Sorry to bang on

[Pratchet]

The lie about the Equality Act must really be exposed. I'm such a frightful bore about this!

The government is currently parroting the transactivist line that female protections will remain under the EA 2010.

Not true. It has already been eyeballed as a target by Stonewall and others. They have only rowed back publicly to get self ID through.

Equality Act provisions are already being undermined by the use of the word gender instead of sex in official guidance. These guidance documents are being designed with the help of, if not by, transadvocates. When the government promises to consult women, you get to fill in an online form. But policy formatters are already sitting in private rooms with transadvocates, doing what they say. And what they are saying, is to replace the word 'sex' with 'gender'.

Bex Stinson of Stonewall has openly stated the reason transadvocates succeeded in Scotland: it was because transactivists were sitting in private rooms with the people that run the service organisations, and the public were not involved in those conversations.

The governments Head of LGBT Equalities has already said the bar will be set high to keep spaces female-only.

Far from being our shield, the EA is already under attack and will be targeted by transactivists no matter what they are promising now. These promises are only being forced out of them because feminists have raised the level of debate.

Let's keep going - do not settle for the promise that the Equality Act keeps us safe and is is itself safe. It's not safe. It needs strengthened - as well as Self ID being rejected.

Honestly I bore myself sometimes but don't fall for those EA promises!

Labour are also determined to abolish protection for women. So if we win once with the current Gov, we cant assume that will be the end of it. This is going to be an ongoing issue.

If male rights activists et al look for ways to get round any protective legislation, then we also will need to do the same thing.

I know. It's going to be forever.

Not boring at all! I feel the reply to the petition is to put us off guard.

I know. It's going to be forever.

That is what Shelia Jeffires said in the House of Commons meeting, they have been attempting this since the 70's in her lifetime and she has been writing about it for decades. Men will stop at nothing.

Resolve and resilience required.

It won't be forever. This will pass and we'll get back eventually to sensible accomodation of a tiny few people with gender dysphoria, without trampling on women's rights.

It'll be a long haul though.

The petition was loosely based on WPUK's 5 reasonable demands. The one that was left out was:

3. A review of how the exemptions in the Equality Act which allow for single sex services or requirements that only a woman can apply for a job (such as in a domestic violence refuge) are being applied in practice.

We need to push for this now.

The petition included:

2. The principle of women-only spaces to be upheld – and where necessary extended.

The govt. have upheld the principle of women only spaces. They haven't considered where it might be necessary to extend them. This is why we need the review as in the 3rd demand above.

This remind you of anyone?

twitter.com/invisibleman_17/status/1004266530442563584

Yes it's kind of forever, but we can hope to get back to where things were a decade or so ago.

, Jean O'Leary speaks at the 1973 Pride Rally on behalf of the Lesbian Feminist Liberation; she rails against men who impersonate and mock women, and speaks of the silencing of lesbians in the gay movement. You'll note two men on stage in dresses and hats who theatrically "perform" femininity as she speaks.

It's worth clicking through to the youtube link because there's a good write-up including a transcript of Jean's speech.

It's as if, when a woman (cunty type!) says "No", there are all those who refuse to accept that woman's "No".

But honestly - "No" is a a complete answer and a complete sentence.

No.

That's brilliant Pencils. Everyone should watch it.

I must admit when I first read the government response, I thought ok that seems reasonable. It's only when I thought about it that I thought it doesn't really say anything meaningful.

Also given that the government is providing funding to Mermaids et al to go into schools promoting their agenda in schools, and so many organisations already moving in front of any law changes, I don't have any confidence that they will protect women's rights and as a previous poster said I feel the EA will be targeted.

@Pratchet - you’re right. Now is not the time for letting up. We need to be doing all we can to gain as much coverage as possible on this point. Do you have any ideas moving forward? Happy to use LAWS to push it/circulate etc.

Thanks Pratchet. I don't fully understand the intricacies of this, but absolutely it's the sex-based protections, and the prioritising of sex (objectively assessed) over gender (subjectively assessed) that must be protected.

Even if the ERA is preserved, how can it be applied when people are legally allowed to change their sex?

When the law recognizes transwomen as female, how can it also acknowledge the right to female only spaces which exclude them?

Let's the fair: the biggest clue transactivists are giving us, that they will be going after the Equality Act, is that they already are. Hence all these changing room shenanigans. Single sex changing rooms are perfectly legal under the EA but transactivists treat them as another barrier to be broken down. We are stupid if we still trust their promises when we see what they actually do. Deeds not words.

A far as I'm concerned anyone wanting rid of sex based provisions is at best a misogynist and at worse a rapist.

It shouldn't even be on anyone's radar as it's common sense.

The TRA's and MRA's are hiding in plain sight and no one appears to be protecting women. It makes my blood boil and I despair for the future.

The way almost all changes to laws and new laws happen is by direct influence of interested groups.

We need to write an utterly clear, referenced, level headed, indisputable, irrefutable dissertation on this, in particular the need for complete clarity of definitions including sex and gender. Then we need to seriously lobby politicians.

In many debates from wind farms to road safety to trans issues, both sides often use the same evidence and arguments to support their side. The skill is in having evidence and arguments that can't be co-opted.

Most MPs will not have read the EA or even Maria Miller's report. We are way more educated on this than they are. We need to spoon feed them. We need to alert them to what is going on.

I think you only need to look at the YHA and how they are using gender rather than sex for their accommodation. I used the YHA in my early 20s with my girlfriends. I would not have felt safe if the rooms were mixed. I won’t be using them now.

This is a reply a friend had when she emailed the YHA:

Thank you for taking the time to review our documentation and contact us. I’d like to reassure you that the safety and well-being of all guests is our first priority.

In 2016 we took the opportunity to review our policies in order to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and ensure that we operate within the law. Since then we’ve provided a warm and considerate welcome to all of our guests – nearly 2 million of them!

As an accommodation provider that seeks to enhance the lives of all people, we offer accommodation to guests us regardless of their gender identity. We do not discriminate against any individual and have put this policy in place to ensure that everyone feels welcome to come and stay with us. We offer both private rooms and shared accommodation. The toilets and showers at all of our locations are individual and lockable, this includes where we refer to having communal showers - enabling people to use them completely privately.

Our accommodation provision has moved on in recent years and we would welcome you to stay with us to see if this can help to allay any concerns you may still have. If you have any individual requirements regarding your stay I would urge you to call us and see how we may be able to tailor a stay to your needs.

I fail to see how anyone can see transactivism as anything but mens rights activism.

How can MPs and such be so fucking stupid? They are being asked to roll back womens rights a hundred years, and they think this is progressive?

If we manage to stop this attempt, I wonder what they will come up with next. Its truly scary how much some men hate women.