So how do I live in the female gender?

[Definitelynamechanged123]

There are 8834 people in the UK who have a Gender Recognition Certificate.
I am one of them.

To get it, I had to show evidence of transition, surgery etc. Lots of hoops

I also had to swear a Statutory Declaration. I had to go to a Magistrates Court and swear a legal declaration in front of a magistrate. It was all very formal.

I had to swear this:

" have lived as a (insert ‘male’ or ‘female’ as appropriate)
throughout the period of years before the date of this statutory
declaration and I intend to live in that gender until death."

This declaration is legally binding. Apparently if I don't follow this, I can be done for perjury.

So...how do I live as a female and live in that gender until death - I have sworn to do this in front of a magistrate.

I was very surprised that so few trans people have Gender Recognition Certificates.

Maybe you should have asked that before you signed up to it?

And maybe the legislators should have tried to define that before writing something so meaningless and nonsensical into law.

There is no "female gender", except when using "gender" as a synonym for "sex, which would mean only female-sexed people can ever 'live in' it. Otherwise it's totally meaningless.

Aren't we? Sometimes you need to?

I'm white but I want to live as a black person. How do I do that?

I disagree sex and gender are different things.

Sex- the immutable objective physical characteristics defining the reproductive role. Can apply to any living thing that reproduces sexually.

Gender- the expression of that sex are in society. Applies only to humans.

For example me and a 11th century Japanese female are the same sex i.e we both has the same reproductive system, but woman would mean something different t to her than it does to me.

Trans-woman is therefore a male gender as it is an expression of the male sex in society.

I can't imagine their male prisons are particularly nice either.

There is so much more to women's spaces than public or workplace toilets. Prisons and Hospitals being two places where women are particularly vulnerable

You were sold a lie OP, it’s impossible for you to live as a woman because you aren’t one and can never be one. Other men decided that was possible and we weren’t asked. As you seem only too aware some men have bizarre ideas of how women live.

Surgery can only create a (poor) facade, even (especially) the hypersexualized blow up doll facades are just a mask. Many women don’t take a second look or challenge because we’re afraid of male violence, it doesn’t mean transwomen who have had cosmetic surgery pass as female.

And I’m sure you’re aware by now rapists who have not had surgery have been able to get a GRC, that should have told you how meaningless it is! Why would any decent person still think it should confer any privileges?

Just get on with it like we all do

Well blacking up is considered offensive.

Would the difference be more colourful clothes, gospel choirs, and Caribbean curry ?

But that's just 1970s stereotypes. Although the currys are yummy 😋

Can't understand this trans stuff, it's not like all us women are exactly the same in our behaviours and reactions and thoughts and opinions etc etc. No such thing as "living like a woman"

Most of us live in the body we're born with and get up every day and get on with it.

A bit of paper does fuck all to make any of that happen

All people meet challenges in our lives, doesn't mean cutting bits off and taking hormones will stop that

OP I wouldn't worry about it. The declaration helps the authorities to recognise your application as genuine.

You don't have to act or dress certain way. As long as you don't officially identify yourself as man again you're fine.

Love this.

The idealisation of other cultures’ “more fluid gender roles” is naive anthropological stereotyping 101. Things are often much more complex and less ideal than they appear in other countries.

Trans or gender non confirming people in Thailand and Vietnam, etc, do not necessarily have an easy time of it at all.

Hijras in India similarly. Feted as special and useful now and then but actually quite a boundaried and separated community. Not particularly likely to be dropping off the kids to daycare and then hanging out with the other mums and dads, before shooting off to their high status high paying jobs.

Very culturally naïve to cite other cultures as being innately more open to gender fluidity.

You and many others clearly decided to ignore OP's actual question in order to have your little rant.
OP is not asking how to be a woman but rather is intrigued by government's expectation regarding the declaration of gender.

Where have all these trans people suddenly come from on this thread? All while for many months (years) we (biological women) have been debating amongst ourselves on MN about how we can fight to keep our safe spaces free from men, and bar the odd trans supporter, nothing from a transwoman. But it appears they were just lurking on the fringes watching us, probably smugly thinking that they would have access to our toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards, sports, with no legal chance of this ever being questioned. And now they have been called out for what they are, they slide onto these posts one by one in a concerted effort to cancel out our voices.

Personally I think you all should be ashamed for demanding so much time and resources. Courts are for important matters. Not utter nonsense. It’s hard to believe this even exists…. only extremely self important creeps think their pronouns are so important that everyone should cater to “their royal highness” or whatever you identify as, let alone care about it

The worst is we can’t take small kids to public libraries because it’s all about little boys who want to wear high heels and make up. Actually my daughter isn’t allowed to wear high heels and make up because it is inappropriate sexualization of a child.

The trans movement is, at core, about sexualizing children

Otherwise you would keep your preferences among adults instead of insisting on being in public schools libraries etc .

@Lovelysausagedogscrumpy

You are wrong!

The name changed from disabled to accessible. A name change, nothing more!
The use didn’t.

Everyone has always been allowed to use them
There is no law and has never been excluding anyone from disabled or accessible toilets
From the very beginning

Agree @usernamealreadytaken

What a load of tripe. Show me the made up stats you’re quoting from.
And AFAB? Another load of tripe. Sex is not assigned at birth. Google yourself some education.

Yes and don’t forget the Etoro who engage in ritual child rape

and the dancing boys of Afghanistan

the world is full of cultures who engage in pedophilia and sexualizing of children

It doesnt make it good

the trans movement is an extension of the pro pedophile movement. Period

@Done2much I think that's it exactly.

I can understand men wanting to have bigger choices of clothing. But beyond that I just don't get it.

The things a woman can do that a man can't (ovulate, pregnant, give birth, and breastfeed a child) no amount of "living like a women" can make happen.

I can't think of anything else women can do that men in dresses can't.

And vice versa men can probably lift heavier stuff than women and more likely to be able to reach the back of the top shelfs in supermarkets. No amount of hormones is going to change that.

Ok. You’re not explaining what you think ‘being female’ is because of its magical multiplicity.

Can you say any more about what being male is? Given you have a fear of society seeing you in that way? Do you mean as literally being what you are - someone with male biology? Or do you mean someone aligned with particular things that have been termed masculine - and if so, what?

Yes, they’re meant for disabled men and women, because they have more difficulty using the ordinary facilities and may not be physically able to queue.

People without special needs should not use them.

Tbh many trans people have regularly commented on mn threads. Usually not very constructively and occasionally starting posts late at night to not ‘be very nice’.

I think some people get a kick out of it.

No offence intended to anyone on here including OP ( who’s asking a question of concern ) but I wonder if some groups sit together in their homes or the pub or whatever and decide to wind some mumsnetters up for a laugh.
Hay ho.

Let’s face it, doing so isn’t exclusive to trans people

Yes they can.
The facility ‘provides for’ but is never ‘exclusively for’ one group.

Yes you're right. Vast majority then 🙂

@Isabellivi well, I agree there are a lot of disturbing child sexualisation practices around the world but personally I do not think that the trans movement is an extension of the pro paedophilia movement by definition 😳.

I also think it is unhelpful to think of the trans movement as some sort of monolith.

There is definitely some very problematic co-opting of young children into gender ideology and no doubt some inappropriate sexual exploitation of children. however, I don’t think the majority of trans identified people are paedophiles or have the main aim of legitimising paedophilia. That really IS going too far toward the mad section 28 all gay people are paedos stuff. For me.