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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Kathleen Stock was on Good Morning Britain This Morning

241 replies

dunBle · 29/05/2023 07:34

although she got talked over by Ed Balls quite a lot. It'll be on ITV1+1 at about 7:40 I think until just before 8am.

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puffyisgood · 30/05/2023 13:50

EB is a smart guy, he and KS are of similar age and I suppose vaguely comparable educational & professional attainment, but he's out of his depth here against genuinely a subject matter expert - sort of like a pro footballer taking on a pro tennis player at tennis.

BezMills · 30/05/2023 13:40

yeah that phrasing is such a lot of shit. Just say biological women if you really have to include males with gender identity in the category of women (and therefore need to have some way to distinguish between the male women and female women )

WallaceinAnderland · 30/05/2023 13:30

Ed and Charlotte both sounded so stupid from their inane questioning which they were directed to do obviously. But they can't be coherent because they are trying to use 'acceptable' words and therefore lose the fluidity of natural language.

Prof Stock was clear and articulate. She knows her stuff inside out. She's lived and breathed it but, most importantly, she's no longer afraid to speak in plain English. She doesn't have to tiptoe around the prescribed language like the others did.

It's so much easier to debate when you remove that obstacle. That fear of being labelled, that fear of being cancelled. This is what women like her have been up against and everyone knows it otherwise they would use natural language themselves.

I mean, Ed using the phrase 'women who are sexually women' in order to differentiate us from transwomen. What the hell? Did he come up with that himself because I don't think anyone would think that's acceptable, not even TRAs

GailBlancheViola · 30/05/2023 12:31

Datun · 30/05/2023 09:38

Brilliantly articulated.

Yes. It's forcing a new definition of woman. A sexist and detrimental one at that.

To understand and define ourselves rather than accept the definitions men placed upon us based on what they observed and assumed.

And I am not prepared to go back to Womanhood being something men decide for us.

Ed doesn't even notice that this is all about men defining what women are, it's not computing. He's so used to it, he doesn't see any difference.

This is what really gets my back up and you have both articulated it so well.

Ed Balls, a man, declaring that a man must have the choice to say that he is now a woman - what about the choice of women? It is yet again men telling woman what they are and what they are allowed. Fuck off Ed.

LlamasUnited · 30/05/2023 11:51

KS was really impressive. She came across as sensible, rational and articulate. EB looked like a fool. He knows perfectly well she’s right, and so will the vast majority of viewers.

Datun · 30/05/2023 11:40

RoyalCorgi · 30/05/2023 09:51

The overwhelming feeling I sense coming from Kathleen is one of incredulity. She must go into this situation thinking something like: I'm being interviewed by a senior politician who was once shadow chancellor, has a degree in PPE from Oxford, must be pretty intelligent and well-informed, I expect he has some thoughtful questions to ask. And then he comes out with a line of questioning that not only displays complete ignorance of the matter under discussion but complete stupidity as well. He doesn't understand the argument she's making, even though it's a very simple and coherent one. You can see from the look on her face that she's thinking: Do I really have to explain the basics here? Do I really have to explain that humans can't change sex? That pretending that they can has consequences?

Yes. I watched her do an interview right after her book came out, and she actually went red and put her head in her hands, briefly, in sheer disbelief of watching the stupidity. And, quite unbelievably, having to spend 99% of any interview reasserting that no, human beings cannot change sex.

The frustration of never been able to get beyond the premise of no you can't change sex is palpable. She can't even get to explain why it matters!

I believe it's also hardened her stance somewhat, despite still being fairly moderate.

It's become quite obvious that the players in this all come from quite different places. And the truly malign influencers are perhaps not that many, but they're so adept at the manipulation of eg young students, their support grows. But it grows down an avenue of complete misrepresentation.

That's no excuse for Ed balls, obviously. I suspect his information comes from his son. Which is why he flounders when he has to argue it himself.

He's been served up a stance to defend that has no basis in reality. But more than that, he's been told that objections to it are unreasonable and bigoted.

When he's faced with completely normal reactions, it's he who looks like the bigot. Uninformed and sexist.

Thinking about it, it's perhaps not surprising that his son is a TRA.

BaronMunchausen · 30/05/2023 11:34

Poor Ed. He's have to say a few decades of TWAWTMAMNBLAVs as public penance once his TRA son hears him saying women don't have penises.

LodiDodi · 30/05/2023 10:41

The people prancing around still trying to uphold this argument need to stop now, it's just getting embarrassing. Most of them believe anything that avoids them being labeled a bigot (the indignity!) And are willing to throw women under the bus to save face. The tide is turning though and they're soon going to be on the wrong side of the fence.

Lottapianos · 30/05/2023 10:29

She's brilliant. Cool, calm, thinks on her feet, knows she has facts and truth on her side. The state of Ed Balls. What a mess of an interview

BluebellBlueballs · 30/05/2023 10:09

Ramblingnamechanger · 30/05/2023 10:07

I liked when Kathleen talked about women being upset… this has not been said much except by Germaine in the past. And also how it is affecting our mental health , having to fight this ridiculous ideology. well done Dr Stock.

Yeah it's like they think women are doing all this (campaigning) just because they are bored, or want to be hateful bigots for the sake of it. No one has really considered the 'upset' on the feminist side of course as Trans Are The Most Important People. Thank you to Prof Stock for pointing it out.

Ramblingnamechanger · 30/05/2023 10:07

I liked when Kathleen talked about women being upset… this has not been said much except by Germaine in the past. And also how it is affecting our mental health , having to fight this ridiculous ideology. well done Dr Stock.

BernardBlacksMolluscs · 30/05/2023 09:53

What I want is for some smart and enquiring journalist to actually listen to Stock, realise how utterly mainstream and reasonable she is and then do some digging about who has so comprehensively painted her as an extremist, how they’ve got so much traction and why they’ve done it

now that would be investigative journalism

RoyalCorgi · 30/05/2023 09:51

The overwhelming feeling I sense coming from Kathleen is one of incredulity. She must go into this situation thinking something like: I'm being interviewed by a senior politician who was once shadow chancellor, has a degree in PPE from Oxford, must be pretty intelligent and well-informed, I expect he has some thoughtful questions to ask. And then he comes out with a line of questioning that not only displays complete ignorance of the matter under discussion but complete stupidity as well. He doesn't understand the argument she's making, even though it's a very simple and coherent one. You can see from the look on her face that she's thinking: Do I really have to explain the basics here? Do I really have to explain that humans can't change sex? That pretending that they can has consequences?

VaddaABeetch · 30/05/2023 09:46

Did anyone see KS on BBC Breakfast?

It was a short report with an interview but appeared to be fair & Ahe had a chance to speak.

FrancescaContini · 30/05/2023 09:45

I’ve just watched the video and agree with the fleeting second of intense dislike. I’ve experienced this when in discussion with a couple of men - they can’t bear the fact that a woman has a viewpoint that’s more solid than theirs.

Ed “the scrotum” Balls was also embarrassingly inarticulate. He thinks that his public, Strictly persona with the clownish chubby grin makes him popular; actually he comes across as ill informed and bumbling. He should stick to silly dancing. But at least the interview gives Kathleen Stock a chance to shine so overall, it’s great.

thirdfiddle · 30/05/2023 09:45

One of those killer lines where the person on the other side is so slow to process that they've been insulted that they're three hours late with the comeback. Bet he woke up with the perfect answer this morning. Absolute class from the Prof. Out-debating an ex politician so comprehensively is no mean feat, even when your position is based on solid fact.

Datun · 30/05/2023 09:38

FlirtsWithRhinos · 29/05/2023 18:42

EB - Someone who has transitioned and wants to be a woman, I think it's fine to call them a woman. I don't know why you don't want to allow them to make that choice

I realise there's no point in answering EB on this thread, but as this line typifies one of the bad faith arguments that gets flung arount by TRAs a lot I think it's worth providing the counter anyway.

No, Ed. It's not that I don't want to allow "them" to make that choice.

It's that the choice they want to make for themselves forces a new definition of womanhood onto all women whether we want it for ourselves or not.

Because the only way to believe that male people can be called women is if one believes that a woman, which I also am, is a woman not because of her body, with all that entails socially and physically, but because of something in her mind.

And if society belives that, it believes that woman's rights and protections, and indeed women's experiences, needs and political voice, are not shaped by the needs and challenges of the female-bodied half of humanity but by those who feel they have a female mind.

As a female-bodied person, I look at the history of my sex's fight to escape from the legal, social, intellectual, political and cultural margins where male people kept us, and to be recognised as complete, equal and worthwhile humans in our own right. To understand and define ourselves rather than accept the definitions men placed upon us based on what they observed and assumed. To tell our own stories in our own voices, not simply be the characters in narratives written from the outside by men. And I am not prepared to go back to Womanhood being something men decide for us.

So it's not that I don't want to allow them to make a choice for themselves, it's that the choice they want to make for themselves is also a choice they are also making for me, and it is that which I cannot accept.

Brilliantly articulated.

Yes. It's forcing a new definition of woman. A sexist and detrimental one at that.

To understand and define ourselves rather than accept the definitions men placed upon us based on what they observed and assumed.

And I am not prepared to go back to Womanhood being something men decide for us.

Ed doesn't even notice that this is all about men defining what women are, it's not computing. He's so used to it, he doesn't see any difference.

TinyTopknot · 30/05/2023 09:35

There was a moment, after Prof Stock made a particularly good comeback, when he looked at her of a fleeting second with absolute hate. It was a micro expression which showed his reaction to a woman besting him.

Yes! This stood out to me more than anything else in the interview. Pure hatred oozed from every pore. It was chilling.

Datun · 30/05/2023 09:30

PriOn1 · 29/05/2023 20:55

Whittle is smarter than that.

It’s likely the real reason is that nobody who takes the time to listen to her could fail to see how reasonable and considered her views are.

Any claim that her views are extreme is a desperate attempt to silence her because they can’t afford for anyone to hear what she has to say.

Yes, Kathleen stock is moderate by anyone's standards. And incredibly articulate, can think on her feet.

She's a huge threat.

FrancescaContini · 30/05/2023 09:29

Helleofabore · 30/05/2023 07:28

And Izzard.

How could we forget him? I’m loving “a scrotum of Eds” 😂

BernardBlacksMolluscs · 30/05/2023 09:18

TheBiologyStupid · 29/05/2023 23:49

Thanks!

There's an archived copy here: https://archive.ph/w7MGt

Nice to see the Telegraph quoting Balls verbatim

he makes himself sound deranged

AutumnCrow · 30/05/2023 09:04

PurpleBugz · 29/05/2023 19:52

Agreed. So hard to put that point into words for others and this does so perfectly.

@FlirtsWithRhinos can I steal your wording for a sort of leaflet I'm putting together for myself/friends/family to explain GC position?

It’s great wording 👍

BezMills · 30/05/2023 08:47

Dunning-Krüger is his middle name. Of course he would want to manterrupt his mansplanations to a woman who wrote an entire book laying out her case. Because obviously she hasn't given the topic as much thought as he has.

InsertSomethingMotivationalHere · 30/05/2023 08:23

She is just fantastic - she knows she's dealing with complete idiots but remains so calm and controlled. Ed Balls came across as smug and condescending.

BadSkiingMum · 30/05/2023 08:16

Kathleen Stock is so calm and clear.

I think there was a moment in the middle when the good Mr Balls seemed to be teetering on the edge of GC views…

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