Iain McWhirter: Iain Macwhirter: Transgender rights? Great. But don't tell women what makes a woman: they were born that way

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

www.heraldscotland.com/news/16997263.iain-macwhirter-transgender-rights-great-but-dont-tell-women-what-makes-a-woman-they-were-born-that-way/

Excerpts:

And there’s no “but” coming here. Transgender people should have full democratic and human rights, and I wish them all happiness.

One of the curious things about the Gender Recognition Act, which allows men to declare themselves legally as women without any medical intervention or complex certification, is that the public consultation period for it came and went in March with scarcely a murmur.

Sex is a biological reality which is essentially unalterable. No matter how many cosmetic changes a man may undergo, they do not actually become a woman. Their DNA remains different: XY instead of XX.

Now, I was aware of the “TERF wars” on the internet, and regarded it all as a rather silly. As far as I understood it, the Gender Recognition Act was an administrative matter, about making it easier for trans people be legally recognised.

It never occurred to me that it was about altering the very definition of a female, such that man born of woman, could actually become one.

Since I became involved, an extraordinary number of women have approached me privately saying that they have been silenced. This includes politicians, academics and media figures – hardly shrinking violets.

However, with the police very publicly urging “victims of transphobia” to report “hate incidents”, many organisations, understandably, are under the impression that transphobia is against the law. It is at any rate regarded as a disciplinary matter if such complaints are made about staff.

Anyway, for many women this is essentially an existential question. If anyone can become a woman simply by announcing the fact, where does that leave women’s status in society?

And I’m afraid that it is absurd. If we are to change the very definition of sex, such that there is to be no physiological distinction between the sexes, then we are changing the nature of what it is to be human

Women should not be intimidated into silence, as many have been. To dispute the claim that transwomen are women is not bigotry. To object to self-identification is not misogyny. To oppose the Gender Recognition Act is not transphobia

For transwomen to have equal rights it is not necessary for women to be denied theirs. Don’t tell women what makes a woman, they were, after all, born that way.

And it was decided by a committee of 6 people.

The Scottish public have no knowledge of this

I have a very hard time believing that countries like Poland and Hungary would go along with this. It cannot be done just as the refugee quotas cannot be done imo.

Did you every see our Government say no!!! They rush to comply with knobs on! The 2002 Goodwin ECJ judgement only required a new birth certificate for people who had undergone reconstructive surgery on their genitalia, but our government chose, of their own free will, to extend that right to men with penises.

It's currently the most popular article.

There's a heartbreaking comment from a woman who took her 4 year old into a gender neutral toilet without realising. She says her daughter was paralysed with fear when she heard a deep voice coming from the next cubicle and wouldn't use a public toilet for a long time after

Who are these people? What is their influence in government? What are their aims?

This.

Remember: this is a global phenomenon, not just a national one.

It can’t be explained away by a handful of trans allies in Parliament.

Like fascism, communism, neoconservatism or Islamism, this isn’t an ideology that is limited by national boundaries. It taps into feelings of grievance and entitlement that are international.

Like fascism, communism, neoconservatism or Islamism, this isn’t an ideology that is limited by national boundaries. It taps into feelings of grievance and entitlement AND MISOGYNY that are international.

FTFY there, Aspie!

There's a heartbreaking comment from a woman who took her 4 year old into a gender neutral toilet without realising. She says her daughter was paralysed with fear when she heard a deep voice coming from the next cubicle and wouldn't use a public toilet for a long time after

That is one traumatised child. I am totally against men being able to legally identify as women, but that example is weird, considering how many good examples of this problem there are.

FTFY there, Aspie!

Thanks!

An accusation of transphobia is enough to prevent anyone from saying anything.

Indeed. Many feminists are not bothered by this accusation anymore given we know that 'transphobia' is the most overused term ever, pretty much. MPs and such need to get the balls to speak up. All of this rubbish could be stopped in its tracks if everyone who disagreed with it actually said that instead of hiding. I get that its scary. I mean, I had to change my twitter to an anon one as my kids were being threatened and I had endless threats from TRAs and it scared me a bit. I was on a 'hitlist' and they were trying to find out where I lived and everything. So I stopped using that account and made on in a fake name. The issue for MPs is, they cannot do that when the abuse starts, they are already known, and these narcissistic males ARE scary, they have already physically attacked people. I imagine a lot of MPs are thinking of Jo Cox, when they think of this topic. That could be why they won't speak up, and I do understand that.

@vixxxy I hope if you filled in the consultation, you told them your experience of intimidation. All politicians need to be told examples like this. It's always framed like the trans activists are poor weak daisys being bullied by the big nasty women. Shocking lies. How can women and men speak out when they are being intimidated like this? This is all so sickening

I did,. and I did detail the abuse I received and told them that I have to have all my accounts anon now. I change my MN name every few weeks too. I have locked down my facebook completely, but I cannot comment on for example, FPFW posts, as I am terrified they would take my name and hunt everywhere for it.

I also told my MP all of this when asking him to attend the meeting in parliament. His reply? A load of waffle about supporting trans people Not even acknowledging what I wrote at all. He's generally great, so it shocked me. It was a copy paste reply, that I assume Labour told all their MPs to use.

There is a very real fear of being disciplined or pilloried in a professional capacity in Scotland for being GC. Every person I speak to about this (off the record, obvs and unfortunately) can see the dangerous implications of altering the meaning of 'woman' but to say that publicly, particularly for those on the left politically, is difficult just now. I'm not sure how we got here so fast, but it feels very regressive. Hopefully articles like Iain's will start to open things up a bit and I applaud his clear thinking.