A call to action against "gender identity" laws.

[WitchingHour666]

Please sign and share this petition, if you are concerned about "gender identity" replacing biological sex in law.

www.change.org/p/theresa-may-mp-a-review-of-how-laws-based-on-gender-identity-conflict-with-laws-based-on-biological-sex?recruiter=607651790&utm_source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink

Signed and shared

Genuine question here...if I agree with the petition, and want to sign but don't want to share because I know someone who is trans or has had surgery to change their sex (sorry, minefield I'm just learning about the terminology), what do I say to them??? How do I explain myself without appearing transphobic? Thanks.

Why do you need to explain yourself? If you dont want to rock the boat with someone you know, sign and dont share.

I'm going to sign too, but I'd quite like some advice on the question decanter asked too. I know what I think, but don't know how to articulate it.

If they actually read the petition and what it says though, they should be able to see that its not actually transphobic surely?

Unless the people you know are those who would, for example, say that saying 'pregnant woman' and such is transphobic :S

YY. Although too long, the petition is very articulate and well reasoned, with not a sniff of transphobia.

I guess my question comes from not really being sure myself, how I feel about people who have gone through, or are going through surgery/transitioning.

I think it's reasonable to say:

"Given how the world is, and how you feel inside, I can see why you would want to use the label 'woman' to enable you to be seen as what you feel you are ... but I don't think the world should be like that, and I don't think you should have to take on that kind of label to express yourself, so I'm signing the petition to make sure we as a society look at broadening our understanding of what it means to be a man instead of rejecting anyone who doesn't fit the stereotype".

That's my position really.

You can sign it without anyone knowing if you don't want to share.

I signed this a while ago, just giving a bump I also can't share because of work.

It's reasonable to be wary of signing/sharing things you agree with on the surface, but which come from orgs or individuals you fundamentally disagree with. I sometimes find things I agree with re. the transagenda (and the sex industry) but then discover the people behind those articles have a right-wing christian agenda which I don't want to endorse. Sometimes people come to the same conclusions from totally different starting points. This petition was started by 'An on' and is not endorsed or linked with any organisation, group or individual.

Some people seem to agree with the text of the petition but won't sign because they think it has been started by 'TERFS'. What do you imagine a 'TERF' is? If you agree with the text of the petition then you are one, according to current popular opinion. It has as much meaning as 'witch', 'heretic' or 'infidel' and is just as effective at shutting people up.

If you agree with the text of the petition but won't sign because TERF then you have been shut down and silenced. This is how it happens.

Decanter
There is nothing in the petition that is against people who have gone through this process. To my mind they are people who have made choices that they may or may not come to regret, just like we all have at some pòint in our lives.

The problem is badly worded legislation, discrimination against women and children being at risk of being pushed into taking hormone treatment and surgery that will render then sterile and could well shorten their lives. One of the main reasons I signed it is because of the children.

If I was transgender I would want someone to tell me if they did not agree with it ( although I'd feel patronised by Mrs H's response I'd applaud her honesty).

I would want to distance myself from friends (ex friends) and family who felt this way about me.

Nerr - I realise I did sound like a twat there.

I kind of think it's like not reporting rape. In an ideal world we'd report every sexual assault/rape because we'd be treated kindly and taken seriously - and that's the system we campaign for. In the meantime and in the actual real world, even though I'd believe and support her, I probably wouldn't counsel any friend to go to the police and start official balls rolling.

In an ideal world a person with a penis could be called Steve and have bright pink nails and a tutu and a beard and nobody would blink; and that's the world we want and campaign for. In the real world, we see that he might attract attention doing so, and support her in shaving and calling herself Abigail.

Thanks for the responses to my question.

I guess what it comes down to is that I do agree with the petition, and I agree enough that I would be willing to share it. What stops me though is not that I can't accept critique or backlash, but rather that I'd feel I was being very unkind and disrespectful to someone who had gone through complete transition.

Why I don't feel that I'd be treating someone as badly who hadn't transitioned, is a question I can't fully answer. Do I feel that they aren't "serious enough" as they haven't embarked on or completed transition?

It truly hurts my head. What I do know is that penises do not belong in the Female bathroom or changing room.

Decanter, IME transwomen who have gone through complete transition are the most likely to understand why the current agenda harms women. Many of them have been quietly using women's facilities for years, without incident. It's not in their interest either to permit just any male person who says he identifies as a woman into these spaces. It puts us all at risk. Would it help to know that there are transwomen who are against the direction current discourse and laws are heading?

There has been a big shift in the last few years and now the vast majority of people who identify as trans have not had surgery. I don't blame them for this. Surgery is a massive, lifelong commitment and the results are often not great. If people can get by without it I think that's a good thing.

There has been a cultural shift though - trans no longer means what it used to mean. Gender is now purely a feeling in some people's heads and is totally separate to their bodies or how they feel about their bodies. So we get things like 'female penis' and 'non-binary'.

If you sign but don't share your friend will never know. If you do share, you probably will get some flack, but not necessarily from your trans friend. Don't assume you know what her views will be just because she is trans. If she is in favour of anybody who identifies as a woman being treated as female for all intents and purposes, why are you worried about hurting her feelings? She obviously doesn't care about yours.

Signed but not shared sorry.

Wow Plenty, a LOT to think about there. I appreciate your thoughts. I'm going to re read the original petition in light of the views I've read in response to my questions. I think a good hard think is in order...

As an (important) aside; if I'm struggling like hell to comprehend and process all this as a person, how am I supposed to do it as a parent

I don't think anybody should apologise or feel bad for not sharing. The personal risk for many of us (work, personal relationships ...) is disproportionate to the amount of difference we could each individually make by sharing. Keeping safe should be a priority.

There has been a cultural shift though - trans no longer means what it used to mean.

Yes this is what people need to know. I didn't until a couple of months back. I still thought it meant someone who had undergone a full 'sex change'...NOT any person who simply says they have a feeling in their head.

The two transwomen (both post-op) I know are terrified of what this new angle will mean for THEM. They say they have had no issues using female spaces or anything and that the way things are going is just breeding hatred. There has been a kind of 'honor system' in place as long as I can remember where transwomen have always been able to use the female restroom and that. The legislation and the angle of the TAs is asking for ANYONE who says they feel like a woman to get in. Which I disagree with completely. Why have sex segregation but ignore it if someone 'feels female' that day? Its a disaster waiting to happen

The collapse of the honour system whereby women tolerated known transsexuals in public loos is one aspect of the harm done by current trans activism. Up until a few years back transwomen would agree they identified as women but were biologically male. Now we have the nonsense of the cotton ceiling and the female penis, which is where I and many other previously sympathetic women draw our line in the sand.

Now every month - sometimes every week - that passes I find myself reaching yet another "peak trans." A transwoman athlete tries to stab a coach to death because it was about to emerge that his medals for women's events had been won under false pretences. A child is removed from his mother after she does him serious harm by trying to push him into transition under the advice of a supposedly responsible national charity.. As the Americans say, it's the gift that keeps on giving.