Women's Hour features interviews with Professor Alex Sharpe and Professor Rosa Freedman as part of 'Sex & Gender' series **Thread title edited at OP's request**

[kesstrel]

The topic is "The law on sex and gender".

If anyone is on Twitter, might they point Rosa Freedman (@GoonerProf) to this thread about her WH performance, please?

Seething at being described as ”gencrit” the tone used was dripping with hatred to my ears.

As a poster pointed out last week radio is a very good medium for this. Alex’s delicate sniffing won’t have fooled anyone.

Blimey. That has really, really shocked me. A professor who won't debate with another professor on the radio? I can tell you, if I was going to university and heard both of them on the radio, it would make a huge difference to where I applied, not just in terms of their opinions but the way they expressed them.

Yes, I think all that business about "cisgender" and "cis-sexual" will have peaktransed quite a few people. As well as the fact that Alex sounded exactly like a condescending man telling women why they shouldn't worry their pretty little heads about men invading their spaces.

Not, I hasten to add before I'm deleted, that Alex is a man. Alex is of course a woman. As we all know.

The nastiest bit in Alex's very nasty interview came when she said that feminists "trawled" the internet looking for examples of men in women's spaces, and were gleeful at any stories they could find.

Yes, that's right, Alex, we're all so bloody gleeful every time we hear of another traumatised rape victim being forced to share a shelter with a man.

These people really have no empathy at all. It's chilling, frankly.

As for Rosa, I thought she did a good job, lots of good, clear explanations, but it might have been better if she'd used some examples of where the law had been abused. I think the debate will still sail above the heads of a lot of people who haven't been following what's happening.

Woman's Hour Twitter thread about the segment:

twitter.com/BBCWomansHour/status/1067002933777178624

Credibility shot to bits before Alex even opened their mouth because they refuse to debate.

#NoDebate is the most deadly effective self sabotage in history.

People like Alex are frightening and dangerous. Alex knows full well that the change to the GRA is a gift to predators everywhere.

What Alex doesn't understand, is that predatory behaviour doesn't have to be standing in front of you, in your changing room, it can come out of your radio, too.

Alex doesn't realise what they have just so effectively demonstrated.

Fortunately, any woman listening, does. In spades.

Yep, as well as a dripping nose Alex was dripping with vitriol and hatred for women.
Not feeling the sisterly love right now....

OK, wait, "cisgender" is nonsense but at least I know what it's meant to mean. WTF is "cissexual"?

From the WH Twitter thread - it's interesting to see comments from people who aren't up to speed on the terms (so to speak). People who didn't know what cis means received an explanation (not a good one and it didn't touch on the ramifications of it) and responded:

thank you, I thought it was short for sister

HollowTalk Who'd a thunk it

There are some really amazing professors around like Rosa Freedman. That sort of authority is what you would imagine.

I looked up professor:

1. a person who affirms a faith in or allegiance to something.

"the professors of true religion"

So I suppose it is correct for Alex Sharpe after all.

I'd like to interrupt this thread to sniff cough and transplain

I thought JG was great not to lose it. How dare Alex be so rude. Cissexual?

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS FRESH NEW SHITE

If you're a professor do you get to make up words?

Too much rope.

Alex Sharpe is a notable Human Rights barrister in Garden Court Chamber in addition to holding the position at Keele.

The refusal to debate is very disturbing.

Should we assume that they aren't actually able to convincingly stand by anything they say when it's put under scrutiny by an intelligent woman?

There is no argument. Because women's boundaries and consent isn't a debate. But yes, there is no logic either.

I'm desperate for someone to actually have a debate. Because, as experienced so often on this very site, a few well chosen questions unravels the entitlement in seconds. If you follow it up with outright disagreement, the anger is immediate.

Debate is the argument.

As they well know.

Hackmum
The nastiest bit in Alex's very nasty interview came when she said that feminists "trawled" the internet looking for examples of men in women's spaces, and were gleeful at any stories they could find.

That was particularly grim wasn't it?
Bit of a jaw-dropper.

Datun
Alex doesn't realise what they have just so effectively demonstrated.

Fortunately, any woman listening, does. In spades.

So true. It was all very familiar.

The listen again version is up now www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00019m5

Alex could just have said: "Cis is a word we use to describe people who aren't trans."

The fact that Alex couldn't do that suggests that she is unaware of how arcane all this stuff sounds to people who aren't embroiled in the debate. My guess is that at least 90% of the population haven't heard the word "cis" before. But this is the problem for people like Alex who live in an echo chamber.

Not, I hasten to add before I'm deleted, that Alex is a man. Alex is of course a woman. As we all know.

Who could disagree? Alex is a woman. She is womanly. Womanlier than I. The womanliest.

Dropping in a thread by Rosa Freedman for #16days

twitter.com/GoonerProf/status/1066961249722925056

Excellent thread about human rights, the family as a unit of protection and abuse, and violence against women and girls.

Yes she can't imagine how most of the population don't know.

I think once you got past the sniffing, the main message that Alex was putting across was that Alex didn't like woman and particularly didn't like women telling Alex what to do.

As for a notable Human Rights barrister - there's more than one way to be notable.

Cissexual:

Julia Serano has defined cissexual as "people who are not transsexual and who have only ever experienced their mental and physical sexes as being aligned", while cisgender is a slightly narrower term for those who do not identify as transgender (a larger cultural category than the more clinical transsexual).

Sunlight does these people no favours whatsoever.

Refusing to debate does them no favours either - because then their words have to stand alone and be judged on their own merits.

And (I love you, Jane Garvey), there is an interviewer who doesn't do the Victoria Derbyshire Special Sad Voice, they're entirely fucked.

Rosa - you were magnificent!

"Boris Johnson is a notable British politician"

"Donald Trump is a notable American president"

"Both men have notable hairstyles."

How dare Alex say cis-women are women ‘comfortable’ with their gender roles. Fml. I couldn’t believe that, arrogant twat.