The stranglehold of GI in Australia - finally an article/opinion in a major newspaper that sets it out

Probably, so the purity spirallers and pearl-clutches can jump in to lecture us about What’s Allowed To Be Read before they swoon onto their fainting couches, lest they inadvertently catch a glimpse of an article that only Murdoch loving, bogan rightwing bigots would look at which will result in them having to sign themselves up for a DEI struggle session.

Sorry for the run on sentences. These sticks up their arse “I’m not clicking on a Daily Fail link” types are just the worst.

Having fact checked the article, which parts did you find to be inaccurate or untrue?

So what? Fuck off with your purity spirals. Fat lot of good the progressive media have done in Australia on this issue. Look at what The Age did to Julie Szego when she wrote from a gender critical position. They couldn’t sack her fast enough. The ABC is up to its neck in ACON. The Guardian Australia, Crikey, SMH- don’t make me laugh.

It’s the Daily Mails, the Courier Mails and The Australians that have been raising the issue. The progressive media can get in the bin.

This happens the world over- conservative societies finally break the shackles on socially progressive issues and swing like mad to the other way- Australia (in particular Tasmania) New Zealand, ROI and Canada spring to mind.

Its as if the citizenry are embarrassed and being left behind on social issues and overcorrect in fear of being called backward again.

As a person living in Queensland (home of the Courier Fail), I was just advising caution on the quality of the journalism.

Fact checking their articles is probably a good idea.

For reference they were the originating publication of the bullshit story about girls cutting holes in their school skirts and identifying as furries. I know it was a complete fabrication as my daughter was a student at the school in question at that time.

@anyolddinosaur Yes voting is compulsory in Australia. You get fined if you don’t. Well, you have to present at a voting location, have your name marked off, be handed the ballot papers, go to a booth to vote on your papers, and place those papers in the ballot box. Whether you actually vote, draw a picture, write rude things or leave it blank is up to the individual and no one but the individual will know what they did.

Maybe the Daily Mail's not as bad as I keep hearing then. Thanks for the tip : )

Misogyny has always been more open in Australia.

No idea about your political parties but I used to vote Labour and decided I couldnt vote for those who supported child abuse. Now I spend money I would normally have given them at election time supporting court cases that expose this shit.

Does Australian law require you to vote? If not sitting on your hands is a perfectly legitimate choice. If enough do so then it starts to call into question the legitimacy of governments. The Guardian even did an article about it but of course didnt look at voting rates by sex. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jan/01/turnout-inequality-uk-elections-close-to-tipping-point-ippr

Ans if you don't have effective media, the harm will go unreported.

The media here is effective. Effective at reporting what Murdoch dictates, and hiding or misrepresenting whatever he doesn’t support.

There’s virtually nothing in the mainstream media about the harms of gender ideology or the Cass report or the increased restrictions in the UK, unless it’s to paint the UK as a government of transphobes. It’s crazy.

I’m on a parenting forum in Australia that is predominantly women. The forum is virtually affirmation only. Anything else gets a pile on attack and people I thought I “knew” come out with some vile hateful things towards the people brave enough to post factual up to date info about the harms of affirmation only. Many intelligent insightful women have been banned from the forum for speaking up. Some have had their IP address blocked from even being able to read the forum. It’s disgraceful. Coming to Mumsnet is a breath of fresh air where it can be discussed openly in this (naughty) corner of the boards. Over on my Australian forum I have to bite my tongue.

I hope that forum is still active when the harms of affirmation only are exposed in the mainstream media, when the Australian Medical Association changes their stance, when psychologists no longer have to affirm, and when the legislation and policies go back to being sex based and gender pisses off into history, to be remembered like the misguided medicine of lobotomies. I want them to realise the damage they’ve supported being done to their children and grandchildren, how they answer the questions from them about why did they go along with sterilising them, with robbing them of any chance of sexual pleasure and sexual function, with the removal of their opportunity to breastfeed in the future, to have their brain mature fully, to dealing with early osteoporosis and the limitations and disability that come from that, and everything else like that. I want to know how they’ll justify ignoring the updated models of care and not applying a little bit of common sense and critical thinking to what they’re supporting being done to children and teens.

I know that there will likely be screenshots taken of my post by some of them. Do it. Give it 5 years and we’ll see if affirmation only is still the standard clinical practice or if will be acknowledged for the harm it has done to so many vulnerable children, teens and young adults. If affirmation only becomes acknowledged as conversion therapy of gay children and teens who just needed some more time to get comfortable with themselves, and of children and teens who don’t conform to gender stereotypes who get told that they must be transgender.

I’ll be damned if my DD buys into this gender bullshit. She started saying some gender ideology crap from school. I’ve talked to her about how gender is bullshit and sex is real. That genetics can’t be changed no matter what operations people have, what hormones they take or what clothes they wear.

DH swings between being gender critical and “be kind”. He swung way over to gender critical the other week. We used the toilets in a building after we had appointments in it. He came out of the men’s toilets looking confused. He wanted to know why women’s pads and tampons were provided in there. They were in the women’s too and provided by a national charity. I pointed out the official gender neutral toilet option to him. More confusion from him. Then I pointed out the government teenage mental health service in the building and it all fell into place for him. He said it was fucked up and that they should be leaving teenagers alone. Leave it until they’re adults.

@FeralWoman He looks and sounds quite normal, actually. I had read media reports that in private he is very bright and very witty and I am now prepared to believe them.

Michaelia has long been best described as forceful. But she had no hesitation discussing the G v T situation with me. She was all over it. However, she has grown up inside the Liberal Party as her dad was a MLA and MLC in WA ( and I suspect has even so been given few favours so has had to work hard on her own behalf). I rather think I would like her as a friend.

Re your lying pack of bastards, I have decided I am a single issue voter until events make me otherwise. Nuance has got Australia nothing except an unenviable reputation and birth certificates that are nothing but flights of fancy.

Yeah, it seems you are right about Pocock Hanson's bill to change the Sex Discrimination Act has failed

@TheSandgroper You’ve met the potato? Does he look like a potato IRL? Is Michaelia as loud IRL and as harsh on the ears as she appears to be on TV? That’s good to hear that they’d be on board with biological definitions but the cost to the economy, society and the vulnerable of having the LNP in government doesn’t seem worth the damage. Bad enough that my state government is now LNP. Lying pack of bastards that they are. Hopefully Pauline can get it through without the LNP having to be in government. Zali Steggle is a no go. She’s as woke as woke can be and on board the gender ideology bandwagon. Sadly I think David Pocock is the same. I think he voted against hearing Pauline’s bill about putting sex back into the SDA and removing gender.

@SeethingHarpie I am reporting to you from contemporaneous notes made elsewhere.

No link except me being face to face and asking him at a Liberal Party morning tea in late October. I am on an email list somewhere now so received an invitation.

He was aware of the issue but says Labor and the Greens together own the Senate so changes will be difficult. He wants to wait and see (G v T, I assume) whether a new bill will need to be written, whether alterations can be made or whether a private members bill needs to be introduced (and I expect a lot of Teals are on the woke side so will side the Greens and Labor on this. But Zali Steggle and David Pocock should be au fait with the sports arguments). I asked who I should approach re a private members bill and he suggested Michaelia Cash as Shadow AG. So, I toddled across the room to Michaelia.

Michaelia never minces words but said the court process (being Sall Grover's Giggle v Tickle) must play out. Putting the definition of a woman back into the legislation can't be considered until after that.

I didn't get to speak to Dean Smith but others have and I am told he is on board with biological definitions.

However, if you care to put pressure on or provide support, the Liberals have received a lot of information over the past twelve months and One Nation, I believe, are making gender ideology a very strong issue. My understanding is that Peter Dutton is wanting to get the ideology out of schools.

Pauline Hansen did try to bring up a private motion but Labor and the Greens voted her down. However, no Liberal voted against her. The behind the scenes work with the Libs (of which I am somewhat aware) seems to be having an effect. It was something about the timing or the way she went about it that meant she would get nowhere - and probably knew it, too - but she got it into Hansard anyway.

Which media do you value more:

a) the publications that raises concerns about the hugely concerning impacts of the medical transition of children, regardless of its other articles or
b) the publications that ignore this, regardless of its other articles?

Peter Dutton is aware and Michaelia Cash is all over Giggle v Tickle. But she says nothing can be done until the outcome of that.

Meanwhile, states continue on their merry way. WA is about to turn its birth cert from a record of historical fact into fantasy.

I have family and friends all over Australia and agree with a previous poster- they've no idea that this tsunami has already taken over their country. It's been so well hidden that even those with interests in current affairs are more focused on climate change etc than a "few confused kids". Plus, as another poster has already pointed out, Australian culture as I'm familiar with it has deeply embedded, unconscious sexism right down at the tap root.

That correlation doesn't mean the message is false. Try reading it before you judge.

Kate Emery, Shouter-in-Chief for The West Australian, said in November it’s “an issue that means nothing to most people but targets some of the state’s most vulnerable” so wonders why the opposition is “inflaming a US style culture war” ahead of our election in March but when she posted it in her twitter feed, she got some good push back.

Another example thenightly.com.au/opinion/kate-emery-why-giggle-v-tickle-is-no-laughing-matter-and-nothing-to-worry-about-c-15832567?utm_campaign=share-icons&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=clipboard&tid=1724675399065

Holy cow, OP. That's a terrifying situation.

All I can suggest is that I've always thought a country that really goes all in with genderism, as Australia seems to have done, will quite quickly start to see the consequences. Unfortunately, thise involve harm being done. Ans if you don't have effective media, the harm will go unreported.

The biggest fight is the media, getting this reported. As is noted, many people arent aware.

One effective way to approach this is to make use of message boards, comments, letters to editors. Make the most of any journos who will listen or report. Many people use X for news.

What is needed more than anything is sunlight, information, open and free debate.

If you can establish that the issues are serious enough to merit discussion, that's a very good start. 'No debate' is a hugely dangerous situation.

Haven't read the article. Just a heads up the Courier Mail is the equivalent of the Daily Mail...

It’s a bit of an odd situation. Every city is different, but the day to day impact of transgender ideology has been limited for the average person, at least where I’m from. This meant that various institutions could bring in a lot of pro transgender policies that nobody cared about because no one knew any transgender kids or adults.
From my own experience, I’m in a liberal area of a conservative city, and while many of the liberal mums proclaim to be very supportive of transgender ideology, this extends to letting their kids change their pronouns and get a haircut, not getting them puberty blockers.