I'm Jack Monroe. Ask me anything.

[MxJackMonroe]

Hi Mumsnet.

It seems every time I am in the news, a MN thread about all things transgender crops up. I didn't see the last one (yesterday?) as I don't come on here very often these days - people who eavesdrop etc etc. I was cooking in a tent in a muddy field all day, having a ball, not googling myself on the internet!

The thread was deleted - which was nothing to do with me, nor my lawyer. The day I call him about a MN thread is the day I pack everything in for good. So far only the Mail and Hopkins have had legal action taken against them, and both for quite serious statements. I'm not rich enough nor quite bothered enough to call him every time someone says mean words on the internets.

ANYWAY. Threads about me tend to get deleted. So here's a new one. Because there are clearly some questions that keep coming up, criticisms that I could answer, speculation I could clarify and untruths that could do with correction.

So I'm taking questions. I'm an adult and I take an awful lot of criticism and unkindness online, on the chin. I am pretty mentally stable right now, and feel this could be a constructive discussion.

In order to stop this descending into pandemonium, using general 'chair' rules, to start with I'll take one question from each user - if it's quiet and everything gets answered, feel free to add follow up questions.

It doesn't have to be about boobs, dresses, hormones. Literally ask me anything.

MN - please don't delete this thread. I think people have valid things to say and I'm here with my big girl/boy pants on to hear them.

Over to you.

Hi. I don't know who you are, sorry. But don't take it personally, I'm not in the UK.

It appears from this thread you are trans and it has become a "thing" around your narrative and you have been put in the position of explaining it quite a bit.

Do you ever feel like saying to interviewers "You know I've spoken about that in previous interviews, feel free to look up my quotes as they won't have changed". Would they get snotty if you did?

Great post Maudlin.

My DS wore pink as a kid, he loved the colour. My DD played with cars and climbed trees, cos' that's what she liked doing. I'm not entirely sure whether gender specific issues were of any relevance to either me, or them.

All of DD's friends wear very 'girly' and stereo-typically feminine clothes. DD wears T Shirts and Doc's. They are all comfortable with their choices. Again, I am not sure gender has a role to play with said choices. They are all in my living room, watching shite TV.

As long as both my DC feel empowered to make whatever decisions they wish with their life, and they know I love em' unconditionally, that's cool.

I like you recipe books and have both and use them often. I don't read your blog, Twitter feed of any newspaper articles as I'm really not interested.

Fair play for this thread Jack. I've read some of the times MN get folk on to do webchats and most ignore the more difficult questions.

Good luck with stuff.

I used to be mistaken for a boy as a child, and I loved it, not because I wanted to be a boy but because I enjoyed the freedom of being able to do what boys do. When my body changed and I could no longer do that, I hated it. My first boyfriend had a very warm and very funny group of mates - lovely, silly, supportive, competitive, musical, hilarious friends. I longed to be a part of their group and was delighted when one of them asked me out and then disappointed that he wasn't inviting me to be friends with his friends, but our "couple life" was expected to take place in different places, doing different things, and I wasn't seen as someone who could take part in any of those things at all. If I had been given the choice of changing my body to fit in with them, would I have taken it? I didn't have the choice, so I only got to hang out with one of them, as a "girlfriend"

I find it easy enough to define what is a woman, it's an adult human female. I know you don't agree with this definition though, so t would be good to hear yours?

This is where 'identity politics' gets us. A white male pretends to be an Asian Hindu woman, takes over the running of a women's centre. The emperor is naked, people. Time to wake up.

purplesagefem.wordpress.com/2016/04/15/white-man-who-identifies-as-a-hindu-woman-is-a-university-womens-centre-coordinator/

I'm on a train heading back from Ipswich, so I've copied and pasted the questions posted so far and will answer them in a Word document and upload when I get back somewhere with Internet. So I'm not 'failing' to answer questions, I'm getting a 6 year old home on 5 kinds of public transport without even a YouTube video of funny cats to help us through.

Ignore if this question has been answered a 100 times before, but isn't it just a matter of genes and x and y chromosomes etc?

Mephisto, I agree with that definition, and that's how I know I am a woman.
If I ask others though, their definition will usually include makeup, high heeled shoes, nice bags, spa weekends, sparkly fluffy things, in which case I am definitely not a woman, and nor are many of the women I know.
I much prefer logical biology.
It would good to think we'd moved on from Sugar and spice and all things nice, but sadly I think this has become more and more ingrained.

Do you agree it's problematic to have biological men in female only spaces, such as changing rooms and toilets?

Feel free to post more questions but if the thread descends into pandemonium and gets deleted in my absence I'll be right fucked off.

Didn't read or comment on the previous thread, but did read several articles about you over the weekend.

Here's wherevI get confused:

You say you want to be treated as a 'human', but if someone doesn't outwardly say this does this mean that they are conforming to one gender or not?

As in, I don't quite get why it is so important to tell people where you're at on the so called gender binary and see this as quite a fluid thing anyway. Perhaps I'm under thinking this as I've never felt overtly judged?

I'm not sure what my point is exactly now I've written that, but I found the quotes ascribed to you interesting as I didn't see why it was important either way why people knew how you identified. I for one just saw you as a person who did a cooking blog etc

Following with interest. I used to wish I was a boy as a child because I hated the restrictions of femininity being pushed on to me. The boys had all the cool stuff.

What does feminism mean to you ?

Jack I support you and what you stand for. I hope that as the world becomes more accepting of people of all genders and people who are fluid or non binary that users on sites like MN will become more understanding.

Where do you get your hair cut?

Hi Jack, I appreciate you being here and answering our questions. I look forward to reading your answers.

How would you respond to this quote from Glosswitch:

"Non-binary is not an alternative identity to woman. It's an alternative politics to feminism, which sees all women as non-binary.
Thinking some or even most women "match" the social definition of woman while you're the exception is what we used to call sexism."

I'd also like to echo Empress's point about the threat to women's rights. There seems to be a complete denial from trans activists that any clash of rights exists, despite much evidence to support feminists' concerns about self-declaration and the concept of gender identity. Our questions are silenced with deletion, name-calling and no-platforming, but never properly addressed.

Ooh oh I have another...what are your favourite Reddit subs? Do you go on Reddit?

Book marking. Hello Jack, best of luck with your journey home.

I have to admit to having hidden the feminism topic because of all the trans threads that have been posted recently, it almost feels like it's saturating what I see online for some reason! I'm very much of an "each to their own" mentality in general, but some of the threads about biological males being able compete in women's sports do make me wonder wtf is going on. What are your thoughts in relation to trans althletes?

I literally sat down after having made your chickpea and peach curry for dinner tonight and have 'A Girl Called Jack' on my knee.

Friday night is now known as 'Penny pizza' night. My daughters love them, make them themselves and say they never want a shop-bought pizza ever again.

You are a real inspiration in so many ways, not least for the way you are conducting yourself in the public eye.

No girl crush here.... cough

What's the point of this thread?
You dont even have the time to sit and replies to questions.
Isn't attention seeking?

Hi Jack
You have my admiration for starting this thread.

I too am concerned at the rise in 'trans' as I believe it is often anti women and anti-gay/lesbian. I appreciate you are speaking only for yourself but I would like your views on the affect that Trans, and specifically MtF Trans issues have on women's rights. It appears once more that women's rights can be sacrificed for any number of other minority rights, even when we are actually half the population

In particular, I would be interested to know your views on the term TERF (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist) being used as an insult to women who object to many of the Transwomen's demands

Do you agree with pre-op MTF trans women being allowed to compete against women in sporting events?

Given sports are a purely physical pursuit and trans women still have male advantages of size, bone structure, muscle mass etc won't this just remove women from sports entirely?

Isn't it just

Good on you for facing the vipers . I just don't understand any of it. As I see it, you're born with a penis or a vagina, male or female. What you do after that, the life you choose to lead, the clothes you choose to wear are down to the individual. I don't understand why you (anyone) can't just say, this is me, Jack and this is how I look/behave. Jack is an individual. Why do we need a third gender or what have you?

Jack, well done on coming to talk.

I'm one of those 'ally' people who sit on the sidelines of the crap that goes on in the threads on here going 'wtf?'

At the end of the day, i dont see why people need to get so knotted up about how people identify and live their lives, and i'm sorry you keep feeling the need to have to speak out like this in response to the endemic ignorance of other people feeling the need to use their prejudice and lack of ability to understand, as a stick to beat you with!

My only question is.. isn't 'they' a bit othering? Its kind of like asking someone to talk about you in the third person, and i would struggle as it would feel rude from the way i was raised.

Today 14:21Cocolepew

What's the point of this thread?
You dont even have the time to sit and replies to questions.
Isn't attention seeking?*

I've given it a good go, and will return later. I've just had a profile piece in a national newspaper, I'm hardly short of 'attention'. I thought it would be useful and constructive, and so far, I think it has been.