A statement regarding eligibility for the Women's Prize for Fiction

[HecatesCat]

Well it's 'In our terms and conditions the word 'woman' equates to a cis woman, transgender woman or anyone who is legally defined as a woman or of the female sex'

If you have a GRC you are legally defined as a woman so why include transgender women separately. It is being assumed on Twitter (that font of reasonable discourse) to meant TWAW.
I think they should have been clearer because they will get an even worse backlash from the TRA if they mean no self-ID.

It would be simpler, and more intelligible, if the award was renamed: Prize for Fictitious Women.

@DidoLamenting
For a trans woman to be legally a woman they need a GRC. The Government haven’t accepted self identification.

if the aim of the charity is to support women's writing then the exclusion of men however they identify must surely be proportionate and legitimate to achieve that aim

im sure stonewall with all their cash could set up a prize for trans and NB writers

Here's a small one already running. www.jkp.com/jkpblog/writingprize/

But of course, anyone could enter.

I dunno. It is a bit muddy but it seems to me that

'In our terms and conditions the word 'woman' equates to a cis woman, transgender woman or anyone who is legally defined as a woman or of the female sex'

means it includes "a cis woman" (legally a woman by birth), "a transgender woman" (legally a woman by GRC) "or anyone who is legally defined as a woman or of the female sex" (a catch-all phrase for e.g. non-binary female-born people who are happy to be entered or anyone else who does not self-profess "woman" but is happy to be entered by dint of their legal status as "woman")

Calling women cis is not supportive of women.

And no, its not just for 'legal women' - they wrote its for 'Cis' women, Transgender women, and for anyone legally defined as a woman or of the female sex.

Have found the statement on twitter twitter.com/WomensPrize/status/1313059947626848256 which is a bit sly, as despite what some might think, twitter is not that widely used.

If it is part of the conditions for this year's prize it should be on the web site along with other competition info.

The combined effects of section 212(1) of The Equality Act and section 9 (1) of The Gender Recognition Act to me seem that they would be on thin ice if they excluded trans women- certainly trans women who hold a certificate.

Soon we will have nothing left for ourselves. Nothing.

[quote ChazsBrilliantAttitude]@DidoLamenting
For a trans woman to be legally a woman they need a GRC. The Government haven’t accepted self identification.[/quote]
See my later post. They would be on very thin ice if they excluded a trans woman without a certificate.

Plus apart from the Equality Act which has a definition of woman- for the purposes of that Act- I don't think there is any legal definition.

@FairFriday

I read it as - open to C-word women, transgender (and that covers a wide church) and people with GRC.

That is how I read it, although I can see how the other interpretation could be taken.

A poorly written statement, especially as it is from a literary organisation.

@DidoLamenting

The combined effects of section 212(1) of The Equality Act and section 9 (1) of The Gender Recognition Act to me seem that they would be on thin ice if they excluded trans women- certainly trans women who hold a certificate.

Why would that be? Wouldn’t it come under the legitimate aim part (can’t remember the wording). It is for the purpose of promoting women in literature because there seems to be a unconscious bias against women. Would that mean that any Women in STEM program is also not allowed to exclude people that are male? Surely they would have no legal issue with excluding legal males from the Women’s Prize ie. trans women without a grc?

@DrLouiseJMoody

It would be simpler, and more intelligible, if the award was renamed: Prize for Fictitious Women.

wonderful 😂

I think they mean to include c!s women (woman by birth), trans women (women by self identified gender), non-binary people who have female on their birth certificates and non binary people who had male on their birth certificate but are now in receipt of a GRC making them legally female (since you can’t be legally non-binary).

Soon we will have nothing left for ourselves. Nothing.

That's the game plan. Yes.

#theyreonlyfemales

Why would that be? Wouldn’t it come under the legitimate aim part (can’t remember the wording). It is for the purpose of promoting women in literature because there seems to be a unconscious bias against women. Would that mean that any Women in STEM program is also not allowed to exclude people that are male?
Surely they would have no legal issue with excluding legal males from the Women’s Prize ie. trans women without a grc?

Aside from the EA Act I can't find a definition of woman so all this talk of legal obligation to restrict the prize only to natal women is I think not particularly well founded.

For trans women with a grc I think they would struggle as my understanding of the proportionate exceptions relate to matters such as medical examination, rape crisis.

As for "promoting women in literature" - Really? There are plenty of women writing and being published. There's no need for a special prize for that.

It can't seriously be argued that women are being put off becoming writers just because until recently there were no female Booker winners. See these bestsellers lists- pretty much 50/50

publishingperspectives.com/2019/01/uk-nielsen-bestsellers-2018-nonfiction-fiction-childrens-honors-london/

www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/aug/09/best-selling-books-all-time-fifty-shades-grey-compare

Surely it is the EA that is relevant here. Also bear in mind that the courts will rely on dictionary definitions ie adult female human if no express definition exist in law. As self I’d has not been adopted it is difficult to see how the definition of woman has officially changed from adult female human except in the specified case of a GRC.

Aside from the EA Act I can't find a definition of woman so all this talk of legal obligation to restrict the prize only to natal women is I think not particularly well founded.
What about adult human female?

As for "promoting women in literature" - Really? There are plenty of women writing and being published. There's no need for a special prize for that.
That is the exact reason that the prize was set up - it’s on their website. It is the stated aim of the charity as listed on the Charities Register and if they have changed their aim they need to update their entry.

Did you ever hear about the reason that JK Rowling was advised to publish using just her first initials?

Self ID
Thanks autocorrect

@gardenbird48

Aside from the EA Act I can't find a definition of woman so all this talk of legal obligation to restrict the prize only to natal women is I think not particularly well founded. What about adult human female?

As for "promoting women in literature" - Really? There are plenty of women writing and being published. There's no need for a special prize for that.
That is the exact reason that the prize was set up - it’s on their website. It is the stated aim of the charity as listed on the Charities Register and if they have changed their aim they need to update their entry.

Did you ever hear about the reason that JK Rowling was advised to publish using just her first initials?

Of course nobody ever read Agatha Christie or Daphne du Maurier.

There is a legal definition of woman in the EA Act but has to be read with GRA Act.

As for "promoting women in literature" sorry I stand by my original comment- there are gazillions of published women authors. Women don't need this prize to encourage them to write.

And frankly utter tripe like Helen Dunmore's A Spell of Winter should not be encouraged.

@gardenbird48

Aside from the EA Act I can't find a definition of woman so all this talk of legal obligation to restrict the prize only to natal women is I think not particularly well founded. What about adult human female?

As for "promoting women in literature" - Really? There are plenty of women writing and being published. There's no need for a special prize for that.
That is the exact reason that the prize was set up - it’s on their website. It is the stated aim of the charity as listed on the Charities Register and if they have changed their aim they need to update their entry.

Did you ever hear about the reason that JK Rowling was advised to publish using just her first initials?

Exactly garden. It is irrelevant as to whether we think it’s a good idea or not, no charity can just ignore its charitable aims. One of the key duties of a charity trustee is to ensure the charity complies with its governing document

If they wish to change the parameters of their charitable aims they need to amend their memorandum & articles of association

@JKRowlingIsMyQueen

Soon we will have nothing left for ourselves. Nothing.

Seems the entire aim.

This is why TRAs and MRAs views align so much. They may think they have different reasons for it, but their aims are the same.

If the gender identity school becomes the mainstream approach to sex my prediction is that most awards and set-aside scholarships and so on originally intended to go to female-bodied people will go to those who were observed to have penises at birth.

That's because the inclusivity that has taken over feminism is the concept queer theory intended to cause not greater fairness but greater instability in how a concept is defined.

So we have no inclusivity attacks on the concept of 'man' but an enormous number on the concept of 'woman.' It's the latter concept that is becoming meaningless and up for grabs while the former is as it always was.