Petitions and activism
Repeal the GRA
seXX · 30/11/2022 10:31
Saw this mentioned on another thread but couldn't see it linked here.
Repeal the GRA:
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/628382
HopRockers · 06/01/2023 22:33
10,932 signatures
💚🤍💜
Please sign & share & share!
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/628382
💚🤍💜
Whereareyourshoes · 09/01/2023 07:03
11,153 💚🤍💜
Please sign and share ⬇️
Repeal the GRA:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/628382
HopRockers · 31/01/2023 03:06
Government responded
This response was given on 30 January 2023
As announced in 2020, we believe the Gender Recognition Act 2004 is effective, strikes the right balance and allows for those who wish to legally change their sex. We have no plans to change it.
13,097 signatures
💚🤍💜
Scientistranswidow · 31/01/2023 09:47
I am not giving up. There is no way that UK law should encompass and give priority to insane people. Section 25 of the GRA defines gender dysphoria as a "disorder", a mental disorder. Why is this particular disorder singled out for special treatment? Why not others like schizophrenia or bipolar disease? There is nothing rational about conferring a special status on transsexual men - a "sacred caste" as Graham Linehan rightly calls them. I hope that this response is not to be taken at face value, but is actually a "holding response".
HopRockers · 31/01/2023 10:26
Scientistranswidow · 31/01/2023 09:47
I am not giving up. There is no way that UK law should encompass and give priority to insane people. Section 25 of the GRA defines gender dysphoria as a "disorder", a mental disorder. Why is this particular disorder singled out for special treatment? Why not others like schizophrenia or bipolar disease? There is nothing rational about conferring a special status on transsexual men - a "sacred caste" as Graham Linehan rightly calls them. I hope that this response is not to be taken at face value, but is actually a "holding response".
Hard agree!
Slothtoes · 31/01/2023 14:36
I don’t agree that GRC applicants are insane, I’m not sure how helpful that category application is and is going to get into a side debate.
I think the principle of being able to change legal sex is wrong and the need to keep the GRA has passed long ago. From millions of years of human existence, everyone knows that you can’t change sex. We recognise sex markers. Biological sex is unchangeable from conception.
The GRA was a sexist, homophobic poorly thought through workaround to try to give rights to a tiny subset of the many people who were denied the opportunity to marry, before same sex marriage came in. Back in 2004 instead of saying same sex marriage or same age pension rights should be allowed, a legal fiction was created which allowed a few people to claim that they were having an opposite-sex wedding while continuing to keep the church and conservative thinkers happy that the majority of lesbian, gay and bisexual people would be continued to be denied the right of same sex marriage, for over ten more years.
I do think also think that the GRA is causing many many problems for women by creating a cultural ripple effect around rights to womens spaces and services and opportunities.
GRA is having a cultural chilling effect on questioning individuals about their status beyond those who do actually hold a GRC with it’s incredibly over-strict punitive confidentiality status. That huge over reaction about confidentiality is the sign of a legal fiction drafted to try to save shame for GRA recipients. But there’s no shame in wanting to not conform to gender norms. We all do that to varying degrees. No excessive secrecy around gender non conformity should be legally required or legally allowed in this day and age.
GRA arguably also just hasn’t been understood by enough people to become an object of protest. Because it seems from the Scottish double rapist ‘(Isla’) in womens prisons case that we are nationally outraged at when the effect on women is because of self ID… but yet society would give the nod through in a scenario where the same issues arise but because of a legally sanctioned GRC? I don’t think this would be supported if it were widely known about.
So I completely agree that protest about the GRA should continue. It doesn’t have any allowance for consent in it. Always a massive red flag in legislation. A GRC holder status applied for and granted in good faith cant be simply revoked because the GRC holder changed their mind mind, the legal sex change is in place until their death. That is absolutely wrong. People have to be allowed to change their minds. Especially when we know how frequently people do change their minds and may want to detransition.
GRA was clearly written with male-born transitioners in mind because it takes no account of female-born transmen and their needs like around them going through pregnancy and birth. That’s not a level of sexist legislation we should be proud of or argue for keeping.
It’s also an inappropriate law to retain in todays cultural environment where groups of young people transition socially and or medically at young ages and then may feel they should take that permanent GRC legal step.
Detransitioned people have it hard enough without having to claim that they were fraudsters so that they are allowed to get out of their GRC status and revert their to birth sex legally.
GRA also messes up data collection for everyone at a time when we know women’s representation in data is already under served.
GRA could be removed and the 2010 Equality Act relied on to protect gender non conforming people without detriment to their rights. Removing GRA would instantly benefit women’s rights hugely.
seXX · 16/03/2023 10:08
14538 signatures
Repeal the GRA: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/628382
Government responded
This response was given on 30 January 2023
"As announced in 2020, we believe the Gender Recognition Act 2004 is effective, strikes the right balance and allows for those who wish to legally change their sex. We have no plans to change it. "
Makes no sense, how can recognising someone's gender mean changing their legal sex?! What is it balanced with?
Scientistranswidow · 16/03/2023 10:24
Replying to @seXX You are absolutely right. I have just tweeted: "We got "sex means biological sex" Petition over line thanks to @JK_Rowling. Let's do the same for "Repeal the GRA" Petition. Gov's response merely repeats the fundamental conflation & confusion at heart of GRA which is "sex is NOT = to 'gender' " Thank you
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.