To think it is not at all sad that the Women's Institute is now only for actual women?

[SingleSexSpacesInSchools]

“Incredibly sadly, we will have to restrict our membership on the basis of biological sex from April next year,” Green said. “But the message we really want to get across is that it remains our firm belief that transgender women are women, and that doesn’t change.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/dec/03/womens-institute-no-longer-accept-trans-women-members-april

Tellingly - they still think women can have a penis.

Perhaps try the ‘handmaids’ section if you think a victory for women’s rights and protections are too boring for you.

If they're incredibly sad then why do it?

I'm glad they did it by the way, I just don't understand what got them to do it.

a letter before action did...

I remember having a (friendly) debate with someone about this when I was pregnant with my first child. 1999. More than just a decade.

They’re between the law and not being a single sex space.

They could have admitted these men by becoming mixed sex.

Was the Supreme Court anti-trans when they said the definition of woman means biological woman - or were they just factually & legally accurate?

Good

I am really pleased to hear that the WI and indeed the GG have finally agreed to follow the law. What was worrying me most was the number of organisations that have delayed and delayed implementing the Supreme Court judgement. If big organisations felt that they didn't have to follow the law on this what else do you think they would have started to ignore because they didn't agree with it? This move is very important for women but it should also be seen as part of the bigger social and legal picture.

I walked away from both the WI and took my girls out of guiding because of their anti-women policies and frankly I don't think I will be going back even with this change because of the begrudging attitude. Including men in the senior ranks of the organisation created an impact and a change of focus that will remain even once they have gone.

Grow up 🙄

I think it’s sad that a private organisation cannot decide for itself if it wants an inclusive organisation or not. Personally if I was not happy with the membership policies I would simply not join that establishment.I

It does seem like they want to try and arrange trans exclusive “sisterhood” groups next year. I wonder if the law will allow that.

the trans community can take care of their trans "sisters" and set up an organisation, surely?

because otherwise it is women doing all the work for men. Again.

Those men should never have been there in the first place.

A handful of men will now be upset because they don't get to use other women as validation. Tough shit.

What wasn't fair was that for years women who had joined a single sex organisation were forced to accept that Peter, who has changed his name to Petra, was allowed to join because he felt like a woman.

No thought given to the actual women who may have had legitimate reasons for not wanting a man in their single sex women only meeting, sharing their loos etc.

The people at the top of the WI gave not one shiny shit about their actual women members.

Quite frankly I'm at a loss as to why I should care about the feelings of some men who will now be upset, or why some men should be allowed to stay somewhere they aren't supposed to be and in the main aren't welcome.

Of course the WI can change its charitable objectives and its admission criteria and become open to all men and women.

What the WI can't do it say its for women only and admit a small subsection of men.

It's not that hard to grasp.

That's not a rebuttal.

When someone says tgat dedicating resources to vulnerable women and children isn't helping people, they're revealing how unimportant they think women and children are.

Yeah - I think reasoned open debate is fine (that's good of me isn't it ;-)) I guess what worries me, from a perception perspective, is the slightly gleeful stuff when you're up against the little old lonely trans lady.

And the 'well go and set up your own rape crisis centres!' stuff. That works for the tiny proportion of us who know something about the history of British feminism, but it doesn't work for anyone else, I think. Most people think domestic violence shelters were set up by the government, and they don't understand why feminists would want to stop brutalised trans people from using a public service.

I guess, in general, I would like us to try to talk to the average man/woman in Aldi, using a tone they wouldn't think was shitty. I think at the moment we're mostly talking to ourselves, in a tone that the average person finds a bit offputting. Literally tone-policing, I know. But I think it's important.

Woman’s institute. Clues in the name 🙄

So are you all ok with a trans man turning up to your next WI meeting? He'll be presenting very much as male but who knows what he's packing, are you going to check? Absolutely ridiculous, the whole bunch of you. What exactly do you think trans people are going to get up to at the WI? Make the tea the wrong way? Do a slightly dodgy flower arrangement? Infiltrate the scone baking process? Do you have any idea of the mental and physical trauma a trans patient goes through? Do you have an inkling what it might be like living in the wrong body? Do you really think someone would go through all that to gain access to women at a WI event? Oh yes I forgot this is MN where tolerance only goes one way and where everyone believes those who choose to no longer be male must be a rapist. Where's your humanity?

Yeah, and how does it help people being subjected to religious persecution, genocide, lack of water rights, the inability to make good puff pastry, poor posture, or political imprisonment?

It can decide. But it either lets in all men, or no men. It can't admit trans identifying men and not other men. Inclusivity, init.

Gosh what an eloquent argument, totally changed my mind

I know it's the law right now, but all it takes is a majority in Parliament and a different kind of government and we could have a new law that eradicates 'female' as a legal definition

and we will take to the streets. Again. As often as it takes. Men with daughters (because it so often takes a daughter to make a man realise what utter pillocks many men are) will join in. But #NotAllMen obviously because some of them are utter pillocks.

i really really really wish we could take away all the rights that women have won since the 50s from people who spout this utter bollocks.

Equal rights only for actual card-carrying feminists.

Why?

Genuine question.

Ok - not really changed anything I have said.

I think every woman knows that the presence of a man changes a group dynamic so the idea that a man could have been just getting on with making their scones without having an impact is unconvincing. The notion that women members should be expending their energy validating the poor sad men is just insulting.

Women members just want to get in with making scones, chatting to other women, relaxing, learning and laughing in an all female environment, why shouldn't they be allowed to do just that?

I was about to respond along these lines

The WI can be a mixed sex based organisation. Can change its rules right now. Everyone would know where they stand. Any man, whether trans identifying could then join.

BUT the point is the WI needs to appeal to its biological centred adult female base, as it always had. They’re the bottoms that fill most of seats. And a large amount of them would not stay in an upfront mixed sex organisation allowing any man to come along, even if he didn’t think he was a woman.

so it’s got itself into the pickle of how it defines woman, so as to still pretend it’s about women only. And now courts have said, nope, that’s not definition of women

i have no sympathy at all. Even now they can put their money where their mouth is, and stop lamaenting, and just bloody admit they’ve been a mixed sex organisation for years, and intend to just say that. Any man, pretending he’s a owmen on the day, can rock up then. They need to stop fannying around by including some men and excluding others. And sitting on fence in pretence of being kind. .