Scared to approach this. Advice needed from the wise women of the Feminist board

Agreed with other PPs. Say you want to go. You have every right to say this. Why shouldn’t you go?

Also as a heterosexual woman - I bet I could argue that I was:

-non-binary - I don’t identify with sexist stereotype
(unlike EI, I don’t wear pink nail varnish/have long hair)

-queer - I have no idea what that means - but neither does anyone else or your colleagues and if Jameela Jamil can - I can

• agender - I had no desire for sex 3 months of so post childbirth/breastfeeding 24/7. This was temporary - temporary trans statuses are supposed to be equally valid, so this fits too.

Acceptance without exception. Throw it back at them - they won’t question it!

Is your sense of self really binary and feminine? You don't come across that way

And you know having two protected characteristics ( glosses over the T issues ) Beats 1 any day

i have seen people claim what i have - coeliac disease- is a disability.
if you can give up biscuits then i'd recommend going this route. your 'disability' trumps him.

I have adhd and don't really tell anyone. I would make it known sharpish and put my name forward.

Yes, you can self id as gender fluid or bi or whatever and go.

Or check with others that someone isn’t disabled and you don’t realise. They don’t need to be registered disabled with a blue badge I don’t believe. So people with chronic health conditions, dyslexia, etc could count?

If it were me,I'd announce that I identify as one of the remaining groups to be chosen from. If a man can identify as a woman,and the group has no issue with that,they can hardly refuse you the same courtesy.
But I'm middle aged,angry and don't have the patience for this shit,so wouldn't care about the consequences. It might not be the same for everyone.

Identify as whatever you need to in order to qualify for a place. The deck is stacked, so play the game.

Seriously though, I would let people know that I would like to attend.

You could identify as agender or genderfree? Ridiculous situation.

If you look up Stonewall's definition of 'trans', you may find that you legitimately fit under the LGBT umbrella anyway.

as participation in many things is often physically difficult for disabled people - as in, accessibility needs are not considered and so cause a significant barrier.

I agree that the rules are the issue. Not very helpful, sorry. I do think it always should be the best person for the job.

Pre the T, the LGB really wouldn't have been an issue in a situation like this (who checks sexuality?!) and shouldn't be an issue in situations like this.

Inclusion as far as I first understood the word was more about disability as participation in many things is often physically difficult for disabled people.

I'm not sure how to navigate this one though.

Could you put your hand up to go anyway? Is there any way you could describe interests, strengths or abilities you have that would be particularly useful and leverage that? Could you contact the person that is going and see if she would back you attending (without even bringing up anyone else)? Bit of a cowards way but as pp said, this group has already made its rules.

Would it be offensive to identify as bisexual or pansexual? (I think it would but, hey, identity politics are not what they were in my day )

One person has been chosen and agreed unanimously, as she is the best person for the job.
The other person MUST be selected from the categories of disabled, BAME or LGBT.

I see these two rules are both discriminatory, it means that who ever wrote the rule thinks that the most qualified will always be white and able bodied.

As a disabled person I think that's quite insulting and possibly illegal.

I also think that could be your approach to this.

Use me as an example if you want, say you were discussing your group with a disabled friend and the following points were made:

Who decided on the catagories?
Why just those?
Why not a religious person?
A married person?
Any other 'protected characteristic'

Also under the Equality Act your 'women's group' isn't.

Also the event may have rules about the sex of attendees. Does the event have facilities for a male bodied person without causing offence or difficulty.

Basically if the attendees are there to represent your group it should be representative of your group.

No matter how reasonably you approach this, you will be traduced. The women's group already has a male person in it, so the likelihood is that there are already many TWAW believers in it too, and at the very least a lot of women socialized to #BeKind.

The question you need to ask yourself is if you think the worth of standing up for women, so that they do not have to line up behind a male, outweighs the other consequences for you. Only you can know that, and I wouldn't want to pressure any woman to put her livelihood or mental health at risk, but I will say that knowing that the female sex is distinct from men and should not have to stand by, and meekly accept their rights being gifted to those who feel they are more entitled, is an entirely reasonable, rational, and fair-minded position to be in. Best of luck.