Mermaids - need help

[GoodCheer]

I’m hoping to peak trans my lovely friend who is a senior manager at a big (huge) organisation and recently sang to me the praises of her E&D manager, who is a stunning & brave TW who transitioned as a child and is pushing Mermaids as her saviour and an organisation everyone should be praising and following. Oh, how fun that was.

Friend is one of my oldest and a truly wonderful woman, highly intelligent and a good person. She just hasn’t encountered this issue before and I need to point her in the right direction.

Got very over excited at dinner the other night and I think I scared her. Now need to back up my diatribe with some pertinent facts, calmly delivered....

You don't get it that no trans person or supporter is going to engage with discussing issues when the overriding message they get is that, whatever those issues, the OP also has a major problem with the fact that someone is trans.

This discussion is about Mermaids, who, as zebra said, are a group which attempts to set every gender confused child on a medical pathway.

What is your opinion of the diagnostic criteria for deciding a child is 'trans'? I've seen the NHS page about this and it's all about stereotypes.

How do you feel about children being set on a path to being lifelong medical patients because they like the 'wrong' toys for their sex?

Do you think children are capable of giving consent to be sterilised? How do you feel about the future for these children who will never be able to experience a normal sexual relationship as adults?

That really isn't what the OP says at all.

You are honestly saying that the OP's opening line where she sarcastically describes the person as a 'stunning and brave TW' doesn't indicate an issue with the fact that the person is trans?

pushing Mermaids as her saviour and an organisation everyone should be praising and following

try looking at it in the context of that bit of the sentence and think about why the OP may be slightly ticked off about this particular TW.

Expecting women to be polite, sensitive and enthusiastic about this stuff really is expecting too much.

Snowblight's posts are like the whole TRA argument in a microcosm.

People - voice valid concerns about a charity heavily invested in medicalising children, based on zero evidenced-base scientific studies.

Snowblight - "You just hate transwomen!!'

It's a ludicrous, silencing tactic, and TRAs are not getting away with it anymore. The cat's out of the bag now - this stuff has hit newsnight, and other mainstream media.

Anyway that's enough discussion for me of three words in the OP.
@GoodCheer do you know any more about your friend's existing views on this? If she's a Times reader I'd be surprised if she hadn't come across a fair bit of it already; it's been something of a focus for a while.

Snowblight - "You just hate transwomen!!'

Well when it's fairly obvious...

Robert Webb was subjected to this when he tweeted (very) critically of Mermaids. ("Mermaids suck" - yes, they do!) Because the culture of Mermaids in reinforcing gender stereotypes is completely at odds with his philosophy, and he has written extensively about boys, and how gender stereotyping affects them.

He was accused of "wanting kids to kill themselves" and "attacking a children's charity" and other, even worse, stuff. Until he deleted his tweet - which is a shame, I would have liked to see him stick to his guns, but never mind.

Being a "children's charity" isn't a golden ticket to do whatever you want - Kids Company should demonstrate that. Mermaids are promoting some very serious, life changing, treatments for children, without any evidence at all that it produces the best outcomes long-term.

Oh yes Kids Company. So many people did see them as 'the naked Emperor' but were shouted down.

It’s bait and switch tactics. Because the aim is always to distract from the central, important issue and drag the conversation into an endless feedback loop of manufactured outrage. There has been a 3200 per cent increase in girls presenting for transition in five years. Why? Why should an powerful lobby group influence policies without public debate and media scrutiny? There is an existential threat to freedom of speech and freedom of thought which is being waged by this lobby’s proponents. Why? Anyone who doesn’t submit to this authoritarian agenda is subject to vitriolic abuse. Why is there such a fanatical desire to forcibly silence people? The bait switch tactic isn’t working anymore. And the supine media seems to have woken from its long slumber...

I wish as much effort and money was out into ensuring those with physical and mental needs could have access to transport, businesses and facilities.

But no. This hobby horse has legs for some reason.

Well when it's fairly obvious...

Negative generalisations are against posting rules. I also really object to the bit in the OP where she stated that bananas should never be allowed in a fruit salad.

Bananas are fine, but cucumbers are most certainly not.

No it's clear as day that they have a problem with Mermaids.

Interestingly trans activists do try and engage with us from time to time, but their lack of evidence to back up their arguments makes it a bit tricky.

Now once more. Show me the evidence to explain the shift in mermaids approach to trans kids?

The dramatic shift from support group to lobbying seems to have happened after Susie Green became a trustee... 🤔🤔🤔

Well, whoda thunkit, Kat?

Interesting that they basically restarted the charity in 2016. Fee income has gone through the roof

It's all fine, it's not like the number of trans identifying kids is soaring or anything.....

Oh

No

Wait