It’s not about whether the bullying policy has changed, NiceGerbil. It’s about whether women will be deemed to be bullying simply on the basis of using correct sex pronouns - because the policy proceeds from a place of accepting genderist ideology as a guide to acceptable behaviour.
I get the impression they will be, unless it’s accidental, even if there is no intent to bully at all. Even if they are just exercising their right to freedom of speech and of conscience. Even if they are merely standing up for themselves against the monumental, colossal bullying that they themselves are experiencing as a result of being housed with male prisoners and obliged to pretend they’re female.
The statement from FDJ to KPSS would suggest that women are being punished for non compliance with the rules about misgendering, regardless of whether they are actively trying to bully these male prisoners, or whether they even have the power to bully them.
The reality such as we hear about it is a very long way from the fictional scenario in Hollyoaks where the nasty women are bullying the vulnerable biologically male trans person.
Rather it’s the other way around - male prisoners demanding to be able to expose themselves in the showers with women, male prisoners assaulting women, that male prisoner in Scotland who won the Miss Fitness competition thanks to his male physiology and rubbed the women’s faces in his victory, and very much enjoyed the perks he won as a result.
It reads to me as if males are bullying females with no consequences; while females who stand up for themselves against bullying are given extra time. The bullying policy clearly does not apply equally to everyone, as far as we can understand the situation with the limited information available, and the way it is interpreted is massively in the favour of male people, and to the detriment of female people.
This absolutely should be reported on and a lot of noise made about it. This does not seem to be a bullying policy that is even handed, fair, and applies to everyone the same way; this seems to be being applied in a deeply discriminatory way that uses genderist ideology as if it were a neutral starting point, instead of a highly contested belief system that many of us see as deeply misogynistic.
It’s policy written by and for male people, and sod female people.
This idea that it is “uncivil” to acknowledge that male people are male is toxic and profoundly anti-feminist, IMO. I think it’s crucial women have the right to recognise and name male people as male. Crucial. So much other damage proceeds from accepting this first denial of reality, this first act of coercive control. We have to stand up to it.
Always worth posting this again in case anyone isn’t already familiar with Barracker’s superb piece on pronouns:
fairplayforwomen.com/pronouns/