Sky news article - 'Women's rights hanging by a thread with changes to transgender law' by Dr Nicola Williams

[pookypup]

Really pleased to see a large media publishing this Dr Nicola Williams article news.sky.com/story/womens-rights-hanging-by-a-thread-with-changes-to-transgender-law-11439448 which gives a very accessible introduction to some concerns around trans debate.

It’s the first one that I’ve noticed on Sky News, hopefully the discussion might be starting.

Thanks R0wantrees will try!

@pookypup

Thanks R0wantrees will try!

Hi @pookypup, we've edited the title for you now.

Thanks Dawn!

thanks both

Thank you

Sky seem to be being quite balanced in this these days

Perhaps they have spotted a gap in the market

www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/joint-select/human-rights-committee/news-parliament-2017/enforcing-human-rights-report-published-17-19/
Legal aid ‘deserts’ make human rights unenforceable

Report out today.

HUGE.

That article by Susan Pascoe implies that Pascoe is intersex

In that debate in the house of lords, one speaker introduced his speech by saying he had hypospadias which he seemed to be saying was intersex. There seemed to be a lot of blurring of sex, gender, and intersex and trans into one continuous mass.

Excellent article by Dr Williams.

Yes, I've also seen claims about hormonally intersex, feeling better on cross sex hormones is taken as proof.

The legal dessert is the background to all of this.

You can't rely on vague exemptions when there is no access to legal methods of backing anyone up. The law just defaults to the loudest, richest bully then.

twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1019879174696329217

The video here has Baroness Williams talking about checks and balances but when the presenter brings up people with a history of abuse against women taking the role of a woman she hand waves it away by suggesting it's not a problem because some lesbians can be violent.

Really appalling obfuscation of the world wide problem of male violence by talking about 'people'. The vast majority of violent offenders (over 90% I believe) are male.

#nametheproblem

Agree the article is excellent.

Thanks for posting that Red what do you see as the implications for GRA reform and the way it interacts with the EA.

It's not really relevant to this thread, but I remember back at the beginning of all this (or at least my beginning, a year or so ago) reading an article about hormone treatment of people who were trans.

It was all about "normalising" hormone levels. In ye olden days, a man struggling with all this might have been treated with testosterone as, yes, it was realised that sometimes low testosterone levels caused issues. Similarly a woman with low oestrogen levels would have been treated with female hormones (I don't think it was simply oestrogen, more a way of "balancing" things, but my memory is fuzzy).

The article was about how nowadays men who attend gender clinics who are discovered to have low testosterone levels, this is now treated as "oh, right, evidence he's a woman" and he's treated with female hormones.

Interestingly, try as I might, I can't find the article. I wonder whether even printing something like that would now be seen as transphobic, and research into it banned.

Going by the comments on all the Sky News twitter threads about the various points of view their viewers aren't buying into gender ideology.

And if hypospadias, along with PCOS , is now "intersex" no wonder the "intersex" numbers are rising.

ffs, how fucking unfair on people with genuine, chromosomal, intersex conditions; leave them alone.

Funnily enough there isn't much push back or abuse from TRAs in the Sky News twitter comments.

Probably because they are mostly men saying things like "my daughters are not showering next some hairy dude who calls himself Janet"

Excellent article but I wish it had covered the safeguarding issues too (though that would have made it longer). I really think the blatant threat to safeguarding of policies like the girl guides needs to be discussed more so parents are aware.

She covered a lot of issues though, too difficult to cover them all!

Beyond women only competitions, facilities, services and spaces I am concerned about transwomen providing health, social care (eg in refuges) and other services when girls and women have asked to be seen by a woman.

Excellent article. Nic is doing a sterling job out there.

Once the ladybrain lie began to fail drastically, more 'transgender' people started saying they were actually intersex. Its just awful, really. Trying to co-opt all of these groups of people.

Exactly. I've seen it more and more, too.

The born in the wrong body narrative started to sound a bit off as many people are not comfortable talking about pink brains/blue brains. Because it sounds so sexist.

So now the pretence of a 'type of intersex.'

It's absolutely disgusting.

Appropriating and hijacking LGB, then women, now intersex.

And of course, people who are fresh to the situation may initially buy the narrative.

But it's my experience that more and more people are wising up.

Because there is no real argument. Everything they say can be refuted, easily.

what do you see as the implications for GRA reform and the way it interacts with the EA.

I can see that the Human Rights Committee putting out a report which states explicitly that the entire system is failing to adequately protect the most vulnerable in society or understand the need to balance rights and makes a point that certain groups are being silenced by the idea of 'politicial correctness'.

A report saying exactly what many of us labelled TERFs are saying, almost to the letter.

So how do I see the implications for GRA reform? Well unless it takes onboard this cross party Human Rights Committee Report its not going to go very well.

Not only that, but nothing needs to be reformed for there to be major problems anyway because the report explictly makes the point that laws protecting individuals rights are completely meaningless unless they can be enforced and access and ability to bring a legal case is near impossible for the poorer (and therefore the most vulnerable).

The most vulnerable are children, those with disabilities, those who are poor, lacking in education or come from an abusive background or end up in a place where they are under the care of the state (hospital or prison for example).

Again, this does not end well.

But we are entering an era where concern for these groups is diminishing and the prevailing attitude in society is either that they are a burden or they are simply invisible to those who have more power.

I'm not hopeful. Lets just put it that way.

Going by the comments on all the Sky News twitter threads about the various points of view their viewers aren't buying into gender ideology.

We need to encourage them to follow @fairplaywomen and fill in the survey.

Thanks Red that's really interesting especially this bit:

I can see that the Human Rights Committee putting out a report which states explicitly that the entire system is failing to adequately protect the most vulnerable in society or understand the need to balance rights and makes a point that certain groups are being silenced by the idea of 'politicial correctness'.

There lots of people waking up to the serious issues you raise in your thread. This, at least, gives me some hope.

The most vulnerable are children, those with disabilities, those who are poor, lacking in education or come from an abusive background or end up in a place where they are under the care of the state (hospital or prison for example).

Yep. This is exactly the angle I'm coming at things with and I agree with you, Red - the prognosis is poor. Just look at the levels of state-sanctioned and state-applied abuse with regard to UC, PIP and ESA. Why would deleterious consequences of GRA reform be any different?

That Sue Pascoe is parroting the lie that the Equality Act keeps us safe. Er no it doesn't, love.

And so do rape and domestic violence laws! Fear not little women, fear not!