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'

@DidoLamenting

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

Oh come off it. This prize was set up because there were no female Booker winners. Its purpose was to give women a chance to win a prize without having to compete with men. There was no need then or now to have a prize encouraging women to write. There were and are gazillions of published women.

They have to say something vacuous like "promoting women writers" as the real aim - "it's not fair women don't win the Booker" just looks silly.

Does that go for all awards then? No best actress at the Oscars, no best Female artist at the Brits? After all there are thousands of female singers and actors, they don’t need a special prize either then.....fuck it do away with anything that’s for women only eh?

Thanks for the corrections for my post saying the current gender change law requires surgery. It does not - I just checked, sorry to confuse anyone. I had thought it did - may be that was just considered when it was brought in in.

Wiki has a good summary which i put as much to remind me of the rules not anyone else...

"Since 4 April 2005, as per the Gender Recognition Act 2004, it is possible for transgender people to change their legal gender in the UK. Transgender people must present evidence to a Gender Recognition Panel, which considers their case and issues a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC); they must have transitioned two years before a GRC is issued.

It is not a requirement for sex reassignment surgery to have taken place. However, such surgery will be accepted as part of the supporting evidence for a case where it has taken place.

There is formal approval of medical gender reassignment available either on the National Health Service (NHS) or privately. If the person's birth or adoption was registered in the United Kingdom, they may also be issued a new birth certificate after their details have been entered onto the Gender Recognition Register.

In contrast to some systems elsewhere in the world, the gender recognition process does not require applicants to be post-operative.

They need only to demonstrate to the Gender Recognition Panel that they have suffered gender dysphoria, have lived as "your new gender" for two years, and intend to continue doing so until death. "

Sorry if this has been mentioned before -- but am I right in thinking that this excludes transmen, aka females?

I would think so. What a holy mess these people have created for themselves.

Did anyone see this gem at the end of the Guardian article?

In Australia, the Stella prize for women’s writing takes entries from trans women, non-binary and cis women writers and does not require any statement beyond an author’s self identification, because “we recognise that what it means to be a woman is not static”. Meanwhile, a new US literary award, the Carol Shields prize for fiction, will celebrate “excellence in fiction” by female and non-binary writers.

Static?

How did human beings manage to exist on this planet for so long..?

In Australia, the Stella prize for women’s writing takes entries from trans women, non-binary and cis women writers and does not require any statement beyond an author’s self identification, because “we recognise that what it means to be a woman is not static”.

This definitely excludes transmen.