WEP/Sophie Walker statement on trans

[ShotsFired]

Finally on trans rights and self-identification for trans people, can you explain what was decided at your party conference?

I’m inspired by and proud of our members that came together to hold a public discussion on this. It’s an extremely difficult conversation, made harder to have by people seeking to shut down and silence opinions. We’re going to have a consultation of all our members to find a way forward and I’m working really hard to find options that don’t insist people have to come down on one side or the other. This is about the intersection of two groups’ need for space and protection and we have to venture right into that intersection no matter how uncomfortable it gets.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/23/sophie-walker-womens-equality-party-interview

She made her bed, and she's going go to have to do some pretty spectacular, public and vocal unmaking if I would ever consider trusting her with my vote.

I’m working really hard to find options that don’t insist people have to come down on one side or the other.

When even the leader of WEP feels she can't centre biological women what political and civic quagmire are we in.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3353260-Kathleen-Stock-womens-organisations-have-decentred-biological-females

I guess the "non-men but actually if you are a stunning and brave man with the ladyfeelz that's more important so let's talk about you" party name wasn't catchy enough.

ShotsFired: "I’m working really hard to find options that don’t insist people have to come down on one side or the other."

How many hundreds of years did mathematicians attempt to square the circle before they concluded it wasn't possible? I predict a similarly futile search for Ms Walker.

And what happens if the consultation shows that there are two irreconcilable sides?

I can't see what the compromise is (though that's one of the many reasons im not a politician). It feels to me that this boils down to 'who is a woman' and there are currently different opinions on this that don't seem reconcilable.

The other option would be to rename and repurpose the party.

It's frustrating though - the WEP has taken the space that should have been taken by a party that would fight for women's rights.

When even the leader of WEP feels she can't centre biological women what political and civic quagmire are we in.
Exactly. The trans lobby have plenty of friends to represent them Sophie. Stop worrying about them and do your job.

She has two choices really. Either decide she's on the side of women, or rename the party with a T in front - the Transwomen's Equality Party. Which is it going to be, Sophie?

Ohhh! She’ll be called a terf, now, for daring to let women speak. 😁

I wonder how long it would be before members of WEP had similar experiences to the ones thought to be made in good judgment by the LibDems LGBT+ in this Twitter thread:

I was a Lib Dem member, a less than enthusiastic one. I joined because of their policy on Twitter. The LGBT group disapproved of what I'd tweeted about trans issues and seemed to have been stalking me online. Then he chairman of my local group, who I've known for years, contacted me to say he'd like to see me. He'd been asked to do so, presumably by the LGBTs. Our group secretary is very pally with them, and had possibly read some of my Facebook posts...

Another member on that thread posts:

Similar situation here. The LD alphabets hunted down my name and address and a hand-delivered letter threatened an "investigation". Husband and I both quit.

twitter.com/Magpieandbadger/status/1043772599891886081

I think Sophie Walker might benefit from a chat with Jane Clare Jones who wrote this in a Twitter discussion with LGBT+ Lib Dems:

If you think Orwell would be on board with a) totalitarian thought-policing, b) rewriting history, c) forcing people to deny material reality under threat of force, and d) denunciation, you are on fucking glue.

The thread: twitter.com/janeclarejones/status/1043574454633291777

I ❤️ Jane.

I don't understand why this is 'hard work' if you claim to centre women? Why straddling two opposing positions seems to be the end goal, according to that quote.

I'm working hard to make sure women and girls don't have to give their rights up because a 'Womans political party' thought they just weren't that significant. And I know the meaning of hard work, so we'll see how that goes.

It's just rilly hard being perceived to be mean. Women realise that when they start questioning the transborg. We are all socialised that way.

Flowers is right: trans women have every other party to support them. You have only one job. To supporthe women. Decide if you are up to it.

I don't believe for a second any of them really believe in this. Maybe in her head she's thinking she can just ignore the problem till she has a bit of power and then worry about it. The problem is then the whole party is 20 year old male lesbians and their heterosexual girlfriends who don't know or give a shit about anything that affects the vast majority of the country.

Sorry Floisme

What a surprise that there are no comments on the Guardian piece.

When even the leader of WEP feels she can't centre biological women what political and civic quagmire are we in.

Quite.

I don't think there is a compromise between women who wish to keep their rights, and TRAs who wish to destroy womens rights, tbh.

We must conclude that Sophie believes that TWAW

Why else would she take so much trouble to accommodate men who identify as women?

I would like her to explain.

So bloody tedious. Agree with Crack, do your job.

I think if Walker believed without question TWAW, we would see her leading on that policy but holding out a 'hand of friendship' to others.

I think she is probably genuinely one who sees the GRA changes as minor. The issue may be constantly on Mn but it isn't so prominent elsewhere - i was going to say ' covered so obsessively' in the full knowledge that i am one of the obsessives. It is perfectly true that the real change, to an ability to rewrite the past and change sex legally, came in 2004. Even on MN calls to 'repeal the GRA' only appeared a few days ago that i recall and don't have much of a weight behind them even here except for me

Annandale

You are right. I have come to that conclusion only recently.

Well I'm not taking the splinters out of her arse.

Re: the news of the cancellation of Sept. 28 WPUK Meeting in Leeds - Sophie Walker shifts her position slightly on the fence to tweet:

Women should have the right to meet and discuss changes to the law that will affect them. It is not transphobic to ask questions and we will not resolve valid questions about single sex spaces by shutting down debate.

twitter.com/SophieRunning/status/1045767663555923969

Re: the news of the cancellation of Sept. 28 WPUK Meeting in Leeds - Sophie Walker shifts her position slightly on the fence to tweet:

She knows what kind of flack she'll get for that.

But at least that shows something of the conflict is becoming recognised. I don't see that much of a compromise is possible: it seems to be women are a biological sex and entitled to spaces based on biology, or women are just a performance of feminity and anyone performing stereotypes is a woman.