Gender Critical in Ireland Part 4

[MaeveofConnaught]

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/craicnet/4777231-gender-critical-in-ireland-part-3?page=40&reply=139277391
Last thread was full so starting a new one.

I hadn't the courage or resilience to listen to NS being interviewed on Newstalk because rightly or wrongly I expected her to get a free pass to justify her atrociously anti-women attitudes and policies because she was just #being kind.
And the usual baseless anti-JKR stuff.
So I admit I chickened out😐
I would be surprised but happy to be proved wrong. Anybody hear it?

Unfortunately we haven't the likes of For Women Scotland or Sex Matters or outstanding individuals like Maya Forstater or barrister Naomi Cunningham to challenge the anti-woman bias of current Irish equality legislation through the courts.

The UKSC clarified that the word 'sex' means 'biological sex' so single sex spaces designated for 'women' are reserved for biological females [and always have been, it's just that the existing law as ignored for ages]

We could never take a case like FWS did about the legal definition of the word 'sex' in equality legislation to our equivalent of the UKSC, because our legislation was somehow retrospectively amended to refer to 'gender' not 'sex'.
So spaces that in the past would have been women-only - refuges, toilets, changing room, rape crisis centres - must be open to anybody of any gender/sex who describes themselves as a woman, because our equality legislation has written women out as a social group, by removing sex as a protected characteristic.

We can't chip away and make gradual progress case by case, like UK women can. Unfortunately, we'd have to go right back to challenge the 2015 GRA and self-ID before there'd be any hope of re-establishing specific rights for women.

Depressingly, I don't think we have the numbers or the momentum the 'champions' here to do that.

I listened to the interview with Kieran Cuddidy and he's a history of mocking and laughing at those of us who are gender critical plus he went on about how he was a fellow Scot having been born there so it was a soft fawning interview as I expected.

I see in The Journal it’s reported that Heather Humphreys is saying that people didn’t understand last year’s referendum on removing reference to women in the home and amending the family article.

Really Heather ?

You have just lost any hope of a vote from me for insulting my intelligence.

Oh ffs.

I'm strongly leaning towards spoiling my vote, something I have never done before.

I don't think much of the three candidates but I cannot bring myself to vote for Catherine Connolly at all, don't want to vote for Heather Humphrey and any time I see Jim Gavin all I can think of is how he looks like Putin since I read somewhere that's who the poster said he reminded her of and now that's in my brain.

I'm the same honeyrider although for Gavin, to me it seems such a 1950s throw back to have a GAA manager standing for president.

Did you see who was released from Limerick prison today.

Who is the least worst option for President.

Harris and Martin are a disgrace as they caused this farce of an election.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/50368DceZxohZWGjd43FTr?si=XROeH5YPR8GTR11DkULqfQ

Paddy went to meet Barbie up on release from prison. This is the most bat shit thing I have heard in a long time

That is one disturbed individual.

Given his background, it's no wonder he has gender dysphoria. He needs some serious therapy whilst being incarcerated in the mental health hospital. He is not safe to be free.

I agree, it's an utterly shocking interview.
What all the hatred towards the parents? I don't know the back story there at all.
I'm so shocked at how young this person is!

His father abused his mother & got him to join in.

obviously it’s all his mothers fault!

He’s an adult now. I suffered abuse is not a pass to go on & abuse others.

Apparently the father was extremely abusive to both him and the mother and forced Barbie to join in the abuse of the mother.

That is horrific

As VaddaABeetch says, experiencing abuse in your own life doesn't excuse or even explain inflicting abuse on others.

The majority of children who are sexually abused are girls, so logically, if the 'cycle of abuse' theory was true, the majority of adults who abuse children would be women. In fact, the vast majority of child sex abusers are men who choose to be abusers, it's not inevitable.

They have the choice to do what my father did, who was badly abused as a child and instead of passing it on, chose instead to give his children the safest happiest childhood he could manage to provide.

BK is a sad damaged human being. I don't mean I feel any sympathy for him - though as I write that, I see him as the innocent little child even he was at some point - but in adulthood he is clearly not a well person and seems to need care and supervision for his sake as well as ours.

https://x.com/griptmedia/status/1974829450316681353?t=5I5peREa36yYO6xITaW9AA&s=19
I hope Ben gets a chance to ask Connolly and Gavin the same question.
Humphreys flip flops back and forth on the question, but seems to know what a woman is, kind of 🤔.
It's complicated.

I'm actually impressed with the clarity of her answer. She would classify them as transwomen rather than women and suggests that the GRA needs to be amended.

Maybe she'll get my vote as the least worst of the three of them plus she has a better chance of keeping Connolly, who is the most worst, out.

It does offer some hope.
She knows reality and knows a law that allows Kardashian to be a legally recognised woman is wrong.
She knows a Transwoman is not a woman.
But it's not complicated.
Sex needs to be a protected category and women need to have their hard fought for rights protected.

Logically it's not complicated. However, in reality, it is complicated given the legislation that has been put through, the enmeshment between the establishment and the TRA groups, and the media power the T has, particularly wrt cancelling. It's complicated because the sole aim of a politician is to remain in power and upsetting the apple cart can result in losing that power. But yeah, it would be nice if they would actually look at the greater good rather than self advancement.

Jim Gavin has withdrawn for the election so won't be asked now.

https://x.com/TheCountessIE/status/1976660947247771674?t=DNHQ1jkxYvEBgSwA2zNNIw&s=19
It's very likely this legislation will pass. One thing for sure we can't expect any of the parties in government or opposition, with the exception of Aontu, to fight against it.

Connolly: Up to individual to decide how many genders - Gript

Hyland then asked again: “But can I push you on how many genders though, do you think there are?”
“I think that’s up to the person deciding, and so there is a recognition – male and female – and there is a recognition by one or the other. Some people feel they don’t want to be restricted within that, and that’s up to them. I can only go back to my experience as a psychologist and how difficult it is, how difficult it is for all of us, to come to terms with ourselves.

“So is it a biological woman, someone who is born a woman?” Connolly was probed. “There’s a small group of people who wish to identify in a different manner than I do. I accept that completely; I think that’s not a big challenge to a democracy, to a healthy society, and that’s all I can say really,”

Alison Hyland on TippFM doesn't tolerate waffle, does she?!
She didn't actually manage to get a clear answer out of CC on TWAW, but that in itself is informative.

I didn't go to the festival of history talk but I'm pleased to hear there was some pushback

https://perfectlygoodwords.substack.com/p/dublins-difficult-women

I have serious reservations about Heather Humphreys but Catherine Connolly is a complete disaster.

This is the full interview. It's worth listening to all of it. Connolly spends the entire interview trying to avoid giving a direct answer to almost every question she is asked. I thought Hyland was very good in this interview. It's rare to see a journalist who doesn't allow a politician to waffle their way out of giving a direct answer. She kept bringing Connolly back to the questions. I also thought the section where she was asked about Elijah Burke was particularly interesting. Hyland was persistent in not letting her wriggle out of answering the question, which she said was the question Burke actually asked on the day.

I saw this post today which suggests that the Galway incident with Burke might fall under the heading of
'Recollections may vary'.

https://x.com/PaulTreyvaud/status/1977272034947481891?t=oN2bmjNFm2DW-otjJdL4ZQ&s=19

I'd still regard myself as left on most subjects but these days I support women. And I don't care what I'm called. I can no longer wholeheartedly support Palestinian right to statehood if it means Hamas and second class citizenship of women. It doesn't mean I support genocide of Palestinians or i want to impose a form of government on them. I want an end to war first and sort out the diplomatic stuff later