Rosie Duffield interview in the Times

I think Rosie is brave to speak out. She's done what few MP's have been able to and stuck her head above the parapet.

I don't for one second believe that she truly thinks TWAW and it's sad and indicative of the current climate that she feels that she can't say the truth. Without being screamed at.

Our law makers seem completely terrified of offending TRA's. That's just not right.

Labour lgbt committee www.lgbtlabour.org.uk/committee

It is great that she's spoken out but I still found this interview annoying as it's so weak - oh, I'm sure the young people have so much more knowledge, I'm just a silly old woman blaa blaa

They don't have knowledge. They're ignorant idiots. Is this really the best we can hope for? Maybe it is.

There is supposed to be 8 women on the committee and 8 men. But 4 of the "women" are biologically male. The person who is hounding Rosie Duffield is leader of this group and is a male who identifies as a woman.

But this would never happen! Obviously we know who the leader is, anyone know who the others are?

I'm going to need to bulk order some cards! I think it's so important to show these brave women that they have support when they put their heads above the parapet. Such a lonely place to be in the Labour Party, particularly. Thank you for your bravery Rosie

I'm going to send a card/email too, she's my MP (technically, as an overseas voter) but I'll be disenfranchised before the next election so this is my only way to thank her.

But that bit about young people having more knowledge and life experience, urgh no, though its exactly the kind of thing I thought when I was a young person and older people pointing out that I didn't just made me more opposed to their points of view so I kinda understand saying it.

I did not know about the make up of the ‘gender balance’ for the LGBT group until I read this from the comments section.

The Labour LGBT committee (behind the hounding of Rosie Duffield) has 16 members.

There is supposed to be 8 women on the committee and 8 men. But 4 of the "women" are biologically male. The person who is hounding Rosie Duffield is leader of this group and is a male who identifies as a woman.

So 12 males and 4 females.

Labour say that this is "gender balanced".

Blimey. The erasure is already well underway and no one at the top seems to care.

And the fact that this starts with women’s officers in the student body being taken up by males is again so often minimized or simply not understood by young women at uni is a massive concern.

She's also going to be crucified for saying it must be 'horrific' to be trans.

I will send her a card too. And an email and copy in my Labour MP. Lifelong Labour voter here.
How can we expect women to be in public life/service and be threatened and harassed like this with no generalised support statement from their senior leaders?
Fuckers.
The death threats thing is heartbreaking.
This party lost a female MP to murder. They should be bending over backwards to support their female MPs who are threatened. What signal does this send?

Comment on the article:

"Great article.

Jo Cox was killed by an extremist.

Rosie Duffield gets death threats from extremists and the police do precisely nothing. Labour does precisely nothing apart from attack the women who object to death threats.

Meanwhile the police are busy trying to arrest journalist Darren Grimes for hosting an interview with historian David Starkey

The police in this country is a joke."

I do wonder-- if Jo Cox had been a male MP murdered by an extremist would the horrendous death threats against another male MP some years later be ignored? Would he be blamed, instead, and told to refelect on his hateful comments? Would the party leader say "let's not shine too bright a light on this"?

Really.

We need Angela Raynor and Keir Starmer to answer this question.

I know she doesn't think TWAW because, actually, no one does. Well maybe there is someone in the depths of Twitter but no one IRL really really believes this. The interviewers don't. Benjamin Button doesn't. No one. It's just become this stuoid shibboleth everyone has to say. And that is evident because it is framed as, 'Does she not believe...' not as an honest question - 'Do you think...' It's so reductive. It's like some religious exchange everyone has to get out of the way at some point. And it's a lie. Every time. TWANW. Everyone knows this to be the case. Why must we lie?

She's showing considerable grit and guts here. Wonder if she's trying to nudge KS to address the issue?

She's not very bright, and not very effective in Canterbury. I vote Labour but was strangely relieved to be in a constituency that's been Tory since time immemorial.
She's right about this, though.

agreed.

for Rosie

I really appreciated that she ostensibly sidestepped the TWAW mantra. She's still trying, to her absolute credit, to be conciliatory with the contingent that are calling for her head, which is exactly what a politician in a liberal democracy should do.

I mean, in answer to that question, I would have said "No, of course TWANW, but that in no way implies they are not human beings worthy of dignity, rights and protection." But I am not a female politician who has had to face down what she has. So she answered with a very brief 'yes' without expanding on what she might mean by that, and then focused back on to women. Proper fistbump salute. Great stuff.

The sentence that stood out to me was, 'Does she not think that trans women [sic] are women?
If we could all stop pretending that anyone actually thinks this we'd get a lot further sooner

yes, im staggered that we are at this place actually- it says so much about us that we have got here. its a fascinating phenomenon- encompassing ideology/faith/misogyny/etcetc

ray blanchard was an early studier of gender disorder, (hes on twitter) he said early researchers....
'thought that a caring society could make minor accommodations to transsexuals’ emotional needs, but they did not think that society – including science and medicine – should upend its concept of biological sex just for the greater emotional comfort of transsexuals.'

as worrying

The sentence that stood out to me was, 'Does she not think that trans women [sic] are women?

You know, maybe she does believe tw aw sometimes and that females still need their protections. Or Maybe she feels scared to say transwomen are transwomen.

One interpretation is that she is highlighting that even if you do treat transwomen as women while allowing the exceptions under law for single spaces, choice of female health care provider for intimate care etc, you still get treated like heretic and get abuse and threats. And that there is absolutely no nuance allowed.

The other alternative that she is now too scared to be fully truthful is just worrying.

I’m sending Rosie a card. She’s magnificent. The comments on that article are utterly fabulous. So many people get it.

Wow.

Might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb springs to mind.

This is why I left Labour, it's not just about Labour stance on trans issues, which changes like a weathercock so I haven't a clue what they stand for.
Its about how, when Labour women are subject to abuse the party stays silent or in some cases joins in the kicking.

It was the treatment of Anne Ruzylo which first drew my attention, then the witchfinders list (was that Labour against transphobia?), then the attacks on women's place meetings, now Rosie.

Labour is no place for women at the moment, it's an abusive environment.

At that point I said out loud - "but I have far more lived experience of being woman and everything that goes with it - why is that less important?"