"Donald Trump doesn’t know what a woman is, either"

Agree. Trump was the shock that needed to happen. But will anything make the left think straight?? Maybe the only thing that will work is reducing the amount of money gender ideology makes... which is what Trump is doing.

Good intentions butter no parsnips

Do they?

Do they have good intentions towards the women locked up with men in prisons? Do they have good intentions towards the children who's health and future are being sacrificed to the gender cult?

And ultimately, outcomes matter more than intentions.

That's the key thing about Trump. He isn't playing the 'game' of civilised politics. And that's proving successful with the voters.

This is inspiring existential panic in those who have made lucrative careers out of their ability to play that game.

At least the "left" have good intentions, even if they are misguided on some issues.

Whereas the "right" are petty and vindictive and only occasionally get things right by accident.

I think this all had to happen. It's a natural progression of the whole thing.
The right/conservative side was always going to push back to the left/TRA side in a different way to the left/GC side.
The right might have the same biological definition of 'woman' as left/GC but they have the same social definition as left/TRA that is based on stereotyping and regressive gender roles.
This is the time to keep our voices loud - counteract sexism whether it comes from left or right. We are finally getting some sunlight. We need to stand in it, make sure the debate continues to be had.

I still think that Trump is the bigger enemy though - he's not even pretending to be decent

This is a very telling phrase and similar to one Rory Stewart used the other day. Why would 'pretending' to be decent when you are not be better?

I think this is one of Trump's most powerful qualities for his supporter base. They think that all politicians are fundamentally corrupt and out for their own ends. And the thing they are most sick of is the 'pretending' they are not.

And while there are definitely degrees of this, I don't think they're entirely wrong in their assessment.

I agree with almost everything she says - except I have yet to see labour prioritising safeguarding children or (apart from Wes Streeting to whom I'm pathetically grateful) actually taking on the work of ensuring women's basic rights to safety, privacy and dignity from men.

Bridget Phillipson (Sec State for Education) is frighteningly silent about Cass, the draft education guidelines for schools and the porn soaked organisations that were able to access schools under the last government. It may be that's because she feels an obligation to Stonewall's Lord Ali after he paid £14,000 for her birthday party - who knows.

But until the labour government start prioritising children's safety and women's rights without fear or favour, (remember the recent Women & Equalities committee attempts to undermine Cass?) it seems that currying favour with the powerful trans lobby is the left's priority.

Which is why I'm envious that the USA is getting such a clear steer on all this from the repellent Trump.

Trump is playing them all like a violin.

The left are totally paralysed by this idea that they're the 'good guys' and the orange man is evil. It means they can't back down on obviously awful and damaging policies. And their cognitive dissonance in trying to maintain their image of themselves is off the charts.

The voting public simply do not agree with the left's assessment of themselves. And on many issues, Trump is looking like the more sane option. That is a situation entirely of the democrats making.

The "left" or whatever are numpties, then.

Why the hell would you stick with, and in fact double down on, policies that have at least partly encouraged the public to vote for "fundamentally bad people"?

If you don't want "fundamentally bad people" in power, make sure you're not plugging fundamentally bad policies yourself.

Brilliant article. Goodness that woman can write with such clarity and incision. Thank you for the link.

I think Trump and his cronies are making this even worse. The "left" (or whatever) are becoming entrenched because the other side are filled with fundamentally bad people.

Fundamentally though, I think Smith must be right because the "liberal" side must be more aligned with enlightenment values - with science and truth, rather than the Trumpist post-truth.

This sounds like you desperately want it to be true. However I see zero evidence that it is. Science and truth has been comprehensively by the left over the last few years - and not just on gender.

Fundamentally though, I think Smith must be right because the "liberal" side must be more aligned with enlightenment values - with science and truth, rather than the Trumpist post-truth.

Well the "liberal" side don't seem to be very aligned with science and truth when it comes to GII. I mean, how much more post-truth can you get than TWAW?

In the end I think there is far more potential for “liberal” sex denialists to be led back to reason than there is for right-wing patriarchs to ever drop their own flawed definition of “woman".

I'm not seeing much, if any, evidence of that yet. All I see is doubling down.