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Original poster

Why do you care so much about gender issues?

259 replies

GCScot · 15/12/2025 11:34

Longtime lurker, first time poster.

I'm fully GC, mainly due to this board. So first of all, thank you for all the excellent thoughtful discussion!

DH and most of my family are also GC. But they don't care about it anywhere near as much as me. This got me wondering - why do some of us care so much about gender ideology?

My reasons are:

  1. I'm a lifelong feminist. Gender ideology causes so many issues for women. But the attempted redefinition of the very word woman feels like an actual existential threat
  1. I'm a lifelong lefty. Finding myself on 'the other side' to left-wing political parties, friends, and institutions I have trusted all my life (The Guardian, BBC, NHS, universities) has completely thrown me. Am I wrong? If I'm not wrong, how have they gone so spectacularly wrong?
  1. I have a science background. The (wilful?) ignorance of the basic science of biological sex and the prioritisation of feelings over facts enrages me
  1. I have personally had a double mastectomy and hormone therapy for breast cancer. These were extreme medical treatments to save my life and have long-term health repercussions - I am at high risk of heart disease and osteoporosis. The fact that physically healthy children and vulnerable young people are being encouraged to undergo these treatments makes me sad and angry
  1. The 'No debate' aspect of this issue is totally against my values. I work for a fully captured institution (Scottish university) and being unable to freely speak about this issue means that it is frequently running through my mind

Do any of the above resonate with others? Do you have any additional reasons why you care so much about this issue?

OP posts:
Original poster
GCScot · 15/12/2025 12:01

WookeyHole · 15/12/2025 11:49

Interestingly I am neither a lifelong feminist nor lefty but now find myself in those camps. My key reasons:

  1. Through my 20s and 30s I did a lot of sport to a relatively high amateur level. I trained six days a week on top of a full time job and know the sacrifices I had to make to do that, just as an amateur. Winning spots in teams was everything to me, made me proud and spurred me on, no matter how we performed in competitions. Every single female spot taken by a TIM is a spot taken from a female. The conversation shouldn’t just be about elite sport, it needs to be about all sports. The stats on girls dropping out of sport as teens are terrible and girls don’t need additional barriers.
  2. I grew up through the “ladette” years and accepted what I now see as unacceptable comments as banter. It’s only with the benefit of middle aged wisdom that I realise what a profoundly negative impact so much of that had on my self confidence and how it defined my self worth. It is not acceptable for men to make judgements about women in any circumstances, and I see men barging in on females’ sports, spaces, activities and events as the next iteration of that (N.b. I know the laddettes were females, but it was encouraged by the males).
  3. Even now I still have body image issues and hate group changing rooms. The thought of a male being allowed into those spaces - the same males who 30 years ago thought it was ok to talk about my breasts, legs, or bum enrages me.
  4. I have a daughter. I will not let he go through that.

Totally agree about men in women's sports affecting all women who want to participate in sport. I know people who say it is unimportant because there are only a few transwomen barging their way into women's sport. Thank you for articulating how important it really is. There are enough barriers to women in sport already!

OP posts:
EmpressDomesticatednottamed · 15/12/2025 11:59

I was implicitly told I could do anything growing up. I didn't really worry too much about sexism, i knew i was equal. These regressive stereotypes worry me.

Same here, gender sterotyping, damage to children and erosion of womens sex based rights. Oh and the development of a really horrible bullying culture that tries to shut up people with the wrong opinons while the people doing it stroke their egos about how lovely they think they are. I don't give a fuck about gender and would be happy to never hear the bloody word ever again.
Plus it makes no sense,you have to make yourself stupid to believe in it and I have always resisted making myself stupid, even though I was first called a witch when I was about 7 and it was largely to do with being cleverer than a lot of boys.

Also having a life threatening endocrine system disorder and knowing how little is known about it and the crudity of the treatment I think messing about with endocrine systems is a fucking stupid idea.

When I was growing up I started to do something that there really weren't any women role models for, but because of the way I was brought up and the opportunities I had it simply never occurred to me that I couldn't do it.

Politically, well what the fuck to do? It has led me to think much more in a framework that centres women and deal with the emotional consequences of casting myself loose from any tribal affiliation, which I am now quite comfortable with. Bastards the lot ot them.

Shedmistress · 15/12/2025 11:58

I'm interested in reality.

I dont believe in any religion.

I don't think gay and lesbian kids, autistic kids, looked after kids and kids with ten times the number of registered sex offenders as parents should be mutilated or sterilised or live their lives as grown ups with childrens minds and bodies.

Call me crazy like.

Original poster
GCScot · 15/12/2025 11:56

DialSquare · 15/12/2025 11:42

I think for me, apart from the obvious conflict with women’s rights and damage to children, none of it makes any sense. It’s the same reason I’m an atheist. It’s ridiculous that some people insist we all go along with the nonsense that men can be women. I keep thinking that we’re going to wake up and it was all a dream like Bobby Ewing being in the shower. But too much damage has been done to be so flippant about it.

I'm also an atheist. I have come to consider a belief in gender ideology as akin to a religion (a cult, even). The believers push each other to greater feats of belief in a purity spiral and ostracise non-believers as heretics

I think a belief in gender ideology should only be protected in law to the same extent that religious belief is: believers are rightly protected from discrimination but cannot impose their beliefs on others to the detriment of human rights

OP posts:
WookeyHole · 15/12/2025 11:49

Interestingly I am neither a lifelong feminist nor lefty but now find myself in those camps. My key reasons:

  1. Through my 20s and 30s I did a lot of sport to a relatively high amateur level. I trained six days a week on top of a full time job and know the sacrifices I had to make to do that, just as an amateur. Winning spots in teams was everything to me, made me proud and spurred me on, no matter how we performed in competitions. Every single female spot taken by a TIM is a spot taken from a female. The conversation shouldn’t just be about elite sport, it needs to be about all sports. The stats on girls dropping out of sport as teens are terrible and girls don’t need additional barriers.
  2. I grew up through the “ladette” years and accepted what I now see as unacceptable comments as banter. It’s only with the benefit of middle aged wisdom that I realise what a profoundly negative impact so much of that had on my self confidence and how it defined my self worth. It is not acceptable for men to make judgements about women in any circumstances, and I see men barging in on females’ sports, spaces, activities and events as the next iteration of that (N.b. I know the laddettes were females, but it was encouraged by the males).
  3. Even now I still have body image issues and hate group changing rooms. The thought of a male being allowed into those spaces - the same males who 30 years ago thought it was ok to talk about my breasts, legs, or bum enrages me.
  4. I have a daughter. I will not let he go through that.
GatherlyGal · 15/12/2025 11:47

The main reason is my quirky, autistic lesbian daughter now believes her body needs fixing so she is taking testosterone and planning to remove her breasts.

In a close second is the fact that I believe in women's rights and fighting for the rights of something you cannot clearly define is very difficult.

Also I don't believe that the feelings of men who want to dress up as women are more important than the actual safety and dignity of women.

Beowulfa · 15/12/2025 11:43

Once you see it you can't unsee it. I'm not sure those who say they're GC but don't really care that much have really looked properly yet.

DialSquare · 15/12/2025 11:42

I think for me, apart from the obvious conflict with women’s rights and damage to children, none of it makes any sense. It’s the same reason I’m an atheist. It’s ridiculous that some people insist we all go along with the nonsense that men can be women. I keep thinking that we’re going to wake up and it was all a dream like Bobby Ewing being in the shower. But too much damage has been done to be so flippant about it.

TeenToTwenties · 15/12/2025 11:38

I have daughters who due to various things are vulnerable emotionally and physically.

I was implicitly told I could do anything growing up. I didn't really worry too much about sexism, i knew i was equal. These regressive stereotypes worry me.