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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Trans row threatens to overshadow Lib Dem conference

266 replies

IwantToRetire · 17/09/2025 20:38

Sir Ed Davey faces activist revolt over party rules that allow biological men to take women’s posts

The current rules allow those who “self-identify as women” to stand for party posts set aside for women, which the activists say dilutes the chance that biological women can reach the top of the party.

The vote will be put before conference on Saturday, but it is understood that trans rights activists will try to get it cancelled to avoid embarrassment. This is despite a YouGov poll showing that three-quarters of Lib Dem members do not support the party’s stance on allowing gender self-ID.

Full article at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/09/17/trans-row-threatens-to-overshadow-lib-dem-conference/

Also at https://archive.is/hykSr

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RedToothBrush · 22/09/2025 07:23

IwantToRetire · 22/09/2025 01:18

"issue(s) of genitalia"

Apart from making him look like he hasn't bothered to even listen to any of the many discussion around the issue, cant help but wonder if it is just about "genitalia" why do so many men objectify women's bodies, pay to watch violent pornographic images of women, under pay women, expect women to have their babies, and 2 of them kill women every week.

I guess violence against women and girls is just 'an issue of genitalia' and not really worth talking about.

Move on now ladies. Stop being silly wims. You are making a mountain out of a molehill.

IwantToRetire · 22/09/2025 01:18

"issue(s) of genitalia"

Apart from making him look like he hasn't bothered to even listen to any of the many discussion around the issue, cant help but wonder if it is just about "genitalia" why do so many men objectify women's bodies, pay to watch violent pornographic images of women, under pay women, expect women to have their babies, and 2 of them kill women every week.

OP posts:
RedToothBrush · 21/09/2025 21:50

EdithStourton · 21/09/2025 20:45

I came across the term 'midwit' a while ago.
A midwit can look quite clever just as long as they don't have to manage some independent thought.

But then they find themselves on a bandwagon rolling fast towards the buffers and they have no idea how to get off...

Are midwits more likely to be middle class? (Looks at the LD conference)

I have to say the LD flag waving looks just so insincere and snobbish. It was "we are ok to wave the flag because we are the right type of people" nonsense.

Just bloody wave it because you want to rather than these ridiculous fake shows or patriotism. It was still like they were utterly embarrassed to have the flag. It felt awkward and staged.

But at least it seemed better than the ever increasing ridiculousness of the last night of the proms with those god awful EU berets which have become the political statement and statement of upper middle class snobbery. I found it slightly amusing because it was the same day as the march in London and it was a mix of people who were wanting to wave the UK flag, but probably were heading into London with it well hidden so they weren't mistaken as the wrong sort. And the beret wears who I feel are probably my red line in terms of free speech and should be criminalised for crimes against fashion. I'm pro EU and like I say, like the proms but can't bare this hideous smug twattiness and it has the effect of momentarily making me want to say "I'd rather have a pint with Nig".

And this is really the problem for me. All this reclaiming stuff, is hilarious because it's been entrenched in this sense of snobbery and yet more virtue signalling. It's fake and insufferable.

It comes back to the concept of the Lanyard Class.

DH has been saying for a few weeks, "for most of the flag wavers, it's about everything turning to shit and not having much to look forward to rather than racism. If you gave them an extra bank holiday and some flags to wave most of it would disappear overnight".

I thought he was talking bollocks when he first said it but I'm definitely coming around to the idea rapidly.

It's not a culture war, it's a class war.

Weirdly he ended up having a drunken conversation with a few guys last night about it. They said they wanted a local pub again. They said they just wanted something to be proud of. That's it. It's a feeling that everything has run down and there's nothing left (which feeds into this sense of disillusionment and almost 'Make Britain Great Again'). That owes a lot more to economics and these middle class waving sessions claiming it to be racist are somewhat missing the economic story here because, well luxury beliefs and attitudes because they are sheltered from it.

Weirdly this year has been the first where we haven't done really well in the football or had a royal occasion to wave flags too at so I wonder if there's something in it.

I can't help but feel the LDs attempt to 'reclaim the flag' really misses the mark on so many levels.

Out of touch, hypocritical, fake, snobby and smug superiority where they know best so are above listening to the 'other side', because they are on the right side.

Just fuck off.

(And lord knows if I'm saying this, then it's going down even worse in other quarters).

BundleBoogie · 21/09/2025 21:46

MarieDeGournay · 21/09/2025 17:57

Forgive me, I know this is a serious topic with serious consequences and ramifications... but when I read
'Yes, I've met women with penises'
I LOLed and LMAOed and 😂 and all the other indications of the only possible reaction to
'Yes, I've met women with penises'.

Seriously, though, in these days of Reverse Ferreting on trans issues, it is valuable to have it stated clearly again in black and white.

I'm not sure if it was the Pedant or the Clown in me that made me wonder did
'Yes, I've met women with penises'
mean that he has met several women with one penis each, or several women with several penises each?😁

Maybe they keep one on their head?

EdithStourton · 21/09/2025 20:45

DuesToTheDirt · 21/09/2025 19:25

Sex is only complex if you're a half-wit. There are a lot of half-wits around these days.

I came across the term 'midwit' a while ago.
A midwit can look quite clever just as long as they don't have to manage some independent thought.

But then they find themselves on a bandwagon rolling fast towards the buffers and they have no idea how to get off...

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 21/09/2025 20:12

ItsCoolForCats · 21/09/2025 20:03

I know. The fucking cheek of them. And that's exactly my point. They never engage with these type of arguments. They just bleat on about 'bathroom bans' and segregation and how sad it makes them, and, infuriatingly, mainstream media never challenges them on this, so they continue peddling ridiculous arguments. Lucas North's speech at the conference, dismissing the debate as bigotry (while they all clapped like seals) and his subsequent interview on GB News has actually enraged me. I am so, so sick of it.

It makes me really fucking sad that they don't believe women should have the right to exist in law.

ItsCoolForCats · 21/09/2025 20:03

GallantKumquat · 21/09/2025 19:32

At the risk of being crude (and if there's a way to put it more politely let me know) if they want to argue that child rape, reproductive rights, and maternity leave are just "issue(s) of genitalia", and inappropriate subjects for the the state to inveigh upon, by all means they should try and take that argument to the voter. 😳

Edited

I know. The fucking cheek of them. And that's exactly my point. They never engage with these type of arguments. They just bleat on about 'bathroom bans' and segregation and how sad it makes them, and, infuriatingly, mainstream media never challenges them on this, so they continue peddling ridiculous arguments. Lucas North's speech at the conference, dismissing the debate as bigotry (while they all clapped like seals) and his subsequent interview on GB News has actually enraged me. I am so, so sick of it.

borntobequiet · 21/09/2025 19:34

That GB News guy has very expressive eyebrows.

GallantKumquat · 21/09/2025 19:32

ItsCoolForCats · 21/09/2025 19:16

I am so fucking sick of these men. That Lucas Moran and the MP above dismissing women's safeguarding and rights to single sex spaces as "the issue of genitalia". I am sick of their bingo card of ridiculous arguments - bigotry, sex is too complex, intersex people blah blah - that they use so they never have to address the substance of women's arguments and concerns.

At the risk of being crude (and if there's a way to put it more politely let me know) if they want to argue that child rape, reproductive rights, and maternity leave are just "issue(s) of genitalia", and inappropriate subjects for the the state to inveigh upon, by all means they should try and take that argument to the voter. 😳

DuesToTheDirt · 21/09/2025 19:25

ItsCoolForCats · 21/09/2025 19:16

I am so fucking sick of these men. That Lucas Moran and the MP above dismissing women's safeguarding and rights to single sex spaces as "the issue of genitalia". I am sick of their bingo card of ridiculous arguments - bigotry, sex is too complex, intersex people blah blah - that they use so they never have to address the substance of women's arguments and concerns.

Sex is only complex if you're a half-wit. There are a lot of half-wits around these days.

GallantKumquat · 21/09/2025 19:22

MarieDeGournay · 21/09/2025 12:01

Overshadowed by the trans issue? I gathered from the media that it was going to be overshadowed by the immigration issue. That's a lot of overshadowing....

Davey's performance on Pierce Morgan was one of the most hilarious and clarifying moments of video I've seen in a long time. 🤣😂😅😳😬 And the Lib Dems doubled down on it in the conference. It's amazing! No matter how many times politicians get burned by the trans debate, there are always those who go back for more.

ItsCoolForCats · 21/09/2025 19:16

I am so fucking sick of these men. That Lucas Moran and the MP above dismissing women's safeguarding and rights to single sex spaces as "the issue of genitalia". I am sick of their bingo card of ridiculous arguments - bigotry, sex is too complex, intersex people blah blah - that they use so they never have to address the substance of women's arguments and concerns.

fromorbit · 21/09/2025 19:05

More footage of Lib Dems looking clueless. When do you think they will realise people are going to keep asking them about this.. forever.

teresa smith

Max Wilkinson is the LibDems
Culture Media and Sport spokesperson.

He’s the MP for Cheltenham.

He seems uninterested in women’s rights to fair representation or the implications of the UKSupremeCourt ruling.

He calls it “the issue of genitalia”
https://x.com/treesey/status/1969744945662558717

teresa smith (@treesey) on X

Max Wilkinson is the @LibDems Culture Media and Sport spokesperson. He’s the MP for Cheltenham. He seems uninterested in women’s rights to fair representation or the implications of the @UKSupremeCourt ruling. He calls it “the issue of genitalia”

https://x.com/treesey/status/1969744945662558717

borntobequiet · 21/09/2025 18:14

Well you know what they say about a dog with two dicks. Those ladies must be seriously happy.

MarieDeGournay · 21/09/2025 17:57

DuesToTheDirt · 21/09/2025 16:41

"Can women have a penis? Yes, I've met women with penises."

OH DO FUCK OFF LUCAS NORTH YOU UTTER MORON.

Forgive me, I know this is a serious topic with serious consequences and ramifications... but when I read
'Yes, I've met women with penises'
I LOLed and LMAOed and 😂 and all the other indications of the only possible reaction to
'Yes, I've met women with penises'.

Seriously, though, in these days of Reverse Ferreting on trans issues, it is valuable to have it stated clearly again in black and white.

I'm not sure if it was the Pedant or the Clown in me that made me wonder did
'Yes, I've met women with penises'
mean that he has met several women with one penis each, or several women with several penises each?😁

DuesToTheDirt · 21/09/2025 16:41

fromorbit · 21/09/2025 06:28

Trainwreck interview on GB news

‘If you go down the biological route, you will uncover a minefield’

Liberal Democrats in England Former Chair Lucas North says the Liberal Democrats have been ‘very clear’ that the view of the party is ‘trans-women are women’.
https://x.com/GBNEWS/status/1969441398479843674

Telegraph

Lib Dem conference descends into trans row
Pro-trans activists quash vote on biological men taking female roles within first hour of party conference
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/09/20/lib-dem-conference-trans-row-ed-davey-bournemouth/

"Can women have a penis? Yes, I've met women with penises."

OH DO FUCK OFF LUCAS NORTH YOU UTTER MORON.

Merrymouse · 21/09/2025 12:46

‘If you go down the biological route, you will uncover a minefield’'

I would say this level of stupidity was very male, if so many women didn't express similar views.

He apparently lives in a world where nobody knows their sex so nobody can tell whether copious bleeding from your nether regions is a sign that you have your period or are minutes from death.

MarieDeGournay · 21/09/2025 12:01

Overshadowed by the trans issue? I gathered from the media that it was going to be overshadowed by the immigration issue. That's a lot of overshadowing....

blinking in the dark GIF by Yoni
Rightsraptor · 21/09/2025 11:47

I totally agree with Tim Farron that these are our flags, we should never have turned the other cheek while they were being appropriated by the far right (when that term actually meant something) and now we have to reclaim them.

They're ours.

I still wouldn't dream of having anything to do with the Lib Dems though.

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 21/09/2025 11:28

ArabellaSaurus · 21/09/2025 10:55

Useful to get that clarity. For anyone who was thinking of legal action.

I feel like they ought to change their name, since they are clearly neither liberals nor democrats.

ArabellaSaurus · 21/09/2025 11:27

fromorbit · 21/09/2025 11:25

You can watch the footage of the conference here;
https://x.com/treesey/status/1969343678654148959

Note Lucas is willing to debate the issue on gbnews a right leaning station but not in the conference.

Bit odd.

OnTheRoof · 21/09/2025 11:15

PollyNomial · 19/09/2025 09:54

Any political party which successfully stands to be elected to parliament can vote to change existing legislation and make any previous ruling void from that point on.

Edited

This is true. I have much more respect for the ones who understand this is what would be needed than the ones who think they can guidance an SC ruling away.

borntobequiet · 21/09/2025 11:15

Oh please please let someone take them to court. I’d be so happy to support a crowdfunder (think I’ve already said so, but never mind).