To think you can’t call yourself a liberal anymore if you don’t agree with gender ideology?

[Spookygoose]

I’ve always considered myself a liberal and I agree with all aspects of liberal political viewpoints, apart from gender ideology and the idea that there are more than two sexes. I hate the idea of being viewed as conservative or a Tory, but it seems these days people who reject the gender ideology movement are labelled conservative. Can you be a liberal and not agree with this?? I understand everyone is an individual and specific viewpoints differ from person to person, no matter what political identity they call themselves, however it seems anyone with anti trans views are labelled conservative. I think it’s more of a thing in America but maybe it’s becoming a bigger thing here too?..As a gay woman, one of my biggest issues with it is I feel it’s erasing gay rights and making society more homophobic

That's partly because its been a very deliberate tactic by parts of the far right to turn the trans debate into a Trojan Horse to bring the centre of gravity in feminism over to the right.

I'm not saying I believe the trans position on biology, by the way, I absolutely don't. But I think a lot of feminists have allowed themselves to be whipped up into a fairly crazy frenzy over this which has brought them into alignment with parts of right wing ideology which they otherwise wouldn't have touched with a bargepole.

Although it's not nice being labelled as something you feel is an unfair representation of your character/ politics, does it really matter if someone thinks you are more conservative, more left, more liberal etc than is the case? I'm comfortable with what I believe to be right or wrong and I'm also happy to change my mind. If someone wants to label me for believing X or having a particular opinion on Y, then they will. However, it does not make me that label. I will also have my opinion of them, which will exist whether they agree with it or not. Not everyone in life is going to like you. You could be the nicest person on earth and plenty wouldn't like you because you were 'too nice' and they'd think you fake/ wet/ stupid/ cowardly/ up to something... And sometimes 'being kind' to one group means hanging another out to dry, which isn't 'being kind'. So, at this point you just have to accept that some people will not agree with you, and that's OK, whatever they want to call you.

I agree with all aspects of liberal political viewpoints

So do the Conservatives. It's hard to find much to separate the moderate parties on social policy. All those battles have been fought and won.

People who are 'to the left of Labour' seem to be either trans-obsessives or they want to raise the already historically high tax burden to even more unsustainable levels. Neither of those are attractive policies to most voters.

The only way to defeat Reform is to make the Conservatives or Labour electable.

I'm not saying I believe the trans position on biology, by the way, I absolutely don't. But I think a lot of feminists have allowed themselves to be whipped up into a fairly crazy frenzy over this which has brought them into alignment with parts of right wing ideology which they otherwise wouldn't have touched with a bargepole.

The feminists were sounding the alarm about the problems with self ID and medicalising children long before the right wing showed any interest whatsoever. The right wing has come into alignment with feminists not the other way round.

I agree with this - the right have been very tactical about saying "the left don't want you anymore, we're the real feminists". While doing very little around any other women's rights issue, e.g. equal pay, support for childcare, rape/incel culture online.

I think there's actually quite a split of views amongst people on "the left," which is to say that you can find a variety of views on gender and/or trans inclusion in so-called progressive groups (e.g. socialist parties, environmental activists, poverty campaigners). As usual, the people with the hardest lines and the most extreme views shout loudest and get amplified.

I view the left embracing gender ideology as a temporary wrong turn.

As well those on the left who never believed in the ability to change sex there is a significant change since Cass and more recently the Supreme Court ruling.

I would always describe myself as left wing if asked but I don’t need a badge.

Too much polarisation and tribalism is how we have got to the current shitshow.

They are rapidly backing away from TWAW and have fully accepted the supreme court position. There is a Liberal Voice for Women group within the party. Unsurprisingly, the gender extremists are not happy.

@FOJN

The feminists were sounding the alarm about the problems with self ID and medicalising children long before the right wing showed any interest whatsoever. The right ring has come into alignment with feminists not the other way round.

Possibly: if I recall correctly there was near consensus from most of the political parties that self ID was a good thing until about 7-8 years ago.

My point is that a lot of feminists who previously considered themselves to be left of centre have pivoted right on a range of other issues post the trans debacle. I know of several women who I think have been basically radicalised because they were so upset about trans they started to view material which was otherwise aligned with quite far right views and shifted their position on other issues (immigration/taxation/foreign policy etc). I don't think this was a coincidence.

I'm not saying that being gender critical or anti self ID is a far right position: I don't think it is. But I think the far right has used it in a very canny way to pivot parts of the feminist movement.

1. You can call yourself what you like, or you can decline to participate in the labelling exercise and call yourself nothing at all. There is no legal obligation to identify as liberal or conservative or anything in between, nor is any offence committed if you pick a label that is misleading, or change your label from time to time.

2.	There is nothing inherently illiberal about understanding biological reality.

Absolutely you can.

i have pro woman rather than.anti trans views.

Not prioritising trans people's wants and needs over the wants and needs of biological women and girls in any and all situations as a blanket 'trans first' mentality does not make a person right wing.

https://communistparty.org.uk/2025/04/18/joint-statement-on-the-uk-supreme-court-ruling-on-biological-sex-and-the-equality-act-2010/

I've posted this before...
https://communistparty.org.uk/2023/03/29/the-gender-recognition-bill-and-equality-law/

https://www.cpbml.org.uk/news/sex-gender-and-women%27s-rights

The British Communist Party has a firmly gender critical stance. Gender ideology is actually weirdly conservative in its reification of traditional gender roles and complete denial of women's oppression by men. Gender criticals are the real left wing.

over time it's become clearer that economically speaking socialism is usually a disaster.
There is a huge difference between the communist type of socialism and modern social democracy.

there's no real meaningful competition to capitalism as an economic model.
There is a huge difference between rampant uncontrolled robber-baron capitalism and capitalism controlled and tempered by social democracy.

I always thought being liberal meant live and let live. Not that you had to agree with everyone. Those loads of religious beliefs I think are awful but I let others crack on with them.

I was very left wing up to my early 30's when the reality of what the "be kind" movement meant for women and the progression of rights for other people too.

Male people self-IDing and gaining access to spaces meant for women to me is madness; and the fact that anyone can now simply identify into a "most oppressed" category detracts from the good work activists interested in genuine equality and fairness between humans have been doing for decades. Much easier for businesses to celebrate 'trans inclusiveness' and do away with single sex facilities than tackle institutional racism and install accessible features in their offices for example.

Gender ideology and wider woke/"identity politics" thinking has caused SO MUCH division - all this no debate, cancelling and being offended rather than sitting down and having a rational conversation with people who have different values. We've gone backwards and honestly I blame what I consider extreme leftism - which is unfortunately quite common - for pushing people away from being interested in making society truly equal for all.

I tend to say to people I'm "old school leftie socialist" or "centre left" now.

Im a lefty liberal and consider gender ideology oppressive and regressive. I can't see it as anything other than a reinforment of harmful and restrictive stereotypes.

People mostly have a mixture of views from left, right and centre, from liberal to authoritarian, and we are inconsistent at times and/or change our minds. Very few people are at the political extremes.

That's partly because its been a very deliberate tactic by parts of the far right to turn the trans debate into a Trojan Horse to bring the centre of gravity in feminism over to the right.

Interesting take.

I thought that it was the "progressive" left that was at pains to equate GC with the far right - a deliberate tactic to tar GC as right wing - because how dare those uppity women fail to see how mean and nasty they are being to a vulnerable minority, and of course all the Good People of the left are without question in favour of supporting all vulnerable minorities. That is the raison d'être of the left (who have given up on the hard stuff like fighting poverty and wealth re-distribution).
In other words, if you are not in favour of protecting this vulnerable minority, you must be far right.

The new left have shifted the goalpost so far that the old school left are now just exclusionary bigots. I’m not even sure where I’d fall on the spectrum anymore, probably centre-right.

Yes you can be liberal and think that men's feels aren't superior to women's needs and dicks shouldn't allowed access to naked women and girls just because they say they are women's dicks.
In fact it's the sane and normal thinking. The conservative, backward, mysoginistic thinking is you can't wear a dress without chopping off your dick. It's actually how it works in some countries where women are worth half a goat.

What do you mean when you say "radicalised"? Are they learning to build bombs or setting sail with the intention of sinking dinghies in the English channel or do they simply not agree with your world view anymore.

One side of the political spectrum refused to hear women's concerns over self ID, multiple politicians insulted women, several women were thrown out of the Labour Party for their sex realist beliefs, Rosie Duffield was unable to attend her own party conference because of violent threats, left wing activists disrupted women's meetings, threatened them with violence and reported them to the police and their employers.

The other side of the political spectrum listened and changed their mind without issuing insults or threats of violence.

It's telling that you describe the women as radicalised rather than left wing political parties.

You might not like it but you could at least try to understand.

"Progressive" left isn't progressive. Open your eyes people, especially women. The left hates you.

God I really hate the way that the American meaning of liberal seems to have ridden roughshod over the proper British meaning in the public discourse. Churchill was a liberal.

I consider myself fairly centrist. Everyone can do as they like as long as it doesn't hurt someone else. The gender ideology put women at risk - no need to debate the safe spaces as it's been legally ruled on. What annoys me about it is the belligerence of the men involved (as ever) to get what they want at all costs. I have friends who are gay and they've set the tolerance levels for average people back 20 years by forcing themselves into every area of society with such aggression and self importance it's actually quite enraging. I honestly had no issue with them until they had to "fight" into female spaces and take our rights away for their own. I have zero issue with transmen (women who transition) because every one of them I have encountered has been respectful to their chosen gender and not aggressive in any way at all.

It does in the UK. Unfortunately the youth have adopted the American meaning of the word, presumably from TikTok or somewhere equally ghastly.