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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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Suella Braverman expected to make a speech on Wednesday

379 replies

achillestoes · 08/08/2022 12:21

In which she will say (in advance of DfE guidance to be issued in September - apparently) that schools are not legally obligated to facilitate childhood transition through the use of opposite sex or neo-pronouns (non-binary etc), allowing children to use the toilets of the opposite sex (arrangements should be made for children to use a third space if needed), or the uniform of the opposite sex.

For some reason this has provoked an outpouring of accusations of Suella being ‘as thick as mince’. One charming person wished her dead. Someone else said we ‘don’t get to’ disagree with Suella on other things and then agree with her on this. Erm...

Anyway, this seems like a return to much-needed ordinary safeguarding practices to me.

I don’t care if boys wear skirts particularly. I do care about my daughters being bullied to pretend they are female.

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achillestoes · 12/08/2022 08:46

We all know people have thoughts. We all know people have more conformist and less conformist thoughts, and thoughts create self-image. All that is fine. It doesn’t make people some sort of protected class of very vulnerable people. People who actually propose physical ‘reassignment’ of their sex or in fact go through with physical ‘reassignment’ of their sex are of course vulnerable. But those are two separate categories of people: the non-conforming, and people who are so unhappy that I would consider them unwell, for whom surgical intervention feels like a realistic option.

But for goodness sake, can we stop pretending every twenty year old who wants to dye her hair green and call herself Sam is ‘marginalised’?

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ImWell · 12/08/2022 08:42

Hjft · 12/08/2022 07:48

Where you ask? Probably in the brain where most of someone’s personhood is. I agree that you can’t change sex, but not that biology is always binary. And gender can be reassigned if and when appropriate for an individual. British society is generally supportive of this, with some exceptions and media bias.

That’s quite some assertion. What makes you think that there exists an innate gender identity?

ImWell · 12/08/2022 08:36

Hjft · 12/08/2022 07:41

“Sex assigned at birth” is the way government forms ascertain the difference between gender and sex, and therefore I do not apologise for using that as a widely accepted term. Gender assumed at birth may be a more accurate phrase, but that would be less widely understood, and would probably trigger more aggressive responses.
Sex and gender are more than just genitals, with the brain being a major factor in an individuals comprehension of their gender. Transgender people have an incongruence between the two. Not their fault.

Sex is not assigned at birth, it’s observed and recorded.

Think back to when the midwife had just finished helping you to extract a child from your body; there wasn’t any discussion about which sex to choose, was there? No sifting hat, no looking at a list to decide what sex your child should be assigned.

They had a look, saw what it was, and wrote it down.

There is no “gender” assumed at birth either. There is no evidence that humans have an innate sense of gender.

achillestoes · 12/08/2022 08:32

‘Sex and gender are more than just genitals, with the brain being a major factor in an individuals comprehension of their gender. Transgender people have an incongruence between the two. Not their fault.’

‘Transgender people’ believe this to be true. The rest of us have not observed it to be true. Those who say they believe it are operating from a position of ignorance or wilful faith.

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Ereshkigalangcleg · 12/08/2022 08:31

What is the process that turns a male into a trans woman?

TheKeatingFive · 12/08/2022 08:31

I believe she is categorising trans women as men, and that is where the difficulty rises. If she starts with that assumption then there can be no fair resolution.

Shes doing that because it is biological fact. I'm sure you'll agree that basing our assumptions in biological fiction is a hugely problematic starting point.

Ereshkigalangcleg · 12/08/2022 08:30

I believe she is categorising trans women as men, and that is where the difficulty rises. If she starts with that assumption then there can be no fair resolution.

But they are. So people shouldn't be pretending otherwise.

achillestoes · 12/08/2022 08:30

‘I believe she is categorising trans women as men, and that is where the difficulty rises. If she starts with that assumption then there can be no fair resolution.’

This is an extraordinary idea that has been claimed (with a great deal of aggressive enforcement and official collaboration) but not ONE SCRAP of proof has ever been offered.

This is comparable to saying, ‘This is because you are classing an apple as a fruit’. It’s a fruit. Prove otherwise.

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Ereshkigalangcleg · 12/08/2022 08:29

Gender reassignment should not mean that anyone can “identify as”

But that is what it means, without any gatekeeping.

TheKeatingFive · 12/08/2022 08:20

but rather that we allow people with a legitimate medical condition to reassign their gender so that they can function more fully in our society.

There isn't any issue with people 'reassigning their gender' whatever that rather wooly phrase means.

The problem is their appropriation of same sex spaces and protected sex characteristics.

DialSquare · 12/08/2022 08:18

I believe she is categorising trans women as men, and that is where the difficulty rises. If she starts with that assumption then there can be no fair resolution.

This is very telling. It's obvious that there is a fair resolution with this fact (not an assumption) but it's for females. Keeping Males out of Female provision is the fair resolution.

Hjft · 12/08/2022 08:16

WarriorN · 12/08/2022 07:45

What is now in keeping children safe in education, the safeguarding guidance all schools MUST follow, is a lot around sexual abuse and misogynistic attitudes.

Girls have been raped on school premises.

Why were single sex loos created in the first place?

Trans isn't seen as a medical condition now. Anyone can "identify as" (sooo sexist) and it seems claim their imagined "right" to enter anywhere. Increasing mixed sex spaces increases risks for women.

The amount of voyerism a local pool has to contend with due to mixed sex cubicles, with open bottoms to reduce chance of shaggers, is ridiculous. A friend was a victim and it did manage to go to court.

Trans is no longer a mental health condition, but is reclassified as a sexual health condition. Gender reassignment should not mean that anyone can “identify as” but rather that we allow people with a legitimate medical condition to reassign their gender so that they can function more fully in our society.

WarriorN · 12/08/2022 08:02

I believe she is categorising trans women as men, and that is where the difficulty rises. If she starts with that assumption then there can be no fair resolution.

It's not assumption it's fact.

NecessaryScene · 12/08/2022 07:57

Sex and gender are more than just genitals, with the brain being a major factor in an individuals comprehension of their gender.

If you stopped there and said that this is about an "individual's comprehension of their gender", we'd have less of an issue. Because then it's a purely internal thing we don't have to worry about.

Clearly though there's no actual real difference in behaviour from men when you look at the things that do statistically differ between sexes.

Transwomen are overwhelmingly attracted to women, like other men, they're as sexually aggressive as other men, they have the same pattern of criminality as other men - basically everything about them follows normal male distribution.

The "female brain" thing fails at the first hurdle of any sort of common sense test. Both their bodies and minds are clearly male, regardless of how they perceive themselves. Hence it's correct that they should be treated like other males.

This would merit more debate if there was any truth in transwomen having female behaviour. (Although you'd still have to actually come up with a coherent definition of "transwoman" that that analysis applied to - self ID would still blow a hole in it).

Sleepyafternoonsinthesun · 12/08/2022 07:55

Quia · 11/08/2022 07:12

For some reason this has provoked an outpouring of accusations of Suella being ‘as thick as mince’.

It hasn't provoked anything of the sort, because she's been known to be as thick as mince more or less since she was appointed. Sadly she isn't a great advert for the cause.

Fine to not like people or their politics, fine to point out their mistakes, bit no-one who read law at Cambridge, undertook a master's in European and French law, and was then called to the bar, is as thick as mince.

Hjft · 12/08/2022 07:55

The Attorney General says you are wrong and specifically that female safety, dignity and privacy is a legitimate aim in and of itself. Maybe you can explain why you believe she is mistaken?

I believe she is categorising trans women as men, and that is where the difficulty rises. If she starts with that assumption then there can be no fair resolution.

LK1972 · 12/08/2022 07:51

Hjft · 12/08/2022 07:41

“Sex assigned at birth” is the way government forms ascertain the difference between gender and sex, and therefore I do not apologise for using that as a widely accepted term. Gender assumed at birth may be a more accurate phrase, but that would be less widely understood, and would probably trigger more aggressive responses.
Sex and gender are more than just genitals, with the brain being a major factor in an individuals comprehension of their gender. Transgender people have an incongruence between the two. Not their fault.

It's not widely accepted in the slightest, and signifies belief in gender identity theory. You don't get to make sweeping statements without any proof on here, and you don't have any.

The exemptions in the Equality Act are NOT based on individuals, whatever Robin Moira White says, but on a blanket exclusion by sex, as confirmed by the Attorney General.

Your arguments have been presented and demolished many times on Mumsnet, and they don't make any more sense coming from you.

The government confirmed our interpretation of the law is correct, not the trans 'ally' lawyers. Of course you, along with these lawyers, now claim the AG is thick and doesn't understand the law. It's laughable.

noraclavicle · 12/08/2022 07:48

“Sex assigned at birth” is the way government forms ascertain the difference between gender and sex, and therefore I do not apologise for using that as a widely accepted term.”

It’s Stonewall-mandated language, a recent change and most certainly NOT ‘widely accepted,’ because it is not an accurate reflection of science and biology. It is certainly not ‘accepted’ on these boards as I’m sure you well know. Trying to push it on us will get you precisely nowhere, because we have a grip on reality.

Sex is not ‘assigned’ at birth, it is noted. And your comments on DSDs are wholly inaccurate, as has been pointed out already.

TheKeatingFive · 12/08/2022 07:48

Sex and gender are more than just genitals, with the brain being a major factor in an individuals comprehension of their gender.

So how is gender defined outside of societal stereotypes. What makes someone a woman?

WarriorN · 12/08/2022 07:48

Sex and gender are more than just genitals, with the brain being a major factor in an individuals comprehension of their gender. Transgender people have an incongruence between the two. Not their fault.

Sexist.

And brain scans show they do have an issue with self perception, showing same results as other people with body dysmorphia.

There's no biological diagnosis as it's a cultural confusion linked to rigid gender stereotypes and often a culture of homophobia.

Hjft · 12/08/2022 07:48

Where you ask? Probably in the brain where most of someone’s personhood is. I agree that you can’t change sex, but not that biology is always binary. And gender can be reassigned if and when appropriate for an individual. British society is generally supportive of this, with some exceptions and media bias.

WarriorN · 12/08/2022 07:45

What is now in keeping children safe in education, the safeguarding guidance all schools MUST follow, is a lot around sexual abuse and misogynistic attitudes.

Girls have been raped on school premises.

Why were single sex loos created in the first place?

Trans isn't seen as a medical condition now. Anyone can "identify as" (sooo sexist) and it seems claim their imagined "right" to enter anywhere. Increasing mixed sex spaces increases risks for women.

The amount of voyerism a local pool has to contend with due to mixed sex cubicles, with open bottoms to reduce chance of shaggers, is ridiculous. A friend was a victim and it did manage to go to court.

Ereshkigalangcleg · 12/08/2022 07:44

If you listened to Suella's speech - that was a repeated point made. If you can justify direct discrimination against men to create a single-sex space, you can also justify indirect discrimination against transwomen to uphold that single-sex space.

This.

Ereshkigalangcleg · 12/08/2022 07:44

Gender assumed at birth may be a more accurate phrase, but that would be less widely understood

No, biological sex is the accurate phrase.

Ereshkigalangcleg · 12/08/2022 07:43

This exception does not allow blanket exclusion of transgender people from single sex spaces that align with their gender identity.

Yes, that's the line that TRAs have been pushing for years. The Attorney General says you are wrong and specifically that female safety, dignity and privacy is a legitimate aim in and of itself. Maybe you can explain why you believe she is mistaken?

The explanatory notes to the Equality Act give an example of a group counselling service for female victims of sexual assault. In that case, it is clear that an individual with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment (e.g. a trans-woman) could be lawfully excluded, if organisers believed that otherwise, women would be unlikely to attend the session. This talks about an individual being excluded at the discretion of the organisers.

The notes also give the example of a job role as rape counsellor being made available for biological female people only (specifically saying even male GRC holders could be ruled out), so that would be a blanket exclusion of all males, meaning such a thing is possible.

Also, "recent studies" show that people support the rights of transgender people to "identify as a different gender", but don't support male people in female spaces unless they have had full gender reassignment surgery.