of us have been silenced on this topic.

What would happen if Maya's employer caves and offers her her job back? Would she be forced to drop her claim? If not, could a judge find that she'd been unreasonable in refusing an offer from her employer and in insisting on persisting with her case?

I suppose what I worry about is that it's likely that, precisely because it is such an important case, the judiciary is going to go to great pains not to rule on the issues, and one way they can do that is by refusing to hear the case on the basis that Maya's been offered her job back, and maybe an apology/compensation.

As someone who has brought (and won multiple claims within) two tribunals against their employer, I can say that it is a long and painful process, especially as the abolition of fees and lack of judges has meant long long delays in hearings. The other side will try to tear Maya apart and it will be very difficult.

However, I felt that my cases were very important, not just to me, but to my colleagues because our boss was wrong and breaking the law (as two judges later agreed). It has been damaging to my health, but I have felt that I gained back some of my self-respect by challenging the unfairness.

Also worth knowing that it's very rare for costs to be awarded in employment tribunals unless the case was completely pointless or someone has behaved unreasonably or vexatiously.

Good luck to you, Maya

If Maya wins her case it will mean that every woman in the uk who is asked to share a workplace toilet with a male can object to it, without being sacked. It is hugely significant.
Maya, I’m so sorry for what you are going through. You are the canary right now. The result will show what the future for women holds: oppression, censorship, denial, loss of opportunity, loss of physical security, third class citizens without a voice or an identity, on the one hand- or recognition and freedom on the other.

Her is what I want to ask Maryam Ali, Senior National Women's and Equalities Officer for the Labour Party, but I cannot send it from my e mail address. I just can't, I have been doxxed on twitter once and I am currently one of the silenced.

Dear Maryam,

In a Twitter comment addressed to Maya Forstarter who is alleging that she has been sacked from her job Lily Madigan, the Labour Students National Women's Officer tweets to Maya Forstater "Good. Go fuck yourself"..

Whatever the Labour party's view on the relationship between sex and gender (the subject of Forstarter's comments):

1. is it acceptable to the Labour Party that one of its representatives, acting on an account that clearly references the Labour party connection) insults people by swearing?
2. Is it acceptable to the Labour Party, built on the defence of worker's rights, to have representatives who respond in this way to someone being sacked for doing nothing illegal?
3. Is it acceptable that The Labour Party has representatives that address women with sexually violent insults?
4. Is it acceptable to the Labour party to have representatives who are prepared to insult people and celebrate their job loss before due process (the tribunal) has found one way or the other?
5. Does the Labour party support free speech? Hate speech is one thing, and covered by law. What Maya Forstarter has discussed is a scientific and biological approach to sex and gender. She has not said anything about hateful about Trans people per se, and Trans people (and others) are fully entitled to have their say in response. But via the Labour National Students officer, is the Labour Party in support of the suppression of free speech that seems to be embraced in a response of 'Good' to someone losing their job for expressing an opinion?

Maya Forstater was making her comments in response to a government consultation. This is a democracy, what is a consultation if citizens are only allowed to make comments of one kind? The swearing and insult is one thing, the total disregard for free speech by insulting and silencing those with different views is another, and crucial to how the Labour party is viewed.

I write as a former habitual Labour voter, a supporter of free speech, a feminist and someone who deplores discrimination and prejudice towards transgendered people.

I hope you can answer my questions,

TheRedBarrows

According to this Lily Madigan is the new Women's officer.

Isn't that the same as when Rachel Dolezal got the NAACP president job?

That’s my point

I was agreeing with it. Probably somewhat incoherently, but then incandescent rage tends to do that.

Maya, I know you know about this thread, I hope you're reading as I'm wishing you good luck and really hope you win.

We're all with you and it's so important.

What Labour are offering is emphatically not a socialist government

That’s my point.

What Labour are offering is emphatically not a socialist government.

Totally agree Datun the problem is not Madigan it’s labours complete failure to deal with him.

They can’t run their party, an election campaign or even a fucking tap. They can never be allowed to run the country in their current incarnation. Which is not acceptable for anyone wanting to vote for a socialist government.

There is no doubt that the Labour Party's inability to deal with Madigan makes them look either weak and frightened, or complicit.

In terms of Madigan personally, they are a nobody now who managed to raise a total of about £8.99 against Maya's £45k in hours.

Definitely worth challenging labour's attitude to their representatives who tell women to fuck off (and labour's responsibility for oversight and duty of care to young people in their remit).

Definitely not worth wasting any kind of breath over Madigan personally.

The thing that really grates is the complete disregard for human rights

Well let's be clear about this.

TO NOT be transphobic, you must be:

sexist
racist
disablist
homophobic
misogynist
discriminatory on the basis of religion
discriminatory on the basis of belief
anti safeguarding

If you're all those things, you're a jolly good ally. Now who wants to vote for a party embracing all this?

"have been a lot of tension among Labour students"

Madigan is part of the anti-Corbyn faction that runs Labour Students.

I saw this in the article but was a bit confused. How are they anti-Corbyn? I was aware from twitter that there seems to been a lot of tension amount Labour students over anti-semitism and EU, but the Labour List article called them 'Blairites'. That seems a bit of a stretch?

I hope you don’t mind, Merrymouse, but I think you left a couple of words out of that last comment. 😉

I don't really understand the lack of ethics of Corbyn's wing of the party any more.

When sleeping women wake, mountains move.

I love that proverb, Michelleoftheresistance. Another wonderful one for a tee shirt or poster.

The thing that really grates is the complete disregard for human rights. We are supposed to support Assange regardless of his behaviour, (freedom of speech), but attack a woman who expresses an opinion ("Go fuck yourself").

Did Corbyn's vocal followers say much about rape threats to Jess Phillips yesterday?

I don't really understand the ethics of Corbyn's wing of the party any more.

Madigan is part of the anti-Corbyn faction that runs Labour Students. So they would let them stand on a bag of puppies and rig the vote to win.

Julie Bindel, "we need to be braver"
twitter.com/bindelj/status/1125043284571820045

They seem to specialise in going after working class people in order to get them sacked for the crime of not realising that the middle class white bloke in front of them identifies as a woman.

And Momentum cheering them on.