Politics live today :-)

[Cwenthryth]

Politics Live, 02/03/2020: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000g19l via @bbciplayer

Interesting discussion I just caught up with in today’s Politics Live (10 minute segment from about 29mins in).

Caroline Noakes MP (Conservative - new chair of W&E select committee) started by saying she wasn’t a feminist until she came to parliament - describes a privileged (sheltered?) background where she hadn’t experienced discrimination (or apparently any harrassment - lucky thing!) as a woman. Her eyes have been opened by sexist remarks in the HoP, apparently.

Asked if she backed the reforms to GRA as her predecessor Maria Miller did - she declines to do so - saying she can’t comment as she’s not yet the chair (until tomorrow!) and the government haven’t published their response yet. Challenged that it sounded like she didn’t want to give her opinion on the issue - she doubled down and declined to give any view at all. She went on about how she wanted to concentrate on other equalities anyway (disability etc).

I am a little concerned that someone so new to understanding that feminism even has a place and is needed in our society holds a position of influence over this. Slightly heartened that she didn’t immediately seize the opportunity for a TWAW/pro self-ID stance - it would have been easy to do so.

Fleur Anderson MP (Labour) supports Keir Starmer in not signing the expel-feminists pledge, but she does think TWAW and that transwomen are particularly discriminated against when it comes to housing (are they?). When asked about Keira Bell’s case she said it needed ‘looking at carefully’. She denied that the trans pledge issue was a major issue in the Labour Party at the moment.

Kevin Maguire (Mail on Sunday) said explicitly ‘WPUK are not a transphobic group’ - he knows several of them personally - but was then very ‘unkind things said on both sides’.

Anyway it was lovely to see women’s rights being discussed like this on a mainstream politics show.

I bet my right boob that Jo Coburn is GC

Caroline Nokes had no reason to be a feminist: I can understand that. She comes from a family of girls, went to a girls school, attended a good university with a good history of supporting women. I know some women find their feminism early because the see the inequality in the world, but for others it's a slow burn. I wasn't a feminist in my child-bearing years because I didn't see feminism fighting for me. I see now that only I can fight for myself, but that if I have a voice/cash/time I should be fighting for other women who haven't got any heft.
I hope Caroline Nokes listens to women and isn't automatically inducted into theTWAW hall of fame. Trans women have issues, but sometimes (often) women's issues are different and need protecting separately.

I can't imagine never experiencing any harassment!

I suppose the amount depends on where you live and what you recognise as harassment might vary, especially as we're told to laugh it off etc

I literally can't imagine that though, never having any.

Off topic prob but anyway.

She went on about how she wanted to concentrate on other equalities anyway (disability etc).

That's a whole lot better and more necessary than expending her energies on the small and vocal TRA lobby. The shitshow of identity politics has been a massive distraction from people who face serious discrimination and barriers to full participation in society.

Jo Coburn came across as utterly clueless and frankly a bit rude when she interviewed Maya Forstater last year, but maybe she has now looked into the issues more closely.

She went on about how she wanted to concentrate on other equalities anyway (disability etc)

That's great, but I hope Nokes realises that women's rights are being eroded by the current practices of various organisations including some in Whitehall, it isn't just about self ID through the GRA.

I am a little concerned that someone so new to understanding that feminism...

She's been an MP 10 years, not that new - and from what I read in wiki had something of a baptism of fire from F4J.

That’s good, Errol, she didn’t present herself as very experienced on the panel today is all!

I agree focus on wider equalities is HUGELY more important than the small vocal trans lobby - apart from the fact that lobby are already eroding women’s sex-based rights by stealth. If it was just the spectre of possible legal self-ID via GRA reform that would be one thing....but self-ID policies into women’s spaces/services are already being enacted, now, by regulatory/institutional capture and misrepresentation of the current law. The WESC cannot be allowed to ignore that.

Frogs - I know - how do you grow up without harrassment? And can I move there?